300 At SF Prop 8 Forum;
'No. More. Closets.'
America's gay Mecca finally got around to holding a proper town hall to vent and plot strategy. In terms of numbers, just a little more than three-hundred people were there at the height, a good number considering it's four months after the election and this forum was not well publicized by the organizers.
I thank everyone who came, no matter where on the A-gay to D-list political and social spectrum you fall, if you were there, I'm happy you were there. Here are a few snapshots and pieces of commentary.
Four fabulous gay activists from Fresno. Local lesbian leader Robin McGehee is second from the left. I don't know the names of the others. They are planning the Meet in the Middle of CA 4 Equality, the Saturday after the Supreme Courts renders a decision, regardless of the ruling.
Two uniformed members of the SF police force, taking up space.
Steve Smith, the straight political consultant who really ran the lousy campaign, on the left, with Dan Hawes of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force holding his bottled water. They should never be allowed anywhere near another gay-related ballot measure.
Mark Leno at the podium, welcoming the panelists and the audience to the forum. Nice of him to thank this blogger for being so pushy and nudging everyone to hold the public meeting, and receiving a round of applause from the crowd.
Lining up at one of the two open mics to speak. On the right, is Cathy Brooks of the Equality Camp effort to bridge the digital divide in the gay community. She's one of the brightest lights of new youth leaders to emerge in the past few months.
From the left, Geoff Kors, Matt Foreman, Kate Kendell. Whatever ballot initiatives we face as gays in CA in the future, and there will be more, let's make sure these three have no say over the decision-making of the next campaign.
Two gay youth of color, who like everyone else in the cavernous auditorium, complained about the deep chill of the space.
During my public comment time, I asked the crowd to join me in a chant: "No. More. Closets."
To my delight, they not only chanted, but many were pleased when I tore up an "I Do" sticker because it doesn't say gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or same-sex.
To my delight, they not only chanted, but many were pleased when I tore up an "I Do" sticker because it doesn't say gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or same-sex.
Outside the auditorium, the lone protestor, who, when I offered to debate him, just smiled at me and said he'd be happy if I took his photo.
Ah, The Rev Chauncey Killens ... also known as Brother Slim ... not surprised he showed up outside but am sorry that I didn't get a chance to debate him again. He showed up at EqualityCamp in early January.
ReplyDeleteLike deer in headlights.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the imagery, Michael!
I really dont think anything will change with our self-appointed gay leaders who are absorbed in earning name recognition and pushing for self-promotion at the cost of larger gay community. Otherwise why they would not let outsiders (LGBT people of color) in the movement to share space except few tokens of colors mostly working as communication coordinators. Have you noticed how most gay orgs have persons of color in the job of communication coordinator in otherwise mostly white leadership at the top, middle...what do they think that straight or LGBT communities of color are stupid enough to buy their bullshit of not being racist or exclusionary.
ReplyDeleteThe average gay joe is not racist but it is this deep seated racism in gay institutions that defeated gay marriage in CA. For god sake, you have gay immmigration groups, black groups being run and founded by whites to carry a specific message. How can these gay white folks speak to voters in other communities without using their toungues..? those consultants are useless in such situations. 45 million dollars down the drain in prop 8!! what a waste based on the whims of few people at the top.
The face of America is changing but gay community continues with that same good old networks of whites but then there is too much at stake for gay white leaders to lose. Money, connections, power to name a few things. Do you really think these high salaried Executive Directors give a damm about rights which affect average working gay people? they are too busy issuing press releases and looking for photo ops. I suggest that we scrutinize each national gay org at a time to see how their Directors got their jobs, who is on the board and how effective they are in working with their constitutents and no number of press releases or media stuff does not count. Their grassroot efforts do. Do they think that folks in African American, Latin or Asian communities get their messages of equality through their fancy press releases or media with overwhelming white or occassional faces of color in it?? What you need is strong connections with comminities of color and a genuine effort to including LGBT people of color in all aspects of gay rights movement.
I dont think that they can even connect to common person and that should be the reason to not let them run campaigns directed towards average voters.
And it is only blogs like these which can hold these people accountable instead of gay media which did not raise controversial issues such as race in the gay community.
By keeping LGBT people of color out from the movement we have lost a generation of future gay leadership and have actually alienated other communities. The only way these people would change is through these questions raised by blogs run by white acitivists (yes they would listen to you rather then people of color which is another harsh reality) or if their funders start hearing about some of this stuff directly from the community.
Smith looks a little Rumsfeldian up there at the table. Continue the reckoning. The people who ran No On 8 ignored advice by those who struggled with the marriage issue for 6 years in Massachusetts. Despite that the situation was different in many ways, no one knew more, after 6 years, than the people who tried to help freely, and people they ignored in every possible way. Continue the reckoning. No more closets. You deserve it.
ReplyDeleteMichael, keep up the fight and the light.
ReplyDeleteOne of the men pictured here was a seagull in my state 5 years ago--flew in from the coast, ate everything he could lift (volunteer time, donations, goodwill with other progressive orgs), crapped all over everything and then disappeared.
I'm feeling somewhat responsible in that I never wrote a letter to the DC organization that gave us the gift of his presence, explaining how ineffective he was. So, because I didn't want to be the sand in the gears, he was sent on to make the same mistakes exactly in CA when the stakes were higher.
So hang in there, keep up the good rant, and don't let them tell you that you're the problem. All of us have been colluding with failure for far too long.
FWIW in your picture of Smith & Hawes, Smith is actually on the *left* ...
ReplyDeleteEvery action seems like a HUGE waste of time and energy UNTIL leaders start organizing REAL civil disobedience (tax revolt, sit ins, mass tax filings to the IRS as married couples if partnered) etc.
ReplyDeleteProblem is, many of us do not realize that we ARE equal and we ALREADY deserve what others have - Federal Equality.
[equality tax revolt]
cathy,
ReplyDeletethanks for catching my mistake. i've corrected the caption for that photo. let's hope last night was the first of a few public meetings for gays in SF. nothing compares to getting us all in the same room for some gabbing and organizing.
worth asking: smith has a perfect win record with ballot questions. You don't suddenly show up stupid. Why the malpractice? Is there something we don't quite know yet?
ReplyDeleteThank God you are holding the feet of the public 'leaders' of the no on 8 campaign to the fire.
ReplyDeleteThe real issue is not how qualified they are to run a campaign but why did these Californians give in to the demands of out-of-state and out-of-touch rich white guys (hello Tim Gill) and HRC?
"You get our money IF you use our strategists, consultants and media people. We outsiders know better than you all do."
Unfortunately, Kors, Kendall and Jean took the money and the strings attached. And those strings turned into a noose.
Did they learn anything from this. It appears they have not.