Harvey Milk Inducted to CA’s Hall of Fame; Next Stop ‘Milk Day’?
August 27, 2009
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Schriver announced on Tuesday that LGBT rights pioneer Harvey Milk will be inducted into the state’s ‘Hall of Fame’.
The couple noted that each of the 13 inductees “embody California’s innovative spirit and have made their mark on history.”
The Milk honor, however, comes amidst a debate surrounding a new state bill that would honor the slain supervisor by deeming May 22 as ‘Milk Day’ in the Golden State. The Associated Press writes that the bill “would designate Milk’s birthday, May 22, as a ‘day of special significance,’ but not an official holiday.” That bill awaits approval from the CA Assembly before reaching the Governor’s desk.
But as The Sacramento Bee reports, it was just last year that Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed a nearly identical bill because it would be more appropriate, he believed, to honor Milk on a local level.
The governor’s decision to include Milk in the state’s Hall of Fame, however, may imply that Mr. Schwarzenegger now recognizes Milk as a much more influential figure than he had first thought.
Schwarzenegger spokesman Francisco Castillo clarified in Tuesday’s Sacramento Bee that “The governor does recognize the positive impact that Harvey Milk had globally and nationally.”
Milk’s legacy recently garnered national attention after President Barack Obama honored the LGBT rights stalwart with the Presidential Medal of Freedom – an award bestowed on individuals who make an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural, or other significant public or private endeavors. The president noted that Milk’s “voice stirred the aspirations of millions of people.”
In any case, the governor’s office said no decisions have been made regarding the new bill. In fact, Schwarzenegger has taken to his twitter page to ask the public’s opinion on Harvey Milk Day.
GLAAD will continue to share the media’s coverage of Harvey Milk Day. Updates can be found on GLAADblog.org
Related Posts:UPDATE: National Media Coverage of KRXQ Hosts’ Apologies
June 12, 2009
Two weeks after mobilizing GLAAD supporters, Sacramento radio hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States apologized yesterday for their disparaging, anti-transgender remarks that promoted the abuse of transgender children.
Audio of the apologies can be found here.
Following Thursday’s broadcast, Vice President of Entercom Entertainment Sacramento, John Geary, released a statement describing the anti-transgender remarks as “hurtful” and “unacceptable.”
Geary went on to explain his hopes that KRXQ “can foster a greater level of tolerance and understanding by people on both sides of the [transgender] issue.”
Rob Williams also released a statement following yesterday’s broadcast in which he thanked his listeners:
Thank you for having the courage to stand by us and to keep the show in check. It was through the loyal listeners of the Rob, Arnie and Dawn show that Arnie and I were dragged, kicking and screaming, to the reality that we had gone too far and crossed a line in the eyes of OUR audience. It is still a point of sadness and frustration that it took us so long to acknowledge our mistake, believe our audience, and begin making things right. The show of Thursday, June 11 serves to set things in forward motion.
Additionally, several media outlets highlighted the KRXQ apology, such as the AP, the Advocate, the Sacramento Bee, and local television news stations, among others.
As noted in its Thursday press release, GLAAD will continue to monitor the show daily to ensure it stays within the bounds of fair, accurate and inclusive coverage. GLAAD will also continue promoting the stories of transgender people to the show and advising the hosts on covering transgender people with respect and dignity.
Related Posts:KRXQ UPDATE: Tomorrow’s Show and More Advertiser Statements
June 10, 2009
As many know already from reading our previous update, the “Rob, Arnie and Dawn in the Morning” show will begin re-airing on Thursday, June 11. GLAAD will be listening to the show that begins at 10:30AM EST/7:30AM PST. We will be paying close attention to the broadcast.
We have a few more breaking updates to share with you about what to expect tomorrow morning and the ongoing developments with advertisers pulling from the radio station.
People can tune in here to listen to tomorrow’s show featuring Pam’s House Blend contributor and transgender advocate Autumn Sandeen and Trans Youth Families Allies Executive Director Kim Pearson.
Please note the following information:
- The live broadcast will last for 2.5 hours
- There will be no commercial breaks whatsoever during the radio show
- People may call in during the show at the following number: 916-766-1044
- You can follow GLAAD Senior Media Strategist Andy Marra on Twitter during the broadcast @Andy_Marra
- GLAAD will be releasing our statement on GLAADblog.org and GLAAD.org soon after the show
GLAAD reminds its readers to be respectful and civil when calling into the radio station and expressing your views.
In anticipation of tomorrow’s show, GLAAD spoke with its sister organization, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). The national organization advocating for safer schools recently released a report titled Harsh Realities that documented the experiences of transgender students in the classroom.
GLSEN wanted us to share their statement that reads:
GLSEN is horrified and outraged by the hateful comments directed at transgender youth made on the ‘Rob, Arnie and Dawn in the Morning Show.’ Such comments are even more reprehensible in light of the fact that more than half of transgender students experience physical harassment in school based on their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression and more than a quarter experience physical assault. We can only hope that Thursday’s show will shed light on the need to make sure that transgender youth are safe in every school.
The Transgender Law Center also issued a statement about tomorrow’s morning that you can find here.
Earlier this afternoon, a GLAAD supporter also provided a tip about UC Davis Health Systems ending their relationship with the “Rob, Arnie and Dawn in the Morning” show. The university’s medical institution released a statement that you can find here and here.
In the statement, UC Davis announced their decision to pull all advertising from the station. They also ended their partnership with the station that annually raises charitable dollars for the Children’s Miracle Network. The Sacramento Bee reported on the latest development immediately following the announcement.
GLAAD also received a statement from Home Depot clarifying their involvement with KRXQ. 
The statement reads:
The Home Depot is neither a sponsor nor has it committed advertising to this program. However, our ads are occasionally heard on KRXQ as part of a national radio buy. We have shared your feedback about the morning program with the network and the station directly, and have asked them to look more closely at where our ads are running to ensure they are in accordance with our standards.
We have strict guidelines in place to ensure the programs we support reflect the quality of our brand. Our advertising campaigns have one simple objective — to communicate with audiences in the most effective way possible. Feedback from customers like you plays a large role in helping us to maintain these standards.
Thank you for your interest in The Home Depot.
Local advertisers like Sleep Train and Guitar Center issued statements that you can find here and here. The LGBT community in Sacramento has been very active in leading efforts to contact local advertisers and urge them to pull their advertising contracts from KRXQ. The Sacramento LGBTQI Leadership Coalition, a local alliance of 15+ organizations has been coordinating on-the-ground efforts related to the radio station.
The coalition provided GLAAD with the following statement about their reasons for mobilizing the community:
The hateful remarks against transgender youth made by two primetime Sacramento radio hosts was shocking and hurtful to members of our city’s vibrant and diverse LGBT community. Gay and transgender youth are at high risk of depression, alcohol and drug abuse and suicide due to homophobic discrimination and abusive environments many face in their schools, homes and among their peers. All in our community feel a deep commitment to doing our best to shelter our LGBT youth to the greatest extent possible from these destructive societal pressures. No child should have to be afraid of being hurt or harassed for simply expressing his or her identity.
Please stay tuned for more details. Please check back with us for updates on this developing story.
Have an update to share with GLAAD? Send us a tweet on our Twitter account @glaad.
UPDATE: KRXQ Responds to GLAAD’s Call to Action
June 2, 2009
Yesterday, we alerted our readers to our work with Trans Youth Family Allies in responding to a reprehensible May 28 segment on the Rob, Arnie & Dawn in the Morning radio show. The show is heard in Sacramento, California on KRXQ 98.5FM and Reno, Nevada on KDOT 104.5FM. You can find our original blog post about the defamatory comments here.
In a vile diatribe, radio show hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States spent more than a half hour making highly offensive comments about transgender children when discussing a recent story about a transgender child and her parents’ decision to support her transition in Omaha, NE.
The two hosts encouraged child abuse as a so-called “cure” for their gender identity with even one host later suggesting shock therapy. You can listen to the entire segment here.
Hosts of the show Rob Arnie & Dawn
Yesterday, we reached out to KRXQ management to raise our deepest concerns and demand an apology for the radio broadcast. We not only called, but also emailed the KRXQ General Manager, John Geary.
GLAAD received a reply from Mr. Geary on Tuesday, June 2 at 9:21am EST.
He wrote:
I was out of the office yesterday, so I have yet to hear the segment in question. Let me review it and get back to you later today. Thanks. – John
After waiting for hours with no response, GLAAD issued a Call to Action demanding the radio hosts to apologize for encouraging violence against transgender children.
Because of the many supporters who reach out to the station and hosts, we received a phone call from John Geary at 5:00pm EST today. Geary let us us know that he took our concerns seriously and he claimed to have read all of the emails sent to him about the radio segment.
Geary also told us that the hosts plan to address this issue in the 7:00am PST (10:00am EST) hour on their Wednesday, June 3 broadcast (listen live here).
GLAAD has sent over key resources on transgender issues to inform the radio hosts on what kinds of obstacles transgender people face.
In 2008, Ruby Molina was murdered in Sacramento for being a transgender woman.
Rob Williams and Arnie States have become active contributors to a vicious cycle of ill-informed and cruel rhetoric. Such hateful speech has already shown its devastating effects on transgender people and the communities they belong to.
In 2008 alone, the Transgender Day of Remembrance reported 21 murders of transgender and gender non-conforming people, including:
- January 21, 2008: Adolphus Simmons, 18, (Charleston, SC) who was gunned down while taking out the trash;
- February 10, 2008: Sanesha Stewart (Bronx, NY), stabbed by an acquaintance and left to die alone in her apartment;
- February 12, 2008: Lawrence King, 15, (Oxnard, CA) shot in the head by a 14 year old fellow classmate
- February 22, 2008: Simmie Williams, 17, (Fort Lauderdale, FL) who was shot an dkilled; no arrests have been made;
- July 1, 2008: Ebony Whitaker, 20, (Memphis, TN) who was shot near a daycare center; no arrests have been made;
- July 21, 2008: Angie Zepata, 18, (Greeley, CO) who was beaten to death in her own apartment with a fire extinguisher;
- August 20, 2008: Nakhia Williams, 29, (Louisville, KY) who died 10 days after she was shot and beaten by a group of people outside her apartment;
- September 21, 2008: Ruby Molina, 22, (Sacramento, CA) who was found dead in the American River by fishermen in September;
- November 9, 2008: Duanna Johnson, 42, (Memphis, TN) who was shot to death just weeks ago by unidentified assailants on Nov. 9 after making news earlier when she was beaten by police officers in February. Johnson’s lawsuit against the city of Memphis was still pending at the time of her murder.
- November 14, 2008: Lateisha “Teish” Cannon, 22, (Syracuse, NY) who was shot inside her car with her brother and friend;
- December 26, 2008: Taysia “Taysha” Elzy, 34, (Indianapolis, IN) who was shot and killed along with her boyfriend.
In 2007, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects (NCAVP) reported that 16% of their overall reports were motivated by anti-transgender bias, and that 231 transgender women filed reports of violence. Since violence is often underreported, and the identities of transgender murder victims often misreported, there is no way to know accurate numbers.
It should also be noted the Human Rights Campaign estimates that transgender Americans face a one-in-12 change of being murdered. Statistics from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) show that in schools 14.2% of transgender students report being physically assaulted as a result of their gender expression, while 30.4% experienced physical harassment.
We hope Rob Williams and Arnie States consider these important and sobering pieces of information when addressing the issue tomorrow.
GLAAD will be monitoring tomorrow’s response by the hosts. Please continue to check back for any possible updates or alerts on this developing story.
Sacramento Based Radio Hosts Defame, Advocate Violence Against Transgender Children
June 1, 2009
GLAAD is currently working with the Trans Youth Family Allies to respond to a highly defamatory radio broadcast on KRXQ-FM in Sacramento, California on May 28.
In a long tirade on the Rob, Arnie & Dawn in the Morning radio show, heard in Sacramento, California on KRXQ 98.5FM, hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States verbally attacked transgender children when discussing a recent story about a transgender child and her parents’ decision to support her transition in Omaha, NE.
Hosts of the show Rob Arnie & Dawn
The two hosts spent more than 30 minutes making highly derogatory comments about transgender children and promoting child abuse as a so-called “cure” for their gender identity.
GLAAD has reached out to KRXQ management to communicate our serious concerns and demand an apology. We are waiting for their reply.
We’ll have much more information on the incident tomorrow, so please check back for updates. In the meantime if you’d like to voice your concerns please reach out to these contacts:
John Geary
Vice President & General Manager
KRXQ-FM
(916) 339-4209
jgeary@entercom.com
Arnie States
On Air Personality
KRXQ-FM
(916) 334-7777
rad@robarnieanddawn.com
Rob Williams
On Air Personality
KRXQ-FM
(916) 334-7777
rwilliams@entercom.com
When contacting KRXQ , please ensure that your emails and phone calls are civil and respectful and do not engage in the kind of name-calling or abusive behavior that we are expressing our concerns about.
