Tag: activists

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Gay Cruising - Murder?

Police blaming victim in Midtown murder? The murder in Piedmont Park Thursday—15 minutes before a second stabbing a few blocks away in Midtown—was first pitched as a robbery attempt by the Atlanta Police Department. Now, the embattled agency hints in an email to an anti-gay nightlife activist that the homicide might have been the result of gay cruising. Huh? Like another high-profile crime in Midtown—the beating of a gay man leaving Blake’s in March—the police department’s take on the case is shifting and quickly. But this time, they don’t have the changing accounts of the victim to explain their changing dynamics.  (NOTE: YOU MAY RECALL I ASSISTED HIM TO BACK TO THE BAR WHILE WE WAITED FOREVER FOR THE POLICE TO ARRIVE) The publicly-known facts of the case seem to undercut their spin—if the victim was out cruising for sex, how does that mesh with a second stabbing 15 minutes later near 6th and Juniper Streets? Some crazed lunatic stabbing guys looking for play late at night? Let’s hope not, but that’s where the police seem to be pointing us. The police explanation, first reported by Southern Voice and picked up today by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, almost smells of blaming the victim. Put another way, it hints at the notion of, well, this dude was in the park after hours and shit happens. Heard that one before? How about this: She was wearing a short skirt and tight blouse, so she was looking to get raped. Maybe that’s a little harsh. But I’ve got a beef with a police commander sending emails about the case to Peggy Denby, a cranky Not In My Backyard activist. She was behind the fight to close Backstreet and wants to run all gay nightlife establishments out of Midtown and away from her high-priced condo that was, incidentally, built after the gay clubs she despises were already in place.

An email sent by Maj. Khirus Williams, head of the police department’s Zone 5, at 1:10 p.m. offered more details. “This morning’s homicide, at Piedmont Park, is ‘likely’ to be ‘male-hustling’ related,” Williams wrote in an email to Midtown activist Peggy Denby. “A person found with blood stains and injuries this morning, in Midtown, is being interviewed by our Homicide Unit. “This person has claimed to have been inside of the park but has not made any confessions,” Williams continued in the email, which was obtained by Southern Voice. “The investigation continues. Our personnel are tasked with park checks throughout the night, to address ‘anyone’ being inside the park, after dark. We will continue the efforts and initiate arrests when there are violations.”

When it comes to Piedmont Park, the police department has little credibility with the city’s gay population. It is, after all, the same department that harassed and arrested six gay men who walked through the park after hours on their way home from a bar. No suspects have been named in the attacks and police haven’t yet linked the incidents from Thursday morning. As the investigation continues, let’s hope they focus more on finding justice for the murder victim and less on blaming him and dismissing the homicide as simply “male-hustling related.” In a sidebar to the case, the normally reserved Georgia Log Cabin Republicans seemed to step off a cliff late Thursday. The group issued a statement calling on Mayor Shirley Franklin, whose term ends this year, to resign.

The group called on Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Republican, and the Georgia National Guard to take control of the city’s “crime mayhem” and reminded LGBT residents of their right to bear arms and use deadly force to protect themselves.

The full statement, according to Southern Voice:

“It has become obvious that Mayor Shirley Franklin is incompetent to fulfill her duty and obligation to protect the citizens of Atlanta from violence. The latest rash of murders, robberies, hate crimes, and lawlessness are a direct result of her failure to provide proper protection by an effective police force.  Mayor Franklin has recklessly cut the hours of our police force, which has left our citizens in grave danger, and now it’s time for her to cut her own hours permanently, we just can’t afford to wait until a new election and mayor, she must go now.” “We are also urging Governor Sonny Perdue to take control of the situation, and requesting that he order in the Georgia National Guard or Georgia State Patrol into Atlanta to help stabilize the current crime mayhem in the city.” “The Georgia Log Cabin Republicans are avid supporters of the 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution, and want to remind our fellow citizens that our state currently lacks any effective Hate Crimes law to detour crimes against LGBT Georgians.  However, the Georgia Legislature passed SB396 several years ago that allows all citizens to legally defend themselves with deadly force when necessary, without an obligation to retreat when attacked.  Until our city is safe again, we recommend that Atlanta’s LGBT citizens find a way in which they are comfortable, to defend themselves, loved ones, and families from the latest crime wave out of control.” STORY BY: Blogger Matt Hennie is the founder and managing editor of Project Q Atlanta. He’s a longtime Atlanta resident who’s worked in journalism since his days as a Purple Paladin at Furman University in the early ‘90s

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Rodger McFarlane R.I.P.

May 15 marked a loss of profound proportions for the civil rights community, the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community, and the HIV/AIDS movements community. Rodger McFarlane, an early advocate, activist and strategist for the gay community, took his own life in Truth and Consequences, New Mexico, last Friday after battling compounding heart and back problems that were resulting in almost total debilitation GLAAD shared this statement issued by the friends and family of Denver-based civil rights and HIV/AIDS advocate, Rodger McFarlane.

New York, Monday, May 18, 2009 – It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of our friend, colleague, and hero, Rodger McFarlane. A pioneer and legend in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights and HIV/AIDS movements, Rodger took his own life in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico last Friday. In a letter found with his remains, Rodger explained that he was unwilling to allow compounding heart and back problems to become even worse and result in total debilitation. We know that Rodger was in a great deal of pain. Already disabled in his own mind, he could no longer work out or do all the outdoor activities he so loved. He was also now faced with the realization that he could literally not travel, making employment increasingly difficult. As his friends and family, we thought it was important that we communicate to the world that it has lost an amazingly wonderful individual who contributed so mightily to our humanity. Rodger approached every aspect of his life with boundless passion and vigor. While many people go their entire lives wanting to be good at just one thing, Rodger excelled at virtually everything he did. Brilliant activist and strategist, decorated veteran, accomplished athlete, best-selling author, and humanitarian are just a few of the accolades that could be used to describe our friend. To know Rodger was to love an irreverent, wise-cracking Southerner who hardly completed a sentence that didn’t include some kind of four-letter expletive. He fought the right fight every day, was intolerant of silence, and organized whole communities of people to advocate for justice. These were traits that endeared him to us and are traits that make his legacy incredibly rich and powerful. The power of Rodger’s many personal and professional accomplishments cannot be denied. He was on the forefront of responding to the AIDS epidemic that ravaged our country – and specifically the gay community – in the 1980’s. Before HIV even had a name, in 1981, Rodger set up the very first hotline anywhere; he just set it up on his own phone. That was the Rodger we knew. A born strategist and leader, Rodger took three organizations in their infancy and grew each into a powerhouse in its own way, empowered to tackle this national tragedy. One of the original volunteers and the first paid executive director of Gay Men’s Health Crisis, the nation’s first and largest provider of AIDS client services and public education programs, Rodger increased the organization's fundraising from a few thousand dollars to the $25 million agency it is today. Until his death, he was the president emeritus of Bailey House, the nation's first and largest provider of supportive housing for homeless people with HIV. From 1989 to 1994, he was executive director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA), merging two small industry-based fundraising groups into one of America's most successful and influential AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. During his tenure at BC/EFA, annual revenue increased from less than $1 million to more than $5 million, while also leveraging an additional $40 million annually through strategic alliances with other funders and corporate partnerships. Rodger was also a founding member of ACT UP – NY, the now legendary protest group responsible for sweeping changes to public policy as well as drug treatment and delivery processes. Most recently, Rodger served as the executive director of the Gill Foundation, one of the nation’s largest funders of programs advocating for LGBT equality. He transformed the Foundation by sharpening its strategic purpose. He focused its philanthropy in the states, aligned its investment with political imperatives and forged relationships with straight allies that helped to further both the LGBT movement as well as the greater progressive movement. Rodger was instrumental in the creation of the Gill Foundation’s sister organization, Gill Action. The brilliance of Rodger’s vision is being seen today as important protections for LGBT people become a reality in more and more states. No one will ever doubt that our friend Rodger lived a rich and complete life. A proud U.S. Navy veteran, Rodger was a licensed nuclear engineer who conducted strategic missions in the North Atlantic and far Arctic regions aboard a fast attack submarine. A gifted athlete, he was a veteran of seven over-ice expeditions to the North Pole. He also competed internationally for many years as an elite tri-athlete, and in 1998 and 2002, competed in the Eco-Challenges in Morocco and Fiji, where he captained an all-gay female-majority team. In spite of the fact that Rodger never completed college, he was an accomplished and best-selling author and the producer of works for the stage. Rodger was the co-author of several books, including The Complete Bedside Companion: No Nonsense Advice on Caring for the Seriously Ill (Simon & Schuster, 1998), and most recently, Larry Kramer’s The Tragedy of Today’s Gays (Penguin, 2005). In 1993, he co-produced the Pulitzer Prize-nominated production of Larry Kramer’s The Destiny of Me, the sequel to The Normal Heart. Rodger had a reputation as a hard-ass. That reputation didn’t do him justice. Many of us will remember Rodger as a caregiver, a man who nursed countless friends and family members battling cancer and AIDS. He was the most compassionate and giving of friends, especially to those in physical or emotional distress. His many achievements were recognized throughout his life. Most recently, he had received the Patient Advocacy Award from the American Psychiatric Association. Other honors included the New York City Distinguished Service Award, the Presidential Voluntary Action Award, the Eleanor Roosevelt Award, and the Emery Award from the Hetrick Martin Institute, as well as Tony and Drama Desk honors. How do you sum up someone’s life in just a few words? It’s impossible and you can’t. To commemorate Rodger’s life, his friends will organize celebrations of his, the details of which are still in the planning stages. If Rodger was anything, he was a character through and through; there are, quite literally, thousands of “Rodger stories.” That’s part of what made him such a special person. During our celebrations, we’ll share some of these stories and reflect on the many legacies left by our friend for life, Rodger McFarlane. Information on donations in memorial will also be forthcoming.

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The Only Blog Of Its Kind

Yesterday Campus Pride officially launched its new national blog online, Campus Q&A (http://www.CampusPrideBlog.org). The blog is written and moderated by a team of college student leaders from across the country who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and ally. As the name Campus Q&A implies, the blog provides a forum to ask questions and get answers. The only blog of its kind for and by college student leaders, Campus Pride operates the blog through its Campus Q Team. The team consists of nearly a dozen LGBT and ally student leaders chosen from across thecountry, who serve as active, visible resource persons in various regions. Any student who is part of the Campus Q Team may be a featured blogger.      

“Campus Pride views the Campus Q&A blog as a platform for college activists as well as an organizing tool for LGBT and ally student leaders at colleges and universities. The blog sheds light on important issues to young adults and allows their voice to be heard in a prominent manner in national discourse,” said Christopher Bylone, Campus Q Team Coordinator for Campus Pride. “This blog will be the hub for what’s happening queer on and around college campuses.”

Campus Pride is the leading national nonprofit organization for LGBT and ally student leaders and campus organizations. The mission of the organization is to build future leaders and to create safer, more LGBT-friendly colleges and universities. Campus Pride has been recognized and praised for its Campus Pride Camp in the summer and the national LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index (http://www.campusclimateindex.org). The new blog will also be a vital tool for Campus Pride to share new resources, updates and activities about the organization in a timely manner. To learn more about Campus Pride or about how to join the Campus Q Team to be a blogger, please go online to http://www.CampusPride.org. Any questions, please email info@campuspride.org or call 704-277-6710.