April 20, 2001 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

communitygroups

Five events mark Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Cleveland-Asian Pacific American Heritage Month has its origins in the 1970s. The event, originally a week long, has expanded into a full month to be celebrated annually during the month of May.

"Thinking Outside the Box" is an APA Heritage Month celebration co-sponsored

by Asians and Friends Cleveland at the Cleveland Lesbian-Gay Center. It will encompass a series of events that are queer APA-specific for an LGBT and non-LGBT audience alike. These varied events will include displays, exhibits, films, and panel discussions.

Forum helps get ready for 'Out and Equal' conference

Cincinnati-A short six months from now, Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky will host the Out and Equal Conference, the preeminent national conference on workplace issues for the LGBT community.

To begin preparations for this event, Out and Equal Workplace Advocates are teaming up with the National Association of Black and White

to examine racism and homophobia together, and look at how those oppressions interrelate."

To achieve these goals, Out and Equal Workplace Advocates has invited the National Association of Black and White Men

OutEQUAL

Men Together to conduct a pre-conference workshop:

The workshop, titled "The Intersection of Racism and Homophobia" will be held on Saturday, May 5, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm at Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, 103 William Howard Taft Rd. (near Auburn Ave.) in Cincinnati.

This workshop will provide an in-depth forum to discuss these important issues, and assist attendees in identifying the work we all need to do to combat the "isms" that divide us as a community.

"As we began contemplating how best to mobilize the Cincinnati LGBT community in support of the Out and Equal Conference, we knew we needed to build racial equity into our efforts, and felt strongly that we had to be accountable to LGBT people of color," said event chair Lauren Carey. "The May 5 workshop helps us do that by taking us out of the strict confines of LGBT issues. Instead, the workshop will encourage us

Together to conduct "The Intersection of Racism and Homophobia," one of a series of workshops that the association conducts for LGBT organizations and conferences across the country.

Nat Martin, one of the workshop cofacilitators summarized the workshop by stating, "In the NABWMT we believe that all forms of social injustice are linked. Like bricks in a wall, they serve to hold each other in place.

Rather than attempting to remove one brick alone, we advocate work that ultimately seeks to deconstruct the entire wall. This workshop is designed to empower us to do that kind of work."

Stonewall Cincinnati, the National Association of Black and White Men Together and other community organizations will underwrite the May 5 workshop. There is no charge to participate, and breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Advance registration is requested by April 30. To register, contact Lauren Carey at Stonewall Cincinnati at 513-651-2500, or e-mail lc3579@aol.com.

'Behind the Mask' to be theme of the Other Prom

Columbus In the beginning, we sought out identities. We understand those identities by how we are allowed to showcase them.

Join Fusion on Ohio State University's campus at the Hillel Center on Saturday, May 12 from 9:30 pm to 1:30 am, for the greatest show of identity to hit Columbus yet.

The annual Other Prom will be packed again

"The prom can be so important to people,

it is almost the culmination of youth. It is so important to give this experience to all those who might otherwise not be able to fully enjoy it," said Art Friedrich, this year's event coordinator. "And besides that, it'll just be relaxed and a good time to meet new people."

KALEIDOSCOPE

as high school and college students dance for freedom, for love, and quite plainly to boogie down. The theme this year will be "Behind the Mask" to highlight the transgendered, gay, bisexual and lesbian youth of Columbus who can't or couldn't take their real date of choice to their prom. Straight allies are naturally welcomed; everyone should just strut their stuff and have a good time.

This is the second year that Ohio State University has hosted the event in conjunction with the Kaleidoscope Youth Coalition. The Ohio State student group Common Ground and the school's Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Student Services have lent support to the event, along with many local businesses from the community. The community support and involvement guarantees that the event will be a success.

The Other Prom will be a non-alcoholic event, like in previous years.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased after May 1 at OSU's Student Gender and Sexuality Services Office (614292-6200), Kaleidoscope (614-294-7886) or the Hillel Center (614-294-4797).

The Hillel Center is at 46 East 16th Ave., and additional parking will be available at the Summit United Methodist Church across the street.

SAVE MONEY!

Call TODAY about reserving your ad space in the 2001 Gay People's Chronicle PRIDE GUIDE!

216.631.8646 or 800.426.5947

The focus of celebration is to give the APA community what it has often lacked in the past: visibility. There are many untold stories and experiences interwoven into America's vast economic, historical, and sociopolitical landscape. APA Heritage Month is an opportunity for these stories to be rediscovered while simultaneously contributing to a reconstruction of a new, more inclusive language of diversity. The purpose behind APA Heritage Month is to spark a dialogue within the mainstream LGBT community while at the same time empowering queer APAs to consider their place within the LGBT community at large and in American society in general.

by Asians & Friends Cleveland with queer APA mini-film festival to follow.

May 10, 8 pm-Pride Colors: Panel discussion on issues dealing with race and ethnicity in the LGBT community. May 17, 8 pm-Putting Spice in Your Rice: a talk/poetry reading by Roland Sintos Coloma on queer APA identity politics.

The Center

Ultimately, the overall encompassing vision of the program is to create a deeper understanding of this country's sexual and cultural diversity in the hopes of helping the LGBT movement achieve its dream of social justice and equality for all.

May 4, 7 pm-APA Heritage Month Reception Kick-off: Reception party hosted

May 24, 8 pm-Coming Out, Coming Home: a film which profiles four APA families in San Francisco and the issues they deal with on LGBT issues. Discussion to follow.

May 31, 8 pm-One Percent People: Checkmarking that "Other" Box: a talk on the impact of HIV and AIDS within the Asian Pacific American community with a tentative screening of the film Honor Thy Children.

Contact Karl Kimpo at the center for more information, 216-651-5428, or see www.lgcsc.org/calendar

or

www.geocities.com/afcleveland/eventsframe.html. The Cleveland Lesbian-Gay Center is located at 6600 Detroit Ave. ✔

Stonewall celebration caps Pride week on June 16

Cincinnati-Plans are well underway for one of the biggest and most anticipated events on Cincinnati's social calendar-the annual Stonewall Cincinnati Celebration.

The gala event is the largest fundraiser of the year for Stonewall. This year will mark the 19th anniversary of the event, which will take place

The entertainment committee is very close to securing a nationally known personality to appear at the event. However, we can't announce who it is until the ink dries on the contract.

on Saturday, June 16 at the STONEWALL

Northern Kentucky Convention Center.

CINCINNATI

The event will cap a full week of Priderelated activities, including the Pride parade on June 10.

The theme of the 2001 Stonewall Celebration is "Looking Back, Moving Forward." We will be celebrating the many accomplishments of our GLBT community and organizations, and recognizing the various groups in our community that, like Stonewall, work to make Cincinnati a better place for all citizens.

We'll keep you posted with information about the 19th annual Stonewall Cincinnati celebration on the Stonewall web site www.stonewallcincinnati.org. For ticket information call 513-588-6338.

Community Groups

The "Community Groups" columns on this page are published by the Gay People's Chronicle free of charge, as a public service. They are written by members or officers of each non-profit organization, reflecting the views of their group.

If your organization would like to submit a column for this page, contact the Chronicle at 216-631-8646, tollfree 800-426-5947, or e-mail editor @chronohio.com.

HEY! Look Me Over!

Tell our advertisers

you saw them in the Gay People's Chronicle!

PRYSM

NOW OPEN!

Grand Opening May 4-6!

14309 Madison Ave. Lakewood 216-521-3998 prysm_collectibles@hotmail.com Mon-Sat 9am-9pm Sun 10am-6pm

Fine & Custom Jewelry

Large Pride Line

Incense

Incense Burners

Candles

Unique Gifts

Collectibles

at