A-10 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE Pride Guide 1998
Teacher honored for gay and lesbian youth activism
by Doreen Cudnik
Cleveland-Long-time educator and safe schools advocate Judy Montgomery was given something to be proud of recently when she was awarded the 1998 Holloway/ Human and Civil Rights Commission Award by the Ohio Education Association. She accepted the award at a May 1 banquet at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Columbus.
The award is presented to an individual OEA member for "outstanding contributions to the promotion or execution of excellent human relations skills and interpersonal relationships as modeled by example."
As an out lesbian in her profession as an
elementary media specialist with Lakewood city schools, Montgomery was honored for her work to make schools a safe place for all students, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students.
"My education association affirmed my activism," Montgomery said, commenting on the significance of the award. "They've affirmed that we should be teaching respect for all in our schools. No kid can learn properly when they're not feeling safe emotionally."
Her job puts her is a position to find answers to the question of how to make schools safe for gay and lesbian students and faculty. She recently ran into a situation
Youth group hosts fifth annual Pride breakfast
by Ed Hausfeld
Cincinnati-Saturday, June 6 will mark the fifth annual pancake breakfast for the Cincinnati Youth Group.
This breakfast is the only fundraiser for the group, which is a program of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Greater Cincinnati.
The Cincinnati Youth Group has been in existence for six years and offers support, education, and recreation for gay, lesbian, bi, and transgendered youth in a clean and safe environment.
During the course of the year the group organizes outings, dances, coffee shops and other events. Weekly meetings are held every Sunday from 6 pm to 8 pm with chances for mutual support, discussion, and educational speakers.
The annual pancake breakfast brings the adult advisors and youth members together
in a "full court press" to provide a fresh and delicious breakfast to patrons. Working together to solicit materials for the breakfast, decorating, serving and cleaning up make for a lot of work but a lot of fun for the young people.
Come out to enjoy a full breakfast of pancakes, sausage, bacon, fresh fruit salad, juice, and coffee! A donation of $6 is requested to help support the lesbigay-t youth of Cincinnati. Vegan tastes will be provided for.
The pancake breakfast will be held at Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church, 103 William Howard Taft Rd. in Cincinnati from 10 am to 1 pm on Saturday, June 6.
Persons interested in the Cincinnati Youth Group may contact the organization at 513684-8405.
Ed Hausfeld is the secretary of the Cincinnati Youth Group board.
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LAND Fest
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where a teacher told her she was going to ask the principal's permission to use a book that presented gay and lesbian families in a positive light.
That attitude is understandable, Montgomery said, because so far, "No school district has made it clear that they expect teachers to advocate on behalf of lesbian and gay students."
"Several [districts] have said that harassment won't be tolerated," she said. "but they haven't made it clear that these topics should be included in appropriate places in the curriculum. Gay and straight teachers alike are afraid to approach the subject. There is a difference between 'asking permission' and preparing the principal for any possible post-discussion calls and comments."
Montgomery also said she often hears students-some as young as the second grade-use the word gay in a derisive fashion. Well-equipped to handle such a challenge, Montgomery is comfortable stepping in to such a situation.
"I ask the students, 'What does that mean to you?' It's a matter of Judy Montgomery just dealing with the basic respect
issue. There are words we don't use because they can be hurtful. And if a parent calls, I would simply tell them, 'I want all people treated with respect'."
Montgomery started down her road to activism is 1995 through the JESE (Just, Equitable and Safe Education) group at Cleveland's Lesbian and Gay Center. When the group's founder suffered injuries in a car accident, Montgomery said, "she passed the baton to me."
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Teachers Network was beginning to gather momentum, and JESE members eventually became GLSEN members. Montgomery is currently co-chair of the Cleveland GLSEN chapter, along with Berea educator Jim Hassel.
Montgomery later became a founding member of the Ohio Education Assn.'s Gay and Lesbian Caucus, a group dedicated to addressing the issue of homophobia in the schools. She also joined the Lesbian Teachers Network, a group of educators who meet to share stories, ideas and encouragement, and helped found the Lakewood Gay Straight Leadership Alliance, an educators group.
In addition, she remains active at the Cleveland Lesbian-Gay Center, with their speaker's bureau and as a trainer for the SSAFE Project,
A
DOREEN CUDNIK
Safe Schools are for Everyone.
Montgomery said that GLSEN is for anyone concerned with making schools safe for students and teachers, saying she often hears comments like 'Oh but I'm not a teacher' when she talks about the organization. "We need people with all skills, not just teachers and educators," Montgomery said. "This needs to be everyone's issue."
Montgomery said that winning the award from the association was meaningful to many other people besides herself and her partner Sally Stohlman, (who is also a GLSEN member.)
"After receiving the award a woman came up to me and said, 'You have no idea what this means to people,' Montgomery recalled. "But I do, and that's why I do this work-because so many people are still so afraid to speak up. As a young person, when I heard about courageous people, like the people who hid Anne Frank during World War II, and the people who worked on the Underground Railroad, I'd often wonder, 'What would I have been doing?' And now that I'm doing this work, I'd like to think that I'd have been right there beside them."
Museum founder to give PACT diversity workshop
by Jim Wagner
Cincinnati-People of All Colors Together of Cincinnati will sponsor an interactive workshop titled "Healing the 'Isms' as We Heal Ourselves" on Thursday, June 18 at pm.
7
Facilitated by Paul Hawkins, the workshop will be held in conjunction with Cincinnati's Pride Month celebration at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Cincinnati.
The workshop is based on the premise that in order to address racism, homophobia, sexism, and other forms of oppression efficiently, we must cope with the impact of these oppressions in our personal lives. Hence, the workshop is designed to help participants heal social oppression in their own lives while becoming empowered to heal social oppression in the community.
Paul Hawkins is the national training facilitator for the National Association of Black and White Men Together Multi-Racial/MultiCultural Institute. He is also the founder and executive director of Museum of the Quest for Social Justice in Pittsburgh. The museum is the nation's first museum to document the full range of social justice struggles in U.S.
history, including the struggle of sexual minorities.
This workshop is a continuation of PACTCincinnati's monthly rap session series, which takes place the third Thursday of each month at the community center. It is free and open to the public.
For more information on these or any other PACT Cincinnati functions, please call the PACT voice mail hotline at 513-395-7228 (513-395-PACT).
PACT is currently enlisting new members. Annual membership rates are $20 for an individual and $35 for a household. Call the hotline to request a membership application.
People of All Colors Together Cincinnati is a gay and lesbian, multiracial and cultural organization committed to fostering supportive environments wherein racial and cultural barriers can be overcome and the goal of human equality realized. To these ends, its members engage in social, educational and cultural activities as a means of dealing with racism, homophobia, sexism, and other inequalities in our communities and in our lives. All are welcome.
Jim Wagner is a co-chair of People of All Colors Together Cincinnati.