8 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE OCTOBER 1, 1995

COMMUNITY FORUM

AVON?

We doubled the town

To the Northeast Ohio community:

The overwhelming success of our All Out Art gallery show has left us invigorated, awestruck and somewhat numb. We asked for and got incredible support within the gay-lesbianbi community, but we never expected to double Peninsula's population at the opening reception. That's right: 600 “family” members and supporters came to the show!

So far, the gallery show has raised hundreds of dollars for Stonewall Akron and Summit AIDS Housing, and has given visibility to the fine art and craft being produced by America's gay-lesbian-bi artists. And All Out Art 2 is already in production for September 1996, over twice the gallery space and twice the number of artists-all for another worthwhile cause.

The Bank Gallery at Among Friends wishes to publicly thank the many members of our community who helped us produce this event: The incredibly supportive community of Peninsula, where it's okay to be gay; all the northeastern Ohio gay and gay-friendly organizations who helped promote the event; Cindy Davis, our volunteer bartender who eventually figured out how to open dozens of wine bottles; Nick Garonzi, who spent his gallery evening washing lots and lots of goblets; Jason Karney, who didn't realize how much work it is to date a gallery owner; Klaus at Wildflowers Floristry, for bringing tears to my eyes with his incredible floristry; Stonewall Akron and Summit AIDS Housing; Mary Martin, for volunteering her voice; Cheryl's Daily Grind, for reception baked goods; Cj Crawford, the most gayfriendly biz partner on the planet; Lynne, Lise and Jeanne, the gallery staff; the "mystery men" with flashlights who escorted visitors back to their cars; the artists who participated; and most of all, thanks to everyone who purchased artwork. Our strength lies in our sense of community, and for one very special night in Peninsula our pride was beaming. (Note: All Out Art continues through October 1 at the Bank Gallery.)

Christopher Hixson The Bank Gallery at Among Friends Peninsula (population 562)

DJ was donated

To the Editors:

In response to the "Why not local talent?" letter in the September 1 issue:

The purpose of Dancin' in the Streets, the

AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland's single

largest fundraiser, is to raise money. The 1995

event raised $75,000 to assist clients, provide education, and raise awareness.

This year a sponsor generously donated a well-known New York deejay, along with all equipment, stage, and travel expenses, to the event. This was discussed among the committee as well as made known to the Cleveland and Akron deejays. The decision was made to accept this sponsor's offer, as well as the two other corporate sponsor's offers in order to raise as much money as possible.

As a committee member, my understanding is that we all work together for the common good of the community. The Taskforce has always been grateful to the local deejays for their support, in the past and present. Everyone is always welcome to participate and contribute in any form, to make Dancin' in the Streets a successful event.

Chris McMahon Cleveland

Be above the cat fight

To the Editors:

Regarding the "Dancin' in the Streets" debate, although the [Sept. 15] rebuttal to the deejays' original letter had one or two valid points, this letter really boils down to no more than rival bars competing with one another.

Yes, Out magazine may have run ads for more than a month prior to the event, but those ads had to be paid for, and I'm sure national advertising is a lot more expensive than regional advertising. Because of the profit made by Out for that ad, I'm sure they were more than happy to cover this event. And the only way to know if that advertising had truly made up for what it cost, you would have to ask every

THE OPEN PRAIRIE by Joe Hoover

APOLOGIES

DIANE DIMASSA

oover 37-95

OPEN PUNE STUDICATE (

MARY KAY?

TUPPERWARE?

No!

244

CHIN

WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN

WELCOME LADIES

MANNERS-

person who attended their zip code and how much money they spent at Dancin' so we would have a way to prove that fact.

The rebuttal writers also claim that Dancin' is a charity event, and that it has nothing to do with Cleveland unity (or community for that matter), yet they turn around and insult the original writers for not showing their community spirit. Hello, Kettle? This is the Pot.

Based on the names signed on both letters, this is obviously just a feud between two downtown bars, and the rebuttal writers have looked for every possible opportunity to keep the others under. Real community spirit, huh? Why don't they channel some of that energy (not to mention the money they make by feeding off the misery and addictions of others) into the Cleveland Pride Festival for next

NO!

BUT WHAT POSSIBLE BUSINESS VENTURE COULD YOUR GIRLFRIEND, BEING OF COURSE JUST A WOMAN, BE INTERESTED IN?

SELLING HOT HEAD PAISAN PRODUCTS!

SHE'S NOT YOUR SPRITZ HEAD "PENGYOU" ANYMORE!

I've never experienced such a hostile environment in Washington. They've already done great harm to our community. Someday, we will all be asked (at least those of us who will be alive) "What did you do? What did you do to stop the persecution? What did you do to stop the hate? What did you do to stop the dying?"

This is an opportunity for you to answer, at least on one occasion, "When called, I responded!"

I look forward to seeing you in Washington, D.C. on October 16.

Phill Wilson, Member Emeritus Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum Los Angeles

year? They should not be happy to brag about Doing our share

how charitable they are, rather they should be happy and proud to donate their time and money and feel good in simply doing. I'm glad we're not Los Angeles, New York, Miami, or Chicago. We're Cleveland, and we should show that we are above the stereotypical catfights and name-calling of those cities.

And since Dancin' in the Streets is a community event, maybe the Dancin' in the Streets committee should look into a little input from all areas of the Cleveland community to make it an even more succesful event next year.

Eric Oswald Lakewood

Black gay men should be in march

To the Editors;

Dr. Ben Chavis ofthe NAACP and Minister Louis Farrakhan of Nation of Islam have called upon all Black men to come to Washington, D.C. on Monday, October 16 to raise awareness on issues of importance to the African American community.

Clearly, there is a great need for Black Gay men to participate in the One Million Man March. Gay men contribute vital resources to the Black community, playing vital roles as surrogate parents, mentors, and role models for our brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces, and sons and daughters. Any call that addresses mobilizing Black men should include all of us. Otherwise, we are guilty of perpetu-

To the Editors:

Greater Cleveland Community Shares raises funds for social change. These groups make an important difference.

I'm talking, first and foremost, about the Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center. The Center plays a vital in our community through the Hotline, Speakers Bureau, the PRYSM youth group and many other programs.

The American Civil Liberties Union— which fights for our rights as gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people—also receives support from Community Shares. So do Hard Hatted Women, Planned Parenthood, the Women's Center of Greater Cleveland, and 23 other organizations.

Community Shares is committed to supporting us, but we also need to support Community Shares.

One way we can do this is by attending their 10th Anniversary Casino Royale Benefit on Saturday, October 14, at 7:00 p.m. in the atrium of the BP Building on Public Square in downtown Cleveland. The entrance donation is $45.

One of the benefit co-chairs, Cleveland Heights council member Bonnie Caplan, helped pass a gay-lesbian rights ordinance there earlier this year. We need to support each other. I urge everyone to go to the benefit. Doug Braun Cleveland Heights

ating the same type of exclusion that has HIV status was deleted

historically encumbered our community with such overwhelming obstacles.

Although the Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum has not endorsed the march, we are supporting our brothers who feel they need to be there. We believe whenever there is a call for the Black Family to come together, we have an obligation to exercise our birth rights. We have a responsibility to work to resolve many of the issues negatively impacting our communities like racism, poverty, drugs and violence. And we have a responsibility to confront Homophobia wherever we may find it. We are urging all Black Gay men to participate in the One Million Man March as openly Gay men and full members of the African American community. Toregister for the march or for more information call Dennis Holmes at 314-454-1654 or Steve Walker at 713-8642242.

I can't stress to you enough how important it is for you to participate in these activities.

The following is an open letter to the board of directors and members of Stonewall Union:

As a person living with AIDS, I chose to run for a seat on the board of directors of Stonewall Union to serve as a voice for the HIV/AIDS community in Columbus. I also chose to disclose my status by listing it in my candidate biography to give the members of Stonewall Union an opportunity to elect a person living with AIDS to the board to make sure that the interests of such people would be represented by a member of their own community.

Unfortunately, my candidacy was undermined by the executive committee of Stonewall Union when they deleted my HIV status from the biography I submitted to them. Furthermore, they have failed to respond to my repeated requests for an explanation of their actions. Not that I wanted an excuse from the committee. What they did was inexcusable. If

I had been a woman, a person of color, or living

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Volume 11, Issue 7

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with a disability, removing information pertaining to my race, sex, or ability would have been unthinkable. These are identifying characteristics which make individuals uniquely qualified to represent the issues which affect their lives and which define important parts of their identities. Likewise, being a PLWA defines an important aspect of my identity.

By editing the fact that I am a PLWA from my biography, the executive committee devalues the difficult decision to disclose my status and implies that AIDS is still something to be ashamed of or to hide. Sixty-five of the ninetythree people who cast their ballots were never provided with the fact that I was a PLWA running for the board. The executive committee framed the biographies as they saw fit and when it came time to whittle down all the candidates' biographies to a two page synopsis, my biographical blurb contained two sentences attributed to me with no mention of my HIV status. Sixty-five members cast an absentee ballot with the executive committee's version of the candidates' biographies. The die had been cast and Stonewall held an election meeting at which 28 people voted.

My loss in the election is a moot point. I accept the election results but not the way in which they were manipulated. The actions of the executive committee are irreversible and their intent is irrelevant. What's done is done. If they claim this deletion was just a "typo❞ or innocent faux pas they will illuminate their gross insensitivity to the relevance of my HIV status. If they were concerned about disclosure laws, they are ignorant of the law and need to ask either of the two lawyers on the board for a free opinion.

But my job is not to justify or rationalize the actions of the executive committee. I will 10

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