TV gay/lesbian
report a Portland first
8 : 00 .
Doors will open at 7:00. Tickets are $7 and
are available at Cat Bird Seat Bookstore, Wo
man’s Place Bookstore, Sensorium, the
Phoenix Rising Office and at the door. Child
care is available (call 223-8299 before June
7th). Wheelchair accessible.
Pat Bond will also be the keynote speaker
at Portland's Annual Lesbian and Gay Pride
Rally at Waterfront Park on Saturday, June
16th.
by Jay Brown
"We knew we'd take some heat,” Marlene
McClinton said, "But we are in the business of
news.”
McClinton was talking about KATU-TV’s
five-part series on Portland’s lesbian and gay
community. She said the first four segments
elicited about 100 phone calls, three-fourths
negative.
People are always quicker to call when they
have something negative to say," McClinton
commented.
The series, itself, could be used for junior
high sociology classes. There was nothing in
any segment to offend anyone. The report
was a general overview of a part of the com
munity which has been the object of con
troversy for thousands of years. It was part of
the continuing process of coming ou t And
not just coming out for lesbians and gays, but
also coming out for the rest of the commun
ity in acknowledging that lesbians and gays
are an integral part of the whole community.
The most touching and dramatic moment
in the report occurred during the Wednesday
segment. Ann Shepherd, co-founder with her
husband. Bill, of the Portland chapter of Pa
rents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, talk
ing about some of the lesbians and gays she
has met through PFLAG.
“ Some have asked me if they could call me
Mom.’ One man said he wanted to do so,
‘Because my mother says I’m dead,’ ” Mrs.
Shepherd said. The segment ended on that
note. We hope everyone saw that moment
Marlene McClinton did a similar report in
Dallas, Texas. "I couldn’t believe anyone
could survive in such a redneck town.” She
said the Dallas report was much more con
troversial. “We got about 500 calls on that
one.’’
McClinton said that KATG-TV is planning a
future report, with which she will not be in
volved, on “ fear and loathing;" an in-depth
look which will further probe problems inside
and outside the lesbian and gay community.
Pat Bond to perform
Hickok- Roosevelt
love story
Pat Bond, known for her widely acclaimed
one-woman show, and PBS presentation
“ Gertie, Gertie Gertie Stein Is Back, Back,
Back," is returning to Portland for another
tour de force performance as Lorena
.Hickock in Lorena Hickock & Eleanor
Roosevelt: A Love Story.
Presented as a benefit for Phoenix Rising,
Portland’s Lesbian and Gay social service
agency, Bond will perform at the Northwest
Service Center on Saturday, June 16th at
Just Out, May 25-June 8
Chicken soup
brigade aim of
PGMC and CAP
Just over a year ago, and less than a month
after the first fatality attributed to AIDS was
reported in Oregon, a group of physicians,
immune deficient patients, and other con
cerned citizens met to discuss the formation
of a community organization to coordinate
AIDS related activities. The organization,
named the Cascade AIDS Project (CAP), was
formed under the wing of the Phoenix Rising
Foundation.
Soon after the formation of CAP, Phoenix
Rising formed its first AIDS support group
and the first of many fund raisers was held to
provide CAP with funds to print and distribute
an AIDS information pamphlet.
Throughout the past year, as the number
of AIDS cases and fatalities mounted, CAP
members worked steadily to provide the
community with a level-headed approach to
educational materials and group support.
Working with the Metropolitan Human Rights
Commission, CAP representatives drafted a
City Council resolution urging increased fed
eral spending for AIDS research, the first
such resolution ever passed in suport of a
gay-related cause in Portland history. The
Multnomah County Commission soon
followed suit
In the fall of 1983 a second AIDS Forum for
medical professionals and the community at
large is co-sponsored by CAP and Good
Sam. Medical and social service profession
als of national reputation participated.
The number of reported AIDS cases in
Oregon has reached 12: there have been at
least six fatalities attributed to the condition.
During the past several months CAP has
been seeking ways to establish a program
which will provide full resources for people
with AIDS. The projected program, patterned
after San Francisco’s Shanti Project, will pro
vide much needed day to day care (excluding
medical services) and some financial assist
ance to AIDS patients.
Traditionally, when help is needed in the
gay community, someone or some group
will always provide assistance. When CAP’S
call went out about its new project an answer
was soon in coming. To provide the funds
inaugurating the project. The Portland Gay
Men’s Chorus upcoming pair of concerts,
O ur Best to You, will be benefit per
formances.
The performances will be at 8 p.m., Satur
day, June 23, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 24,
in the Eastside Performance Center, S.E.
14th Avenue at Stark Street. The Music will
include favorite selections from the chorus'
20 previous concerts.
All net proceeds will benefit the Cascade
AIDS Project, principal clearinghouse in the
Portland area for AIDS information and refer
rals. The money raised will launch a
"chicken-soup brigade" of qualified volun
teers to counsel individuals with AIDS, guide
them through the discouraging maze of
bureaucratic red tape, and help them with
physical chores.
"Although we believe strongly in the value
of our musical contribution to the commun
ity, and need money ourselves, we feel a
greater need to make an impact on the AIDS
problem in Portland," says Steve Fulmer, a
chorus spokesman. “ Consequently," he
adds, "we want this show to be the most
entertaining, most talked about event in
town."
The 90-voice chorus will be joined by inter
nationally acclaimed pianist David Smith,
and a popular local women’s trio, Bittersweet.
The music will vary from classical to con
temporary. Coinciding with Portland’s Gay
Pride Week, the event also celebrates the
fourth anniversary of the chorus.
Tickets are $6 and can be purchased in
advance at Roxy Hearts, Forward Gear,
Dugan’s, Sensorium, Somebody’s Place,
The Other Side of Midnight, and C.C. Slaugh
ter’s, or if available, at the door. Special pre
ferred seating tickets are also available at out
lets, in advance only, for $25. The additional
$ 19 is tax deductible and will go directly to the
Cascade AIDS Project.
For more information, call 287-7838.
Businesswomen give
$2,500 to McFarland
Ruth McFarland, whose success in Ore
gon’s primary last week will challenge con
servative Republican Denny Smith in the 5th
Congressional District, was given $2,500 in
campaign support by the National Federa
tion of Business and Professional Women’s
Clubs.
Polly Madenwald of Hillsboro, national
president of the group, a non-partisan wo
man's organization that claims an equal
number of Democrats and Republicans in its
ranks, said the contributions were given to
candidates deemed to support the organiza
tion's position on issues.
The federation has also pledged financial
support in one Senate race. It has given
$ 1,000 to North Carolina Gov. James Hunt
who is attempting to unseat Sen. Jesse
Helms, Republican arch-conservative and
outspoken opponent of abortion.
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