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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 18, 1997)
ju st o u t ▼ aprii 1 8 . 1 9 8 7 ▼ 9 See ■) titillile Listiifs h tir wtkpigt Focusing in Sherry Harris wants to put her energy and experience to work for Seattle by Inga Sorensen “One of the things I have been doing over the past year or so is writing a book about the lesbian and gay community with a focus on the gay black community,” Harris tells Just Out. “The impetus came from the No on 9 cam “That’s true, but I always try to grow paign. At that time we were touring [throughout from my experiences,” says the affable the Pacific Northwest] working the black churches and getting beaten up left and right. Despite that, Harris, a candidate for Seattle City Council, gay people would cling to the church no matter Harris, you may remember, made history when how anti-gay the minister,” she explains. “It got me wondering about the gay African American she became the nation’s first out African Ameri community. This book is essentially a collection can lesbian elected to public office. The year was 1991. The office? Well, Seattle City Council. of thoughts and reflections about that community Despite her progressive political stance— as it exists today.” which, relatively speaking, is still tagged as a plus Harris says she does not yet have a publisher, in the Emerald City—Harris lost her 1995 re- and probably won’t pursue the book project while election bid. she’s campaigning. “Losing an election is not a negative thing,” “I made that mistake before,” she laughs, reflects Harris, who nonetheless acknowledges referring to spreading that the sting of a loss can hurt pretty badly. herself too thin. "One of the major lessons I walked away with She will, however, is that you really must remain actively involved stay focused and not with the National Black spread yourself too thin,” Lesbian and Gay Lead says Harris, now 40. “I ership Forum, a national was working full time. I organization that works was promoting a housing to empower black lesbi levy, and I was a candi ans and gay men by de date. You can’t do all veloping their leadership three things well. The skills, increasing their second thing 1 learned is visibility and building that in politics you have bridges among various to publicly talk about communities. your successes. I’m not a The group recently show horse; it doesn’t established a regional come naturally to me. But structure to better repre the fact is you can do all sent all parts of the coun sorts of great things, but try, and Harris was se unless you talk about lected as the Pacific them people aren’t going Northwest’s regional to know it. When you’re representative. In the running for public office, role, she will work that’s a detriment.” closely with other lesbi During her four years ans and gay men in Or “I learned...that in politics egon on the Seattle City Coun and Washington. cil, Harris chaired the She is also a member Education and Housing of the National Black committees, co-chaired a representative on the Lesbian and Gay Lead Families and Education ership Forum 10- the Joint Committee on you have tO publicly talk ’s about show horse; it doesn ’t come Education, and served as r , Levy Oversight Commit woman, five-man board your naturally successes. m not to / me. ” a tee. of directors. Harris helped orches As for politicking, trate the successful 1995 Housing Levy cam Harris says she plans to hold an official campaign paign, which she says will lead to the building of kick-off party come May or June. She hopes to 120 housing units for the working poor and dis raise $200,000—$40,000 more than last time. abled, in addition to allowing low-income senior “That’s my budget,” she says. “Unfortunately, citizens to keep their homes in good repair. it takes that much to run a campaign these days.” “I grew up living in public housing in Newark, Harris lost her 1995 re-election bid to now- New Jersey. It was nothing like the public housing former Councilman John Manning, who resigned we build in Seattle today,” says Harris, who moved late last year from the $75,505-a-year post to to that city in 1978 to work as an engineer for defend himself against assault and burglary Boeing. “Those housing projects put hundreds of charges. families in one building, then clustered the build In January, she joined 101 other candidates ings together in large campuses. The failures I saw who vied for the vacant seat. Each made a three- in this approach led me to work as an activist for minute presentation to the Seattle City Council integrated, affordable housing in neighborhoods.” about why she or he was best for the job. Harris, Harris also traveled extensively speaking out along with retired Seattle Fire Chief Claude Har for gay and lesbian rights. She became a familiar ris, was among those who didn’t make the cut. face in Oregon during the No on 9 campaign, With other council seats opening up down the especially after appearing at a rally that drew road, however, Harris is undeterred. 10,000 people to Pioneer Courthouse Square in “I feel like this is God’s calling,” she says. October 1992. Flanked by other local and na tional activists, Harris ripped the OCA for its For more information, contact the Citizens fo r discriminatory tactics. Sherry Harris Committee, PO Box 2513, And she says her Oregon experiences left an Seattle, WA 98111, (206) 522-9393, ore-mail indelible imprint on her. 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