MARCH 6, 1998

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 9

SPEAK OUT

With no platform, who is this 'non-political' march for?

by Paula Martinac

The countdown to the new millennium is underway in the queer community, with two major events in the initial planning stages for the year 2000. A fourth march on Washington will take place in the spring of that year, while a three-day concert in Atlanta is scheduled for October. All this activity should be good news, but the "nonpolitical" rhetoric of the organizers has me fuming.

I went to two of the three past marches on Washington. The 1987 march was funereal, somber, and depressing. The memory of so many marchers wearing photos of lovers and friends who had died of AIDS is still with me. By contrast, the 1993 march-which took place in a more hopeful time was upbeat, almost raucous. In fact, it sometimes felt more like a Pride celebration than a demonstration.

But besides being fun, the march had an

aggressive political platform, and the many grassroots groups that brought their agendas to the capital gave the event an inyour-face immediacy. The most unforgettable moment for me was seeing the Colorado delegation carrying their black and white GROUND ZERO banner, a testament to the historic battle then being waged in that state against the anti-gay Amendment 2.

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So what's on the agenda for the next march? The co-sponsors are the Human Rights Campaign and the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, and the march will stress the themes of families and faith.

Amazingly, though both families and faith are very political issues when talked about in a queer context, HRC has announced that there will be no political demands raised or platforms put forth. The name of the march won't even include the words lesbian, gay, bisexual,

We must focus our energies at the state and local level

by Kerry Lobel

There has been much debate in the past few weeks about the possibility of a Millennium March on Washington for Equal Rights in the year 2000. I would like to share my thoughts with you on an exciting proposal which will more directly effect the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people at the state and local level.

Our marches in 1979, 1987 and 1993 focused our country's attention, for good reason, on building visibility and power in Washington. But the political landscape has changed dramatically, and with that, our focus must also change.

Over the past several years we have seen the center of gravity shift from action at the federal level to movement at the local and state level. Let's use the dawn of a new millennium as the time to make our activism count at the local and state level.

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We find ourselves at a time where our communities have made enormous cultural gains. Despite these gains, most gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Americans live in states that allow discrimination based on sexual orientation, that ban same-gender consensual sex, and that do not consider violence directed at the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community as a hate crime. Many states ban same-gender marriage, even though it is not legal in any state. More and more queer youth find their school groups and clubs the target of right-wing legislators that understand the power that a growing number of gay-straight alliances holds to change communities.

Last year, a record number of bills affecting the GLBT community were introduced in state legislatures. Many bad bills were defeated and a record number of good bills were passed. Two states moved bills forward that banned discrimination based on sexual orientation. Last month, voters in one of those states, Maine, voted to repeal their civil rights bill.

In state after state, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force worked with local and state activists to move their agendas forward

on issues ranging from hate crimes to sodomy to family issues to civil rights issues. In 1996, we helped launch the Federation of Statewide Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Political Organizations. Today, its executive committee works to ensure that no state has to fight any battle alone.

Our movement is growing stronger and more people are involved in their communities than ever before. With this growth, has come many challenges. Today we find ourselves at the brink of making important decisions that will forever affect our futures. At NGLTF, we believe that our communities must be visible in every state capital in America.

NGLTF's proposal for 50-state marches and actions to be held in 1999 has been widely distributed. It was first discussed at a gathering of the Federation of Statewide Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Political Organizations attended by representatives of 32 states. The proposal was then distributed in September at a roundtable meeting attended by over 30 executive directors of national GLBT political organizations and associations.

It was also discussed at numerous workshops, gatherings and meetings at NGLTF's annual Creating Change conference held last November in San Diego. It will be discussed again by national and state leaders in this month at our National Policy Roundtable.

The process of discussing the 50 state actions and marches has been lengthy and not always perfect. But it has reflected the belief that no one organization can control an entire movement's agenda. The road to our freedom is a long one, and the process is as important as the result. A national movement is fueled by the collective energy and spirit found in towns and cities across America. It is there that our futures lie.

I'm interested in your views and, I hope you'll drop me a note at NGLTF, or e-mail me at klobel@ngltf.org.

Kerry Lobel is executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

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transgender, or queer. Its official title is simply "Millennium March on Washington for Equal Rights." HRC director Elizabeth Birch says the march will set a tone to lead us into the next century.

When I read this in my local gay newspaper, I felt like I'd entered the Twilight Zone. If what has always been a political march is being touted as non-political, what are the organizers up to? I think part of the answer lies in the fall 1997 issue of HRC's membership magazine. Birch wrote an editorial about the need to learn organizing techniques from the Christian Right--a good idea, basically, but maybe she's taken one too many notes. The spin on the march sounds like an eerie mimicking of that other "non-political" political entity, the Promise Keepers.

I'm concerned that the organizers have appropriated the language of the Right to make us look nice and palatable to mainstream America. This is a conservative political maneuver. The message is, “We can't be that bad if we procreate and go to (Christian) church, right?”

By using the themes of families and faith as selling points, the organizers exploit the vulnerabilities of queer people, who desperately want families but are often denied them, and who try to maintain their faith even when reviled by organized religion. And then there's that meaningless march name-whose march? Whose equal rights? Many people will probably never know.

The proposed march has a lot in common with the other 2000 gathering, the "Rainbow Celebration Concert." According to a press release from Shelly Roberts, the concert's organizer, the event will have "no political agendas." The community will simply come together "to celebrate the successes of the Gay '90s" and "to

make a joyous noise."

Funny, but I could have sworn that the lesbian and gay successes of the 1990s were all essentially political in nature. The Supreme Court's pro-gay ruling in Romer v. Evans; the lesbian and gay highlevel appointments of the Clinton administration; the growing roster of states enacting gay rights bills; the gay adoption triumph in New Jersey; even the SelleckKline on-screen kiss. I can't think of one that wasn't at heart political.

Roberts is doing a sales job of her own, wanting us to believe that you can have lesbian and gay pride in a vacuum, that a lesbian or a gay man can have a personal life that isn't touched by politics. But then, Roberts, a former advertising executive, probably worries that the word "political" will turn off investors and concertgoers, and hopes that "mainstream" and "non-political" will play better in Peoria. That, too, is a political stance.

All these "non-political" political tactics trouble me. But the bright spot is, our local queer communities are much more politically dynamic and visionary than our slick national leaders. Think of Hawaii, where local same-sex marriage activists received almost no support from national lesbian and gay organizations until it looked like they might actually win. I'd rather be led into the new century by grassroots activists from Hawaii or Maine or anywhere else, than by conservative queers who think their cagey language can make the lesbian and gay movement suddenly seem non-political.

Paula Martinac is a lesbian writer and activist living in New York City. She can be reached care of the Chronicle, or at LNcolumn@aol.com.

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