UPDATE: National Media Keep an Eye on Vallejo, Calif. After Mayor’s Anti-Gay Comments
December 4, 2009
In an interview with The New York Times published on Nov. 20, Vallejo, Calif. Mayor Osby Davis told reporters that gay men and lesbians are “sinners” and will be kept “out of heaven”:
The sins that keep you out of heaven are not the just those sins of being gay, those are sins of lying, murdering, unforgiving, all kinds of sins. When you look at anyone you believe is not living a life along the principles of Christianity, you pray for them that they will one day see the error in their ways and change, but you don’t exclude them because Christ died for everybody. So when you look at someone who is gay, you see them as someone Christ died for and you look at them as if they’re in fact committing sin and that sin will keep them out of heaven. But you don’t hate the person; you hate the sin they commit.
That comment drew stern criticism from the LGBT community and its allies. (Read GLAAD’s original post about the incident here). Protestors gathered Tuesday night on the steps of Vallejo’s city hall in response to the Mayor’s comments and some advocates have called for the Mayor’s resignation.
Mayor Davis issued an apology for his remarks, but qualified that apology by stating his “words were taken out of context.”
Today, The New York Times published a follow-up article that recaptures the week’s controversy and provides quotes from both the Mayor’s supporters and those critical of his statement. The Times also provided the entire context of Davis’s interview, along with audio of Davis’s exchange with reporters.
The San Francisco Chronicle also published a column on Friday that directly challenged what the columnist considers a half-hearted apology by the Mayor:
The trouble with Davis’ claim – and a written apology issued later – is that there is no appropriate context suitable for such a statement, especially when it’s uttered by an elected official. What’s more, there isn’t a resident in the Bay Area who doesn’t understand the weight of such a comment.
Huffington Post columnist Byron Williams is also sharply critical of Mayor Davis’s apology and suggests that recalling Mayor Davis from his post would be an appropriate course of action:
The mere fact Davis did not know that some would find his statements offensive before he said them is more than enough fodder for a recall.
Unless, of course, I am guilty along like others before me, of taking Davis’ words out of context.
In a statement released on Friday, GLAAD condemned Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis for his defamatory comments:
“These sorts of hateful diatribes should not be spewed by anyone and most certainly not from a public official who was elected to serve all of their constituents.” said GLAAD Senior Director of Media Programs, Rashad Robinson. “Mayor Davis’ comments demonstrate a clear bias toward the gay and transgender community and promote anti-gay sentiments.”
GLAAD urges media reporting about this story to not only cover Davis’ misinformed remarks but also to examine how the anti-gay attitudes of elected officials impact their diverse constituencies. GLAAD is available to serve as a resource to any media outlet covering this story. GLAAD’s Media Reference Guide is an additional resource which provides helpful information on terminology and background.
GLAAD continues to work with Vallejo residents and local activists to ensure fair, accurate, and inclusive coverage of the outrage over Mayor Osby Davis’s anti-gay comments.
Updates will continue to be posted on GLAADblog.org.
Related Posts:Protesters Respond to Vallejo Mayor’s Anti-LGBT Remarks in Northern California
December 2, 2009
Vallejo, CA residents gathered on city hall Tuesday evening to protest Mayor Osby Davis’ recent anti-LGBT remarks. In an interview with The New York Times, Davis said that LGBT people are “committing sin and that sin will keep them out of heaven.” Mayor Davis has since apologized for the comment.
In a demonstration led by the openly gay reverend Lou Bordisso, hundreds of community members rallied at Vallejo City Hall to condemn Davis’ homophobic remarks.
“I’ve lived in Vallejo for 25 years and now. He’s asking me to go back in the closet and I will not do that,” local resident Wendell Quigley told KTVU-TV.
Mayor Davis insists, however, that he had no such intentions. In a statement released on Tuesday, Davis apologized to his constituents, but said his “words were taken out of context”:
“To those I have offended by my comments, I apologize. My words were taken out of context. I care for the entire community and my desire is to build consensus on our diversity. Let me be clear, I have and will stand against hatred, discrimination and divisiveness wherever they exist.”
In response, The New York Times published a significant portion of the Davis interview to its website late Tuesday evening. That context, however, has done little to quell LGBT locals who still consider Davis’ comments to be extremely offensive. The Vallejo Times Herald even published a letter to the editor on Wednesday that calls for Davis’s resignation:
Instead, Rev. Lou Bordisso told San Jose Mercury News that public censure would be more appropriate and asked that Davis “show solidarity with all community groups by appointing openly gay people to the Human Relations Commission.”
GLAAD has reached out to community members in Vallejo and will work closely with people on the ground to ensure fair, accurate, and inclusive coverage of Mayor Osby Davis’ homophobic remarks.
Updates can be found on GLAADblog.org.
Related Posts:Bisexual Activist Amy Andre Named to Lead San Francisco Pride
October 7, 2009
Amy Andre photo by Marlo Gayle
On Tuesday, the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee announced that longtime bisexual and LGBT activist Amy Andre would become the organization’s next executive director, overseeing the production of its annual San Francisco Pride Celebration & Parade.
Andre, who was recently interviewed on GLAADblog during Celebrate Bisexuality Day, brings to her new position over a decade of experience working with LGBT nonprofit organizations as well as an MBA in nonprofit management and a master’s degree in sexuality studies.
SF Pride Board President Mikayla Connell stated in BiNet USA’s press release:
We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Amy Andre to the Pride team with her wealth of talent, experience, and history of activism as we continue planning and preparing for the fortieth anniversary San Francisco Pride Celebration and Parade in June of 2010.
The Committee’s decision to select an openly bisexual leader represents an important step toward the slow reversal of the type of biphobia and invisibility Andre has discussed in her written work, and most recently in her September GLAADblog contribution:
When it comes to sexual identity, self-identified bisexuals make up fifty percent of the LGB population. And yet, we bisexuals (and our allies) remain in so many ways invisible and marginalized and not quite aware of the extent to which bisexuals are part of the larger LGBT community.
Andre is also the co-author of Bisexual Health: An Introduction and Model Practices for HIV/STI Prevention, a book published by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, BiNet USA and the Fenway Institute, as well as the director of On My Skin/En Mi Piel, the internationally-screened documentary about a mixed-race transgender man and his family.
Commenting on her selection, which concluded a national search process that began in March, Andre said:
I’m honored and delighted by this opportunity to be a part of Pride. Celebrating ourselves is one of the most important, courageous, affirming, and, yes, even political, things we as an LGBT community can do. This year’s theme is Forty and Fabulous. But, of course, Pride has always been fabulous, and we’ve got even more wonderful things in store!
We at GLAAD congratulate SF Pride on their selection of such an inspiring leader, and look forward to tracking Amy Andre’s success in her new position.
Related Posts:Episcopalians Announce Openly Gay Nominees for Bishop
August 7, 2009
Earlier this week, two Episcopalian dioceses announced their nomination of openly LGBT priests for bishop positions. As we wrote previously, the Episcopal Church overwhelmingly voted in favor of ending a 2006 moratorium on ordaining openly gay bishops on July 14.
Rev. Bonnie Perry, Photo Courtesy of Advocate.com
The Rev. Bonnie Perry, rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Chicago, Illinois, is among three nominees for the Minnesota bishop position. She has been in a committed relationship with her partner, the Rev. Susan Harlow, for 22 years. Harlow is a professor at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary.
The Diocese of Los Angeles also announced the nomination of the Rev. John L. Kirkley of San Francisco and the Rev. Mary Douglas Glasspool of Maryland, both of whom are in committed same-sex relationships. There are six candidates for the position of suffragan (assistant) bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles.
Rev. John Kirkley, Photo Courtesy of Bay Area Reporter
In a statement to the Bay Area Reporter, IntegrityUSA President Reverend Susan Russell applauded the nominations:
Coming so soon after the slate announced by the Diocese of Minnesota, today’s announcement by the Diocese of Los Angeles is another sign that the ’season of fasting’ at the expense of the vocations of gays and lesbians in the Episcopal Church is at an end. For Minnesota and California to move so quickly after our convention, what they are doing is signaling that the resolution that we passed in Anaheim is not just a resolution but reality. The Episcopal Church is in a place where it is able to be broadly inclusive. That is good news not only for the diocese, but also the whole church.
If the candidates are elected by lay and clergy church leaders later this year, they would be the first openly gay priests to take the position of bishop since the ordination of Bishop Gene Robinson in 2003.
Related Posts:Celebrating Pride in New York and Across the Country
June 30, 2009
Hundreds of thousands crowded New York City’s streets Sunday for the city’s annual LGBT Pride festivities. Sunday’s march marked an especially significant occasion for LGBT people and their allies as it commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the event that most view as sparking the modern LGBT rights movement.
San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and other cities across the globe celebrated on Sunday as well – marking 40 years to the day since the famed uprising took place.
New York’s march, which ends its two mile course near the historic Stonewall Inn, drew prominent figures from the LGBT movement, both past and present. Dustin Lance Black, who recently won an Oscar for his screenplay Milk, was one of four grand marshals at the parade. Cleve Jones and Anne Kronenberg, both of whom worked closely with the iconic LGBT rights leader, Harvey Milk, also grand marshaled the event. Additionally, hundreds of organizations, companies, and political groups marched in support of the local and national LGBT community.
New Yorkers appeared hopeful that soon they would join the ranks of such states as Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Delaware and New Hampshire and become the seventh state to legalize marriage for same-sex couples. A bill that would extend marriage protections to same-sex couples is currently pending a vote in the NY senate.
Gov. David Paterson (D-NY), a strong proponent of the bill, was an honorary grand marshal in yesterday’s parade. Gov. Paterson told The Associated Press yesterday that “if we have an end to the stalemate in Albany, [he] would think that [the bill] would be passed shortly after.”
But some were in more somber spirits, reflecting on what they see as President Obama’s lack of commitment to the LGBT community. The New York Times, for instance, published an editorial on Sunday, in which columnist Frank Rich noted that “Obama’s inaction on gay civil rights is striking.”
Rich goes on challenge President Obama to action, saying:
Gay Americans aren’t just another political special interest group. They are Americans who are actively discriminated against by federal laws. If the president is to properly honor the memory of Stonewall, he should get up to speed on what happened 40 years ago, when courageous kids who had nothing, not even a public acknowledgment of their existence, stood up to make history happen in the least likely of places.
Blogger ‘ARDem’, however, said to readers on DailyKos and Pam’s House Blend that LGBT people should celebrate their progress, rather than ruminate over their losses:
the fact that a popular President is being held to task for his lack of action on behalf of [the LGBT] community is something that should be reassuring… instead we could be facing the same things those that went before us did – organized state oppression, a world where hatred of LGBT Americans isn’t simply a disgusting fact of life but something to be expected and uplifted. . .
‘ARDem’ bids his readers to “channel the courage of Stonewall” in their struggle toward equality.
Yesterday, President Obama honored the 40th anniversary of Stonewall alongside 250 plus LGBT leaders in the East Room of the White House.
Shin Inouye, a White House spokesman, said of the event:
[It] is a chance for the White House to recognize the accomplishments of LGBT Americans. Invited guests include families, volunteers and activists, and community leaders. This event was long planned as a way to applaud these individuals during Pride month.
GLAAD’s incoming President, Jarrett Barrios, attended the White House event with his 17-year-old son, Javier. Barrios said the event “was a symbol of the fact that the administration recognizes our community at a time when there has been growing frustration about his administration’s seeming reticence to follow through on campaign promises.”
GLAAD will continue to report on the media’s coverage of Stonewall’s 40th Anniversary. Updates can be found on GLAADblog.org as they become available.
Related Posts:20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Hold Final Event in San Francisco
April 30, 2009
The 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards season will come to a close on Saturday, May 9 at the Hilton San Francisco in California. The always hysterical comedian Chelsea Handler will be on hand to host the show and announce winners!
Chelsea Handler
After a fantastic line-up of celebrities and special guests joined GLAAD to show their support for LGBT-inclusive media images, in New York City on March 28 and Los Angeles on April 18, we have more famous faces that will help us celebrate the 20th anniversary of the culture-changing Awards.
You can be part of this extraordinary night by purchasing your tickets to the silent auction, Awards dinner, and after party. And this year, we’ve announced special $100 show only tickets!
Special guests and presenters scheduled to attend, include:
Calpernia Addams
Megan Cavanagh
Gabrielle Christian
Michelle Clunie
Laverne Cox
Wilson Cruz
Robert Gant
Dan Jinks
Jason Lewis
Mandy Musgrave
Suze Orman
Simon Rex
Eduardo Xol
Judge David Young
Awards will be presented onstage in the following categories: Outstanding Television Movie, Outstanding Reality Program and Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine.
Chad Allen
Actor and producer Chad Allen will receive the Davidson/Valentini Award, which is named after Craig Davidson, GLAAD’s first executive director, and his partner Michael Valentini. The award is presented to an openly LGBT media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for our community. Through his acting roles and film projects, Allen has amplified the voices of LGBT community.
Just in 2008, in addition to appearing as openly gay detective Donald Strachey in here! Networks’ The Donald Strachey Mystery Series, Allen served as a producer on the film Save Me, which offered audiences a look into the world of so-called “ex gay ministries.” The Donald Strachey Mystery Series is nominated for Outstanding Television Movie this year and Save Me is a nominee for Outstanding Film – Limited Release.
Not only is Chad Allen an advocate as an actor and producer but he has been a vocal supporter for marriage equality in interviews with news outlets including CNN’s Larry King Live.
Dustin Lance Black
Dustin Lance Black will receive a Special Recognition Award for his work to raise visibility of our community as a screenwriter on the films Milk and Pedro. And who could forget his moving acceptance speech calling for marriage equality at the Academy Awards this year while wearing a white knot.
Geoff Callan & Mike Shaw, the filmmakers responsible for the documentary Pursuit of Equality will take home the San Francisco Local Hero Award. The film is an emotionally charged documentary that puts a face on American citizens who strive for marriage equality and gives viewers an inside look at Mayor Gavin Newsom’s decision to allow the first same-sex couple to exchange their vows. This past year, Callan and Shaw took the film across California to fight the anti-gay Proposition 8.
The San Francisco Awards will also include two very special performances by out pop music phenomenon Matt Alber and extraordinary violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg with the New Century Chamber Orchestra.
The GLAAD Media Awards wouldn’t be where we are today without the help of our corporate partners. More than 100 corporate sponsors are showing their support, including National Presenting Partner IBM and Local Presenting Partners ABSOLUT® VODKA and Prudential. GLAAD is also grateful to the event’s Platinum Underwriters Comcast, TimeWarner and University of Phoenix. Allstate Insurance Company, American Airlines, Barefoot Wine, Disney/ABC Television Group, HMS Media, Herb Ritts Foundation, New York City Marriott & Renaissance Hotels, Renaissance New York Hotel, MillerCoors, NBC Universal, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Southwest Airlines, The Terry Watanabe Charitable Trust and Wyndham Hotel Group support the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards as Underwriter Partners.
Don’t miss out… Click here and purchase your tickets today!
Presbyterian Lesbian Still Fighting for Ordination
March 25, 2009
Lisa Larges - Photo courtesy Bay Area Reporter
In San Francisco, on March 25, a Presbyterian commission rejected the process used by the Presbytery of San Francisco to certify openly lesbian candidate for ordination, Lisa Larges.
The ruling did not deal with her qualifications but the procedural ruling effectively puts additional hurdles in her path toward ordination. Larges said:
This decision makes it abundantly clear that the Presbyterian Church must remove the current prohibitory language that denies ordination to openly LGBT people and adopt a new policy. The amendment now being voted on across the country properly aligns our understanding of ministry….
Larges has been working toward ordination for two decades. In 2002, she began work with the organization That All May Freely Serve, a group that advocates for a church that honors diversity and welcomes lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons as full members eligible for ordination. She now serves as the Minister Coordinator of the group.
Openly Gay Basketball Player Recruited by the ABA
December 1, 2008
![Mike Survillion [Photo from RockDogsBasketball.com]](http://www.rockdogsbasketball.com/images/comprofiler/plug_profilegallery/76/tnpg_1009332989.jpg)
Mike Survillion - Photo from RockDogsBasketball.com
“We had 32 players and have cut down to about 17,” Dee Minor, Rumble vice president of team operations, told the Bay Area Reporter. “Mike is one of the 17. At this point, no one has signed a contract. That wouldn’t happen until after Thanksgiving.”
Minor says sexual orientation is not a factor when choosing players.
“In basketball, it’s about athletics. We’re looking for the best semipro men’s basketball team we can put on,” Minor said.
According to Outsports, this makes Survillion the second openly gay male professional basketball player in the United States. Survillion’s Rock Dogs teammate, DeMarco Majors, played with the ABA’s Hawaii team for a period of time. Perhaps the most famous gay professional basketball player, John Amaechi, did not publicly come out until after he left the NBA.
Mike has already shown up on our radars during our previous coverage of Shirts & Skins, in particular when he came out to his mother right before the Chicago championships and when he hit up Amaechi for advice on a professional career. It’s so great to see him following his dreams. Hopefully we’ll hear more about him in the future!
Remembering Harvey Milk
November 27, 2008
Today marks the 30th year since San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk was assassinated – on November the 27th, 1978.
Harvey Milk was an outspoken advocate for lesbian and gay equality. In 1977, Milk campaigned and won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the city’s first openly gay elected official and one of the first openly gay elected officials in the country. During his brief tenure, he emphasized the importance of gay visibility, encouraging those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community to live their lives openly and honestly in order to change public perceptions.
Milk giving his "Hope Speech" at the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day. Image credit: Crawford Barton, San Francisco GLBT Historical Society
While White’s motivation may have been complex, the effects of his actions are clear. Milk’s assassination rallied gays and lesbians throughout the city and his significance within the community was magnified after his death. Milk left behind a recorded message meant to be played in case of his assassination, which he always knew was a risk. On the recording he offered suggestions to supporters and potential successors. He also made one of his most famous remarks: “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.”
When his murderer, Dan White, was tried and received a lighter sentence than most felt he deserved, riots broke out across the city in what would be called the “White Night riots.”
Harvey Milk had the courage to be outspoken in his devotion to equal rights for all people, regardless of their orientation, gender identity, age or race. His life inspired a number of creative and artistic works, including the 1982 Randy Shilts biography The Mayor of Castro Street, the 1983 Emily Mann play Execution of Justice and the 1984 Academy Award-winning documentary The Times of Harvey Milk, directed by Rob Epstein and narrated by Harvey Fierstein.
Yesterday, the much-anticipated film Milk, starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, was released across the country. Thirty years after the murders, Gus Van Sant has directed a star-studded cast in a feature film retelling of the story. The film has the potential to introduce a tremendously important piece of LGBT history to mainstream audiences.
In recent weeks, a bust of Milk was unveiled at San Francisco’s City Hall. It sits at the top of the rotunda’s grand staircase, just yards away from where Milk was shot and killed. On that monument reads an inscription, a quote from a speech Milk made in 1978:
I ask for the movement to continue because my election gave young people out there hope. You gotta give ‘em hope.
That’s just what Harvey Milk’s life and the retelling of his story offers us: Hope.
Take a moment today to be thankful for people like Harvey Milk who have been trailblazers within the LGBT community and beyond and take time this weekend to see a film 30 years in the making that celebrates his life and his impact.
To see all of our glaadBLOG posts on Harvey Milk and Milk, click here.
To see a timeline of Harvey Milk’s life, click here.
To see GLAAD’s Milk resource kit, click here.
Plaque Dedicated to First Nat’l Visible Gay Service Member
November 21, 2008
“When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.”
The well-known and well-respected epitaph above, which recognizes gay LGBT rights pioneer Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, can now be read in two places that honor the former Air Force sergeant – his headstone at his burial site in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC, and a new plaque honoring Matlovich in San Francisco, Ca.
Front cover of 1975 TIME magazine with Sgt. Matlovich.
Dedicated at a ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 15 held at San Francisco’s LGBT Community Center, the plaque honors the contributions of Matlovich to the fight against the ban on gay and lesbian service in the military.
A Vietnam War veteran, Matlovich appeared on the cover of TIME magazine in 1975 with the headline “I Am a Homosexual: The Gay Drive for Acceptance” – a full eighteen years before the ‘one step forward, two steps back’ enactment of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” brought the struggle of gay and lesbian military personnel into the public eye.
The TIME story followed the sergeant’s legal struggle to continue serving in the military after coming out to his commanding officers, including his lawsuit against the secretary of the Air Force.
Although Matlovich was not allowed to service his country in the armed forces again, his lawsuit paved the way for a vital change in military policy in 1981 that allowed gay troops to be discharged honorably instead of dishonorably. He was also the first nationally visible gay service member.
In addition to his epitaph, the full plaque also reads:
“In 1975, Tech. Sgt. Leonard Matlovish, USAF, winner of the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, made the military’s ban on gays a national issue when he appeared on the cover of TIME magazine. He was arrested at the White House fighting against AIDS and always fought for full LGBT equality.”
The plaque is permanently located at the corner of 18th and Castro where Matlovich lived before dying from AIDS in 1988.
More information on the current state of the military’s ban on LGBT service members, including “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” can be found in GLAAD’s Veteran’s Day Resource Kit for Journalists.
Plaque dedicated to Sgt. Matlovich in SF (left). Photo from Towleroad. Headstone dedicated to Sgt. Matlovich in Washington, DC (right). Photo from Flickr user dbking.
Harvey Milk’s Legacy Lives On
November 19, 2008
Devoted glaadBLOG readers know we’ve caught MILK fever, regularly giving you updates on the upcoming biopic (out November 26!) and “fun facts” about Harvey Milk, the man. Of course we’re not the only ones who understand the importance of the Mayor of Castro Street. San Francisco’s Department of Labor is dedicating an entire building to the slain politician to preserve his legacy.
Harvey Milk
On November 25, the Treasure Island Job Corps Center Administration and Health & Wellness Building in San Francisco will be dedicated to the Harvey Milk Administration Building. A bust of Milk will be unveiled the same day, created to memorialize Harvey Milk. The dedication will take place two days before the 30th anniversary of Milk’s assassination.
This will be the first time a federal government building will be dedicated to an openly LGBT individual.
Special guests include the Honorable Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and members of the Milk family.
The public is invited to attend!
Tuesday, November 25 at 1:30 pm.
Treasure Island Job Corps Center Administration and Health & Wellness Building
655 H Avenue, Building 442 in San Francisco.
Please RSVP by November 21 to (615) 259-4000, ext. 141 or email dhargrove@mpf.com.
Nice MILKstache
November 14, 2008
In anticipation of the November 26 release of Milk, here’s your daily dose of Harvey Milk history, thanks to San Francisco magazine: He showed gays how to be out and proud!
Frank Robinson: It was easy to be out in the Castro, because you could live there for days without meeting a straight person. But get them out of that environment, and get them in their hometowns…are they going to be out to their friends and parents? Probably not. Are they going to be out to their employers? Wouldn’t run the risk. But Harvey was out to the entire country – and he was still beloved by the 6 o’clock news.
Click here to take a look at our Milk resource guide.
Got MILK?
November 13, 2008
As we look forward to the release of the Harvey Milk biopic on November 26, it seems an excellent time to look back at the accomplishments of this amazing man! Courtesy of San Francisco magazine, here is your Harvey Milk fact of the day: He made city government look more like the city.
Tom Ammiano (supervisor): In those days, the elections used to be city-wide, which favored the status quo, so the Board of Supervisors was mostly male and white, very conservative, and business-oriented. The solution was district elections, which was an initiative on the 1976 ballot. Harvey played a huge role in getting it passed, and when it won, there was a political earthquake. The following year, it put all these new people on the board, with a lot of different ideas: the first Asian, the first African American woman, the first gay guy.
For more information on Milk, the movie and the man that it’s about, visit our online resource guide.
MILK: It Does a Viewer Good
November 12, 2008
Today’s Harvey Milk factoid, courtesy of San Francisco magazine: He showed the gay community its financial clout.
Tom Ammiano: The merchants in the Castro had a lot of homophobic attitudes, despite the fact that the gay community was giving them all their business. Harvey was very instrumental in changing this. He put up a sign that said, basically, “These merchants are not treating gay people right. You should boycott them.” All of a sudden, those merchants became very loving. Because, you know, it’s all about money.
Mark November 26 on your calendar — that’s when Milk opens in theaters! Click here to visit our online resource guide for more information.
Gay neighbors come out on billboards in Wisconsin
September 12, 2008
A lot of the time, when people aren’t sure how they feel about issues facing our community, it’s because they feel that they don’t know any lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people in their own communities.
A group of advocates in southeastern Wisconsin are setting out to change that. They’ve developed a public education project called The Gay Neighbor Campaign to raise visibility about these issues and introduce community members to their LGBT neighbors.
The campaign is a project of southeastern Wisconsin’s Cream City Foundation and is the first large-scale effort aimed at raising visibility in the area. Since mid-August, more than 30 “Gay Neighbor” billboards have gone up across Milwaukee, Waukesha and Jefferson county. The billboards feature photos of real-life LGBT people and their families that live in the area.
GLAAD has been fortunate enough to be involved in the Gay Neighbor campaign from the beginning, at first by giving feedback on campaign concepts and ideas, and then by supporting the Cream City Foundation’s press conference where they announced the campaign. We were also able to help out with pitching the story to local, national, mainstream and LGBT media outlets.
The story has been picked up by more than 40 media outlets, and the campaign’s website received more than 120,000 hits in the first week.
The Gay Neighbor website is designed to be a space for LGBT families and allies across the country to share their stories. The stories shared on the website include neighbors’ first names and zip codes to show that LGBT people and their families live, work, raise families and go to school throughout the state of Wisconsin.
And the next time a parent of an LGBT son or daughter is driving from the Jefferson or Waukesha suburbs to their job in downtown Madison or Milwaukee, they’ll see billboards along I-94 with messages and photos from local parents like Dave and Georgia, showing their support for their gay son, Nathan. And we know that it’s pictures and stories like these that have the power to change hearts and minds and help LGBT people everywhere feel empowered to be open about their lives and their families.
Check out some of the media coverage of the Gay Neighbor campaign that GLAAD helped secure:
- Campaign in Milwaukee, Waukesha challenges stereotypes of gays, lesbians
- New Billboard Campaign Launched
- Meet Your Gay Neighbors
- “Gay Neighbor Initiative” Billboards Unveiled
