Back in 1963, Rustin was denounced on
the floor of the CIS Senate for his hom osexu
ality and earlier com m unist affiliation by
Senator Strom Th u rm o n d , just prior to the
M arch on W ashington, which the openly-gay
Rustin helped organize despite the reserva
tions of som e black civil rights leaders. Rustin
says that m any groups cam e to his defense at
that time because of the coalitions he had
built with them.
Valerie Terrigno, the openly lesbian m ayor
of the City of West Hollywood, and Steve
Schulte, one of that city’s openly-gay coun-
cilm en, thanked B W M T for input in writing
their new ordinance which restricts busines
ses from dem anding m ore than one piece of
photo ID for admission. So-called "multiple
carding” has been a racially discriminatory
policy docum ented by m any B W M T chapters.
Atlanta has a similar ordinance in effect
drafted by that city’s B W M T chapter.
Th e N A B W M T Health Com m ittee has pro
duced an A ID S brochure targeted at
minorities. Health Com m ittee chairm an Jo n
Peterson, of Berkeley, reported that third-
w orld m en represent over thirty percent of
m ale A ID S cases nationwide, and third-world
wom en constitute over seventy percent of the
national cases am ong women.
A n exciting "leadership conference” is
bringing m em bers to grips with the fact that
white m em bers and black m em bers bring
different styles to interracial gatherings. "N o
black m eeting would be conducted in the
form al and restrained m anner in which these
business meetings were conducted,” co m
m ented Jim Ivory of San Francisco. "Blacks
rely m ore on dynam ic leaders,” he said. How
ever, the general sessions often resembled
black church meetings, with whites picking
up the spirit along with the blacks.
"A terrific high results from a gathering of
2 0 0 black and white m en who know that the
very fact of their m eeting is unique — and
w ho know that the causes they prom ote are
just," com m ented Steve Dorrel, of Los
Angeles, chairm an of the convention
com m ittee.
Fired gay
wins settlement
j
A gay m an in rural Maryland has reached
an out of court settlement in an em ploym ent
discrim ination case. Frank Rockford had
claim ed that Carolina Freight Carriers fired
him solely because he is gay. Rockford was
represented by Susan Silber and National
G ay Rights Advocates, the San Francisco
based public interest law firm. Th e case is the
first claim of sexual orientation discrim ina
tion to be prosecuted under the Howard
C ounty H um an Rights law.
Leonard Graff, N G R A Legal Director, said:
"W e had a very strong case against Carolina.
It was in their best interest to settle. And, while
this settlement doesn’t set a new legal prece
dent, it does send a dear message to
em ployers: If you discriminate you’re going
to be held accountable.”
Jean O ’Leary, N G R A Executive Director,
com m ented: "Th is case is a good example of
the im portance of local anti-discrimination
laws and how we can successfully enforce
o u r rights. I want to encourage gay men and
w om en to file com plaints when they have
been discrim inated against”
Susan Silber, N G R A’s co-operating attor
ney in Maryland, said: ‘W hen the Office of
H um an Rights investigated the claim , they
found probable cause to believe that Frank
was fired because he is gay. Th is type of
discrim ination m ust end. People should not
have to experience the psychological trauma
of being fired for an irrational reason."
Rockford was with the Carolina Freight
Carriers for eight years and held a managerial
position when he was let go during a depart -
Just O ut. September, 1985
m ental "Reorganization.” N G R A had
contended this was a mere subterfuge for
discrim ination.
Rockford considers the settlement to be a
satisfactory compensation for his claim.
Scondras warns
Democrats: "Reject
us and w e ll w alk"
O penly G ay Boston City Councillor David
Scondras, testifying before the Democratic
National Com m ittee’s first Fairness C o m
m ission Hearing in Boston last m onth,
warned Dem ocratic Party leaders that to ig
nore justice for gay and lesbian people is to
ensure defeat at the polls.
“Justice is not a peripheral issue,” Scondras
said, “It is the soul of our party. Justice is not
political baggage; it is the best way to achieve
real power and the only way to keep it”
Scondras drew enthusiastic response from
the audience when he asked all gay and les
bian people in the hearing room to stand.
N oting the dozens of gay people in the audi
ence contrasted with the complete lack of
gay and lesbian respresentabon on the
"Fairness Com m ission,” Scondras said,
“ Here’s the problem . W hy aren't gay people
included?"
Scondras went on to cite rejections by the
national and state parties of gay and lesbian
caucuses and outreach efforts, the governor
of Massachusetts' ban on lesbian and gay
foster parents, and the party's virtual silence
o n A ID S funding and policy as obstacles to
full participation by gay and lesbian people in
party politics.
W ild applause and cheering briefly halted
the hearing when Scondras told the C o m
m ission, “As gay people, we are sick and tired
of ‘leaders' who want our tim e, our money,
o u r creativity, our com m itm ent, our work,
and our votes, but reject us."
'W h e n Dem ocrats act like Republicans
they force the groups they have abused and
ignored to seek other independent channels
to seek basic justice,” Scondras noted, refer
ring to growing gay and lesbian opposition to
Massachusetts G overnor Michael Dukakis.
Scondras is currently seeking re-election
to his second term on the Boston City Council.
Surveys show
anti-gay/lesbian
violence
In a recent com parison of seven inde
pendent anti-gay/lesbian violence surveys,
N G T F Violence Project Coordinator Kevin
Berrill found that the results of the surveys
had a high degree of correlation with one
another. Th e similarity of results between
the 1983 N G T F Violence Project Survey and
six other separate surveys dramatically un
derscores the validity of the methodologies
used for all seven projects.
T h e N G T F Violence Project Survey found
that 20% of gay men and 10% of lesbians
have been physically abused because of
their sexual preference. O ver 90% of the
respondents reported having experienced
som e type of hom ophobia-m otivated vic
timization. Results from the N G T F survey
were used to gain support for a California
bill (A B 8 4 8 ) protecting lesbians and gay
m en from bias-motivated violence and
harrassm ent Th e bill was signed into law
last year. Earlier this year, the survey results
were implemental in convincing the CIS.
Com m ission on Civil Rights to encourage its
State Advisory Com m ittees to examine
anti-gay/lesbian violence.
Fall Into
Phoenix Rising
Group Sessions
Gay Men’s Therapy Group
Thursdays 7-8:30 p.m.
Therapy and Support Group for Gay Men and
Lesbians Abused As Children
Thursdays 6 8:00 p.m.
Lesbians Molested as Children: Surv ivors Group
Mondays 6 30 8:30 p.m.
Tuesdays 10:30 am . 12:30 p.m.
Orientation Group for Lesbians Molested
as Children
Tuesdays 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Adolescent Children Living in Gay or Lesbian
Households: Supfxirt Group
Tuesdays 4:30 6:30 p.m.
Phoenix Rising Group Program
Wednesdays 6:30-10:00 p.m.
Weekend Workshops
Lesbians and Gay Men Dealing With
Chemical Dependency
Saturday, Sept. 14 9:00 a m. to 4:30 p.m.
1
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Gay and Grey Issues
Thursdays, Sept. 19 & 26 7.00-10.00 p.m
Partners of Lesbians Molested as Children
Saturday. Sept. 28 9:30 a m. to3.00 p.m.
How to Survive in Social Situations
OR
Everything You Wanted to Know About Small Talk
Saturday, Oct. 13 10:00 a m. to 3:00 p.m.
Lesbians in Transition
Saturday and Sunday. Oct. 19 & 20
9:00 a m. to 4:30 p.m.
Coping With Death and Dying
Saturday and Sunday. Nov. 23rd & 24th
9:00 a m. to 4:30 p.m.
Stop Now! Smoke Stopping Program
Classes starting monthly
Call T o d a y To h in d ( )ut More A b o u t These
a n d O ther Mental / health P rogram s at
Phoenix Rising
2 2 3 -8 2 9 9
phoenix rising foundation
408 S W 2nd Avenue Suite 407
Portland Oregon 97204
1503)223-8299
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