ju st out ▼ may 1092 ▼ 7
Black gay pride is a
catharsis
Black Lesbian and Gay Pride D ay-the second
such African-American gay pride celebration-is
scheduled for Sunday, May 24, in Washington,
D.C.
When African-American gay men and lesbi
ans come together in celebration of our identity
and struggle, it is a catharsis. We are free to relish
in our celebration and emancipation.
Our celebration is not exclusive, but inclusive.
It is open to all who would like to join in jubilation
of the African-American gay experience.
On St. Patrick’s Day, I, too, celebrated with
my Irish gay friends. If Latino, Asian or Native
American gay men and lesbians commemorate
their labor in the struggle for gay human rights,
we should embrace them.
Diversity does not have to weaken us, it can
strengthen us. Our collective sense of community
must take precedence over our differences; we
must show deference to race, religion, ethnicity,
and political ideologies in order to forge together
a strong gay community. We must come together
to fight our common oppression, homophobia, as
well as the other ills which plague our society;
racism, sexism, and ageism, to name just a few.
Ray Mobley
Gabor eyed Garbo
Zsa Zsa Gabor is not a lesbian but if she were,
she’d have set her sights on Greta Garbo.
“I first met Greta Garbo at a party in Califor
nia,” Gabor related in her new book. One Life is
Not Enough. “When she breezed into the room, I
almost fainted. My husband, George Sanders,
made things worse by informing Greta, ‘My wife
has a crush on you. ’ I blushed scarlet Greta eyed
me up and down and responded, ‘She’s a very
beautiful girl, your wife.’
“The next time I met Garbo, I was alone at a
party in New York,” Gabor goes on. “When the
party was over, Greta asked if she could drive me
home. I said yes, and when we got to my hotel, for
a moment I felt like inviting Greta in. Then she
said, ‘Darling, would you like to come to my
apartment?’ I was paralyzed. Then she kissed me
straight on the mouth. I couldn’t help kissing her
back, because she was so beautiful.
“I ’ve never had lesbian tendencies,” Gabor
insists, “but if I had, the woman of my life would
definitely have been Greta Garbo."
Gay bar manager attacked
A vicious attack on a prominent member of
San Francisco’s gay community has triggered a
get-tough response from the city’s mayor, its
police chief, and its district attorney.
According to police, Cameron “Tina” Tanner,
45, emerged from a theater when two men dressed
in black began stalking him. One of them then
struck Tanner in the head with a baseball bat and
left him bleeding on the sidewalk as witnesses
called for medical and police assistance.
Tanner, manager of Lily’s, a gay bar, was a
well-known member of the gay community who
frequently performed community service. He
underwent several hours of surgery after his as
sault and has not regained consciousness.
Officials have promised to devote full re
sources to the investigation into Tanner’s assault.
Police said they were uncertain whether the beat
ing was gay related or was an attempted robbery.
There is a $20,000reward posted for the arrest
and conviction of the person or persons respon
sible for this brutal attack. Please call the Mission
Police Station in San Francisco, (415) 553-9128.
All witness information will be kept confidential.
ACT UP on ballot
Steve Michael, a member of the ACT UP/
Presidential Project and a resident of Seattle,
plans to run in the Washington State Presidential
Preference Primary on May 19, 1992.
Michael is filing as a Republican to force the
issue of AIDS and gay and lesbian rights into the
Presidential campaign.
Upon qualifying for the ballot, Michael will be
entitled to publish a statement in the Voters Pam
phlet that will be distributed to all registered
voters in the stale.
“The idea is to get the word out to every voter
in Washington,” said Michael. “Our issues can no
longer be ignored. We will expose the genocidal
record of George Bush on AIDS.
Any Democrat in Washington State can vote
on the Republican Primary Ballot this year, be
cause the state’s Democratic party is abiding by
the results of the caucuses held March 3.
“We can turn it against them by getting Demo
crats to cross over and vote for a ‘Republican’
candidate who’s aqueer, pro-choice, AIDS activ
ist,” Michael noted.
If Michael can swing 15 percent in a protest
vote, he will be allotted delegates to the Republi
can National Convention to be held in Houston in
August.
“The Republicans will have no choice but to
let us into the convention if we have delegates.”
promises Michael.
Oscar ceremony focuses on
lesbian, gay issues
Although gay and lesbian activists were un
able to disrupt the 64th annual Academy Awards
Show as promised, their widely publicized pro
tests against Hollywood’s negative portrayals of
gays and lesbians helped make the event more
political than expected.
In a first for the Academy Award ceremony,
Debra Chasnoff, an open lesbian filmmaker who
won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short Sub
ject, stepped to the microphone and thanked,
among others, her lover of 12 years, Kim Klausner.
ChasnofFs film, “Deadly Deception,” was an
exposé about people killed or maimed by radioac -
tivity leaking from a General Electric nuclear
power plant near Hanover, Washington.
Another first was when Bill Lauch accepted
an Oscar on behalf of his lover, the late Howard
Ashman, who died last year at age 40 from AIDS.
Ashman, a lyricist, and Alan M enken won an
Oscar for Best Original Song for “Beauty and the
Beast.”
“Howard and I shared a home and a life
together," Lauch told the audience. “This is the
first Academy Award given to someone w e’ve
lost to AIDS.”
Another important message was when actor
Richard Gere delayed his announcement of an
Oscar to urge viewers to pressure their elected
officials to redirect funds from defense budgets
into AI DS research. More than three dozen celeb
rities crossing the stage, including host Billy
Crystal, wore red ribbons to show support for the
'struggle against AIDS.
MISS THE FLOAT?
DON'T MISS THE BOAT!
Come out to the banks of the
Willamette to cheer the
LCP's Dragon Boat Paddlers
to victory
June 6 & 7
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
South of the
Hawthorne Bridge
LESBIAN COMMUNITY PROJECT
DRAGON BOAT TEAM 1992
This ad
paid for
by:
Cathy Siemens
Bridgetown Realty
287-9370
It's My Pleasure
236-0505
For race time and
more info call
248-7985
A Rose Festival and Sister Cities Event
Millyn James
Friends of the
Kathy Tysinger
Bridgetown Realty Stan Wiley Realtors LCP Dragon Boat
232-6000
248-7985
287-9370