ACTIVIST ALERT June 1993 MILITARY "COMPROMISE?" The NGLTF Military Freedom Initiative announces a National Mobilization Against the Ban, and has published, "LIFT THE BAN--Stop Discrimination Action Kit.' Action alert: NGLTF's Mobilization Against the Ban Is our response to the proposed "compromises." The campaign kicks off with an action In front of the White House on July 4th. Lesbian and gay veterans, and other community leaders will serve notice to our elected officials that our freedoms cannot be compromised. Future targeted actions include a march from the Lincoln Memorial to the White House on July 15th, and a visit to Senator Sam Nunn's office In Atlanta on August 15th. For more information, contact Jason Heffner at NGLTF, (202) 332-6483, ext. 3360. LIFT THE BAN contains all the information activists need to intelligently and successfully lobby their Members of Congress on the military ban issue. Right now we need many more calls, more letters, and more visits. This is the critical time for many legislators to decide their positions on this issue, so we must act now or lose this fight. Our 8-page military action kit will be an invaluable resource, as recent developments are explained, and an action plan for the next two months is laid out. A tentative Congressional schedule is included, and we provide tips for visiting, calling, and writing your legislators. The proposal for lifting the ban endorsed by NGLTF is spelled out in detail. A military fact sheet section gives the text of the Department of Defense directive, and demonstrates the enormous cost of the policy in both dollars and lives. The action kit contains a briefing paper which you can leave with your Members after your visit, or mail if you cannot meet in person. Additional information on the Mobilization Against the Ban is also provided. For your free copy of the military action kit, write to Lift the Ban, NGLTF Publications Department, 1734 14th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009, or call the publications voice mailbox at (202) 332-6483, ext. 3327, SHOW YOUR PRIDE June is Pride month for the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community, and there are many ways you can be a part of our Family of Pride. Parades and festivals are taking place around the country this summer, so activists have numerous opportunities to march, rally, and celebrate being part of our civil rights movement. Whether at home, or on the road, plan to take part in a local Pride celebration. Keep the energy of the March On Washington alive! NGLTF is also participating In numerous Pride festivals around the country. Keep your eyes open for speakers from the Task Force staff, ads In local Pride program books, and information tables at festival sites. We are offering a Pride special for activists to join the Task Force. Annual membership, a $35 value, is only $10 during June. Call NGLTF at (202) 332-6483, and follow the voicemall instructions for new membership. FIGHT THAT RIGHT! NGLTF will host a Fight the Right Regional Summit September 4 and 5 in Cincinnati. The two-day training for activists facing ballot initiatives will include an overview of the Religious Right and information about building coalitions, media advocacy, grassroots organizing, and campaign strategy. The local sponsor is Stonewall Cincinnati. Call Perl Jude Radecic, NGLTF Deputy Director of Public Policy, for details at (202) 332-6483, ext. 3302. Registration Is limited. Scholarships are available. The NGLTF Fight the Right Project has updated the 1993 edition of our 120-page Action Kit, which includes information on Religious Right groups, homosexuality and religion, organizing with people of color, media advocacy, rural organizing, legal pointers, voter contact, field strategy, organizing against violence, bigot busting, allied organiza- tions, countering rhetoric, a national resource list, and more. For a copy of the 1993 Fight the Right Action Kit, send $1 0 to NGLTF Publications Department, 1734 14th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009, or call the publications voice mailbox at (202) 332-6483, ext. 3327, D.C. STILL NEEDS YOU Washington, D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly signed a sodomy reform bill last month after activists successfully guided the legislation through the city council. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia currently have laws banning certain sexual acts between consenting adults. Because D.C. is not a state, with only limited home rule, legislation enacted by the D.C. City Council is subject to a 60-day review period during which Congress can block implementation of the legislation. The D.C. Right to Privacy Amendment Act, the official title of the sodomy repeal law, has now been sent to Capitol Hill for this review period. As D.C. does not have any Senators or a full-voting Representative, constituents from outside the District actually have more clout than D.C. residents. Activists must contact their Senators and Representatives at once. Urge them not to interfere with legislation passed by the elected officials of D.C. If your members are conservative, ask them to support a bill that limits government interference in the personal lives of citizens. Write and call: U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510; (202) 224-3121 and U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515; (202) 225-3121. If you have an item you think should be included in ACTIVIST ALERT, please mail or fax it to Richard Wood, Activist Alert editor, NGLTF Policy Institute, 1734 14th St., NW, Washington, DC 2009-4309, fax (202) 332-0207. All entries should be national in scope or should allow for activists from around the country to respond. HOMOPHOBIA BACKSTAGE? The 1993 National Black Theater Festival will be held during the week of August 2-7, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This third biennial event will feature some of the best and brightest of America's Black Theater community, but once again Pomo Afro Homos, the award-winning Black gay performance group has been excluded. The only reason for this ban appears to be homophobia. They offered to bring their show, FIERCE LOVE: Stories from Black Gay Life, in 1991, but the festival did not respond. The offer to present their second show, DARK FRUIT, this year was again met with silence. This despite Pomo Afro Homos' numerous awards, critical acclaim, and sold-out runs throughout the United States. Together, we are not calling for a boycott, but for speaking out. Activists should write to Larry Leon Hamlin, Director, National Black Theater Festival, 610 Coliseum Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27106, and tell him that gay issues are important to African Americans. Send copies of your letters to NGLTF, Activist Alert editor. CREATING CHANGE UPDATE Calling all activists in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina area: local host committee organizing meetings for Creating Change 1993 are now underway. If you'd like to be a part of this effort, please attend the next host committee meeting on Saturday, July 10, at 1:00 p.m., at the Herald-Sun Civic Room, 2828 Pickett Road, Durham, North Carolina. The 6th Annual Creating Change Conference is now accepting scholarship applications for the November 1993 conference to be held in Durham, North Carolina. The scholarship program is designed to assist limited-income activists, activists of color, and activists with disabilities. The scholarship application deadline is September 10 (Student deadline is September 24). To receive an application, call or write the Task Force. While 85 activists received scholarship assistance last year, we were unable to meet the needs of many other qualified applicants. If you'd like to make a contribution to the Creating Change Scholarship Fund or for any other information about Creating Change 1993, call Ivy Young, Director of Creating Change, at (202) 332-6483, ext. 3304. MARCH ON WASHINGTON VIDEO READY Torie Osborn, Phill Wilson, Urvashi Vaid, Dr. Benjamin Chavis, and Martina Navratilova. U.S. Senators and Representatives, mayors, and other government officials. Actors, activists, and organizers. The electrifying words of all these March speakers have been captured for posterity. The authorized video of the March on Washington is now available for purchase. A group called Project 1993 has produced a one-hour video of the 1993 MOW, featuring the March, the main stage, the Wedding, the civil disobedience actions, and all the other major events of the March, filmed by eight video crews during the historic weekend. If you need a home video of a million or so of your closest friends, this one was made for you. For a copy of the video, send a check for $24.50, plus $2.50 for shipping, to Project 1993, 2020 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20006. A portion of the proceeds from sale of the video benefits NGLTF, NGLTF membership is $35 for individuals, $60 per household, $100 for oganizations, $20 for limited income. The first $35 of your gift will be allocated to NGLTF's lobbying programs, and is not tax-deductible. The balance of your gift supports the organizing, educational and media activities of NGLTF Policy Institute, and is fully tax-deductible. Make checks payable to NGLTF Policy Institute, 1734 14th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20009-4309.