Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 19:06:46 -0600 (CST) From: Kevyn Jacobs Subject: ACTION ALERT: NGLTF January Activist Alert (fwd) EXCERPTED FROM THE JANUARY 1994 NGLTF ACTIVIST ALERT ************************************************* NATIONAL GAY & LESBIAN TASK FORCE ACTIVIST ALERT January 1994 2320 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 332-6483 FAX (202) 332-0207 TTY (202) 332-6219 EMAIL ngltf@aol.com ************************************************* PHELPS' FOLLIES Holding their "God's Hate is Great" signs high above their heads, minister Fred Phelps and members of his Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) of Topeka, Kansas were spotted recently picketing NGLTF's Creating Change Conference. In addition to the activist conference, WBC members heckled Sunday services at Mel White's MCC Cathedral of Hope in Dallas. According to Phelps, WBC picketed 1,560 gay and lesbian churches, conventions, parades, and funerals in 1994 including Stonewall 25, the recent funeral of AIDS activist Pedro Zamora in Miami and a Kansas speech by poet Maya Angelou. Phelps garnered national attention when he began his campaign of picketing funerals of AIDS victims and harassing their mourning family members. Maya Angelou's confrontation with Fred Phelps led her to cancel her speech at Emporia State University. In response, an outraged coalition of over 70 organizations formed to create an organized opposition to Phelp's virulent gay-bashing. The Network for Unity and Tolerance (NUT) is a multicultural group committed to "reaffirming the traditional American values of mutual respect, tolerance and integrity." The "Reverend Church Lady" of Topeka now distributes a weekly parody and update of WBC activities called Church Chat. The Church Lady faxes WBC each week in repsonse to WBC's regular homophobic and vile faxes. ACTION: To find out more about how you can support the efforts of NUT, write to 8336 Sagamore Road, Leawood, Kansas, 66206 or email: Junemoon@fileshop.com. To download a new unauthorized biography of Fred Phelps on America Online, go to glcf->community organizations->file library->NGLTF publications. [NOTE: THE BIOGRAPHY CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN THE QUEER RESOURCES DIRECTORY (QRD), http://vector.casti.com/QRD/usa/kansas/phelps, or gopher vector.casti.com] ***************************************************** If you have an item you think should be included in ACTIVIST ALERT, please mail or fax it to , Activist Alert, NGLTF Policy Institute, 2320 17th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009; fax (202) 332-0207; e-mail ngltf@aol.com. All entries should be national in scope or should allow for activists from around the country to respond.