Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 1995)
juat o ut ▼ M p t t m b a r 13, 1903 ? 11 local news It's official October is proclaimed Lesbian and Gay History Month in Oregon, thanks largely to the efforts of a proud parent T by Inga Sorensen hen Flo Olkoski, a 73-year-old retired bookkeeper, gets an idea in her head, watch out. “I had learned that two states [Massachusetts and Connecticut] had issued proclamations acknowledging and cel ebrating Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual History Month,” explains the Salem resident, who moved to Oregon two years ago with her husband, Ted, after spending the previous 45 years in Florida. “I remember that I had been impressed with [Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber’s] campaign literature. It seemed very inclusive of gays and lesbians, so I was hoping he would be supportive of this idea.” Olkoski’s plan was to persuade Kitzhaber to issue his own proclamation declaring October Lesbian and Gay History Month in Oregon. “I called his office to see what needed to be done. They told me to send in a draft, which I wrote up using the [other gubernatorial] proclamations as models. My husband and I dropped it off at the governor’s office,” she recounts. “A few weeks went by and we hadn’t heard anything, and we were starting to get worried, then a copy of the proclamation showed up in the mail. It was a wonderful feeling.” The proclamation, which was issued July 11, reads, in part: “[Whereas] gay and lesbian people have made many important contributions to soci ety; [and whereas] nine states have already banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; [and whereas] the Kitzhaber administration is com mitted to fairness and the recognition of the full rights and responsibilities of citizenship and con tributions of all Oregonians; [and whereas] Or egon voters have affirmed their commitment to these principles and have made history by electing five openly gay and lesbian legislators to the state legislature... I hereby proclaim October 1995 to be Lesbian and Gay History Month in Oregon and encourage all of our citizens to join in this obser vance.” Last year, a nationwide grass-roots network of teachers and community members, headed up by the New York City-based Gay, Lesbian and Straight Teachers Network, began working to have Octo ber recognized as Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual His tory Month. The governors of Massachusetts and Connecticut, as well as the mayors of Chicago and Boston, issued proclamations to celebrate the in augural event. “I just took what they said and geared it more toward Oregon, like the line about the five openly BLUESTONE HOCKLEY R E A L T Y . I NC leasing • sales • management A proud member of tbe community for more than 25 years RICHARD C. LEVY Vice President Associate Broker 4445 SW Barbur Blvd. Portland. OR 97201 (503) 222-3807 gay and lesbian lawmakers. That’s very unique to Oregon and very impressive,” says Olkoski, who has a long history of social activism, including her work with Common Cause (she sits on the state board). Though she has a lesbian daughter who still lives in Florida, Olkoski had not previously been involved in sexual minority rights issues. (Olkoski marched in her first Lesbian and Gay Pride parade during Portland’s celebration in June. “Every time I think of it tears come to my eyes,” she says.) “My daughter sent me some GLSTN infor mation which was ex tremely useful,” says Olkoski, adding proudly, “I have a very smart daughter.” Before submitting the final draft to Kitzhaber’s office, Olkoski asked Ron Schlittler, an openly gay legislative aide to state Sen. Pete Sorenson (D-Eugene) to review the text. “I had met Flo previ ously when she had come to the Capitol to lobby. When she informed me what she was doing I thought it was terrific,” says Schlittler, who in cluded in the proclama tion the line: “[T]he Kitzhaber administration is committed to fairness and the recognition of the full rights and responsibilities of citizenship and contributions of all Oregonians....” He says, “There’s still a widespread perception that it’s already illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. I think the statement that the administration is dedicated to the recognition of full rights highlights that this isn’t yet a reality,” says Schlittler. “I also thought it was vital to include the word ‘responsibilities.’ In the dis course over civil rights, there seems to be so much focus on rights as opposed to responsibilities. If people thought about it more in those terms, I think they’d be more supportive.” “The governor issues proclamations primarily to create good will,” says Kitzhaber spokesman John Cony. “This proclamation is a very even- keeled statement about respecting the rights of all For Your Next Visit to Ashland Country Wallows Ashland's Country lnnn if Private Baths if Heated Pool 1 f if Jacuzzi if Hiking Trails if Bicycles if if Gourmet Country Breakfasts if (503) 488-1590 (800) WILLOWS (503) 488-1611 (FAX) 1313 CLAY ST. AS HI .AND, OR 97520 people. It’s a fairly benign statement and it hasn’t created any type of a stir.” Tom Cook is the founder of the Gay and Les bian Archives of the Pacific Northwest, which researches and gathers documentation relating to gay and lesbian history in the region. He believes the proclamation has indeed created good will. “I think the most important thing about this is that you have the governor publicizing the fact that gays and lesbians in Oregon have made contributions to the betterment of the entire state.” Cook says his group is in the process of orga nizing commemorative activities, and recently re leased a list of “ 10 gay and lesbian Oregonians who made history” which it plans to distribute to local newspapers. The list includes: popular cooking author James Beard, who was bom and raised in Portland; archi tect and conservationist John Yeon; journalist Randy Shilts, author of the critically acclaimed And the Band Played On (Shilts graduated from central element of the fascist system” and that "the people most responsible for many Nazi atrocities were homosexual.” The book is published by none other than Lively Communications, and Lively has sent a solicitation letter telling people they can receive a copy of the book for free if they make a “tax deductible donation to support the Lively family while Scott goes through law school.” According to the letter, “Scott has been ac cepted at Simon Greenleaf School of Law to begin classes this fall. Simon Greenleaf is a Christian law school dedicated to promoting Christian values in American culture.” Lively and his wife, Anne, finish the missive with:"[ W]e hope you will read and enjoy The Pink Swastika. As the controversy over this book heats up (as we know it will) you will have inside knowledge about the issue and will be empowered to discuss it with authority.” “Lively’s book places him in the historical revisionist movement because he is attempting to shift our thinking about history, in this case, about who started the Holocaust,” explains Steve Gardner, research director for the Coalition for Human Dignity, which monitors right-wing and white supremacist activities nationwide. “He may not have a large following, but by publishing this book he is muddying the waters. These types of works can prompt more credible historians to re-examine historical questions.” He adds, “Others will think that it’s so astonish ing Lively would say these things that there must be some truth to his statements. The best thing for us to do is to prepare careful responses. We can’t ignore this.” Schlittler offered his own response in a recent letter to The Oregonian, where he readily admits there were gays in the Nazi Party but adds: “My only gripe is with Lively’s unwillingness to report that homosexuals also fought and died side by side with their heterosexual brothers and sisters to put a stop to Hitler’s madness.” Schlittler provided John Kitzhaber examples of positive contributions made by gay the University of Oregon in the early 1970s); and men and lesbians during World War II, including Gale Wilhelm, a lesbian novelist who was bom in that of Alan Turing, a gay British mathematician Eugene in 1908. According to Cook, Wilhelm who developed a machine which shattered the wrote We Too Are Drifting and Torchlight to Nazi submarine code, a key turning point in the Valhalla , which are generally considered to be the war. “Lively distorts by only providing a tiny slice first Jesbian-themed novels in U.S. literature. According to Cook, the U.S. Postal Service of gay history. It’s up to us to provide the truth,” he will release a 32-cent stamp on Oct. 12 which says. honors deceased gay playwright Tennessee Will A presentation entitled “Out of the Past, Cel iams. ebrating Gay and Lesbian History” will be held “The day has finally come when we as a nation Oct. 8 at the Unitarian-Universalist Congregation, begin to acknowledge the contributions of gays 490 19th St. NE, in Salem. The event is free and will be held during the 9:30 am and 11:30 am and lesbians,” says Cook. Even with the gains, there remain efforts to services. distort the place of gay men and lesbians in history. For information about Oregon Lesbian and Most recently, Oregon Citizens Alliance official Gay History Month events, contact the Gay and Scott Lively published a book entitled The Pink Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest at Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party , in 284-1872. which Lively claims that “homosexuality was the Laughing H orse Books featuring Every Woman ’s Dream by Leslea Newman $9.95 3652 SE Division ♦ 236-2893 Open Mon-Sat 11-7 lg| E veryone Welcome 236-4321 Big Screen Sports TV (Mon. nite 1/2 price nite) Electronics Darts • 2 Pool Tables Large Dance Floor • Deli Sandwiches Special Live Entertainment Call fo r information Open at 1pm Daily 2845 SE S tark • P ortland F ull S ervice L ottery