Pride Guide.

There's no denying the Pride in Cincinnati

by Doreen Cudnik

Cincinnati-No doubt about it, Pride is in the air in the Queen City. The buzz for the last few months, and especially in the last few weeks leading up to the event, has been the efforts of a handful of grassroots activists who have succeeded in bringing a Gay Pride parade back to this city on the Ohio River.

After five long years without a Gay Pride Parade in greater Cincinnati, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and our allies will step off at noon on June 11 from Burnet Woods and make our way to Hoffner Park. The park, located next to the Cincinnati Gay and Lesbian Community Center, will be the site for the community picnic and information fair.

There is not enough that can be said about the local GLBT folks who not only envisioned the return of a Gay Pride parade, but did the hard work to make this vision a reality.

Beginning with Chris Good, and including committee members Kerri and Jason Dru, Tim

Service are sure to be inspiring and empowering.

On Saturday, June 24, in Cincinnati river boat fashion, the GLBT community and our friends will close out Pride month with a cruise down the Ohio River.

Pride Party Cruise 2000 at Celebrations Riverboats in Ludlow, Ky. will benefit the Cincinnati Gay and Lesbian Center. No doubt by then, we'll all be ready to celebrate with each other one more time during Pride month, and look back on the incredible accomplishments of the past month.

It has been extraordinary to me as a relative newcomer to the Cincinnati community to witness the spirit of cooperation that existed between the many groups and organizations throughout the planning for Pride month.

Stringer, Greg Kipp, Tom STONEWALL

CINCINNA

Beckman, and the group's senior advisor Michael Chanak, this group has breathed new life and energy into the city's GLBT community.

Sadly, Cincinnati is the only city in the country whose charter specifically singles out gay, lesbian and bisexual citizens for discrimination. In light of the anti-gay Article XII of the Cincinnati City Charter, the presence of a Gay Pride parade here will be even more significant than in other cities where GLBT citizens are generally accepted as part of the community.

When we march in Cincinnati on June 11, we will be emphatically stating that the existence of an anti-gay city charter amendment has not rendered this community invisible and silent, as some would prefer. Instead, the parade will be proof positive that we are here, we are organized, and we are a vital part of this community.

The parade is the "anchor" event in a month that includes something for everyone to enjoy. Pride festivities began on June 4 with the 16th annual Drag Races and Pride Fest, benefiting the AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati. The Drag Races have consistently been among the largest Pride events held in the city. Last year the Cincinnati Fire Department estimated the attendance at over 2,000 people.

Pride month continues with a video night focusing on gay and lesbian marriage on June 7, the Be-All Transgender Conference June 7 11 (which will be capped off with a big band dinner and dance on the 10th), the World's Gayest Office Party, sponsored by the Queen City Careers Association on June 9, the Cincinnati Men's Chorus concert on June 10 and 11 and much, much more. (See page B-30 for a calendar of events.)

As dialogue about gay and lesbian issues continues within many faith communities, the Pride Interfaith Spiritual Service on June 18 is sure to be one of the highlights of Pride Month. The theme is "Celebrating our Spiritual Rainbow" and the service will incorporate Native American spirituality, Goddessbased worship, Hebrew and Christian traditions, and music by Cincinnati's feminist chorus, Muse, and the Cincinnati Men's Chorus, among others.

The featured speaker will be the Rev. Hal Porter, a remarkable theologian, scholar and friend to the GLBT community. Porter is the co-chair, along with former Stonewall Cincinnati executive director Lycette Nelson, of the Citizens to Restore Fairness committee the organization working to repeal the anti-gay Article XII from the city's charter.

Porter's former congregation, Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church, was one of the first in Cincinnati to perform same-sex holy union ceremonies. Porter, who was described by a close friend and colleague as one who is not satisfied unless he is "provoking the powers that be to come after him," sees the unfinished work of the GLBT civil rights movement as the most important social justice issue of the 1990s and into the 21st century. His words at the Pride Interfaith

Whether an event was to benefit GLSEN, the Cincinnati Gay and Lesbian Center, P-FLAG, Crossport, Stonewall, the MCC or any of the other groups, everyone helped out wherever they could.

Through the Coalition, which is a group that consists of representatives from all the area GLBT groups, the mechanism is in place

for this type of collaboration to continue well beyond Pride Month 2000. And that will be necessary, since we still face many hurdles and obstacles in Cincinnati.

The effort to repeal Article XII of the city charter has a long way to go. Laura Schlessinger's syndicated television show is scheduled to air on WCPO-TV this fall, and as of the writing of this column, the station's general manager has yet to respond to our request for a meeting.

The virulently homophobic Fred Phelps has announced that he plans to picket at the Cincinnati headquarters of Procter & Gamble to protest that company's decision not to advertise on Schlessinger's show. Just the other day during a meeting of the Cincinnati City Council's Law Committee, a councilmember lumped gay men and lesbians into the same category with pedophiles and those who engage in bestiality and necrophilia. The pages of the Cincinnati Enquirer regularly contain anti-gay editorials and letters. These are just a few of the hurdles.

But the good news is that this never-saydie community keeps finding ways to turn those negatives into positives. The repeal effort is gathering momentum as more and more fair-minded Cincinnatians realize that Article XII is just plain wrong and bad for the city. P&G's decision not to advertise on the "Dr. Laura" show continues to have a ripple effect as other national advertisers back away from the controversy. The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, an organization charged with fostering mutual respect and understanding among all citizens, has supported Stonewall's efforts on a number of recent issues.

Following a student-led petition drive, Cincinnati's Xavier University, a Jesuit Catholic institution, recently issued a welcoming statement on sexual orientation that said in part: “any prejudicial thought or actions directed against [gay and lesbian students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni] have no place within our community." And what about those offensive comments from the city council member? They did not go unchallenged. In fact, Stonewall has a meeting scheduled with this particular council member that will hopefully lead to a more respectful relationship.

Nothing, it seems, can take away this community's pride and dignity. There is no limit to what we ean accomplish. When we look back on all we have accomplished, perhaps we'll recall that it was the first Gay Pride parade in five years on June 11, 2000, that re-energized this community and reminded us of all the reasons we have to be proud.

Doreen Cudnik is the executive director of Stonewall Cincinnati, an organization that works on behalf of all gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to end discrimination and violence. For more information about Stonewall, see their web site at www.stonewallcincinnati.org or call 513-

651-2500.

Photo Jessica Wynne,

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