Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 14:05:06 -0500 From: "David B. O'Donnell" Subject: NGLTF: Camp Sister Spirit: URGENT (fwd) The situation at Camp Sister Spirit in Ovett, Mississippi continues to be dangerously tense. Attorney General Janet Reno's Community Relations Service mediators arrived on Friday, February 18, and talked with a few people and then left, ostensibly to return and continue their work. After their departure, the twisted locals phoned in a bomb threat to the local Xtian radio station aimed at Sister Spirit and have been shooting guns in the back part of the property of the camp. Camp Sister Spirit's Brenda Henson, one of the several lesbians and their families being viciously slandered and attacked, has asked for support from the national gay/bi/lesbian community. Of note, the local homophobes have used the county courthouse and one of the public school buildings for their hate rallies. We are asked to apply as much political heat as we can to the governor of Mississippi by writing letters to him and demanding that public facilities and public taxes not be used for purposes of fostering bigotry and hatred. 1) Please send letters to Governor Kirk Fordice, POB 139, Jackson MS 39205. 2) Duplicate of any letters are welcomed at Camp Sister Spirit, POB 12, Ovett MS 39464-0012; voice/fax: 601.344.1411. 3) Also, Camp Sister Spirit is asking that we place lavendar ribbons on trees and publicize their meaning in the gay and receptive mainstream media. 4) Letters to the Hattiesburg American, POB 1111, Hattiesburg MS 39401 are also urgently requested, as Brenda is concerned that the supportive letters are slowing down. Please include your return address and telephone number when writing the newspaper for verification. Request a "tear sheet", to verify publication of your letter. (I suggest that ***very diplomatic language*** be used -- this is the deep South and "outsiders" are routinely discounted (I am from Alabama...), so try to clearly express our support as tactfully as possible. In speaking with Brenda Henson of Camp Sister Spirit several times now over the telephone, I know that they are deeply grateful for the ongoing support that the community has provided. Please keep up the pressure, organizing, and support: THANKS! -- -------------------------------------------------------- Jim Lovette -- creator of >>> bigot-be-GONE! (c) <<< "I sing the body electric, I celebrate the me yet to come." -- Walt Whitman (paraphrased)