News Briefs

Pride Marches On

After almost 20 years of being at the center of Houston’s Pride celebrations and 10 years as head of the Pride Committee, resigned his position as executive director of the Pride Committee of Houston. The Pride Committee has elected Kenneth Donnelly to fill the position.

After moving to Houston in 1981 ("the day Kathy Whitmire was elected," Valinski says), Valinski quickly became involved in both KPFT and the Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus. "Those were the days when five people did everything," Valinski remembers, so it was a natural step to get involved with the parade, which had only just started in 1979, after a Pride celebration in 1978. For years Valinski’s role was to produce the Pride Guide. But in the early ’90s, when the chair Felix Garcia had to step down, Valinski and Carol NAME said they’d fill the void.

Under Valinski’s leadership, the Pride Committee became an official nonprofit, and, most significantly, the dramatic decision was made to move the parade to the night, making it the country’s first nighttime Pride parade.

"It grew by three times after that," Valinski said. "But more than just the numbers, it was the excitement. Stonewall happened at night, the community originally came together at night. It just sounded really exciting and different."

Valinski cited burnout as the biggest factor in making the difficult decision to step down. He continues to be involved with Queer Voices every Monday evening on KPFT 90.1, where he is executive producer.

"Although I had heard of this decision some time back, seeing it in print sometimes is like getting the pie in the face," said longtime community politico Carl Whitmarsh. "Jack is and has been the real ‘PRIDE’ in the Houston celebrations, and few if any of us would have given to the community or the organization as he has. For that effort alone, this community will always be in his debt."

Hardy-Garcia Resigns

After eight years at the helm of the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby (LGRL) of Texas, executive director Dianne Hardy-Garcia has announced her resignation. After incredible long hours and hard work–which pressure led to the breakup last year with her longtime partner–she said she’s just ready to take a break from the organization.

Hardy-Garcia is best known for her work against hate crimes. "Nicholas West was killed the first month I got my job," Hardy-Garcia told the Dallas Voice, referring to the brutal murder of a man in Tyler. Rather than follow the status quo and let the murder get buried on the back pages of the local newspaper, Hardy-Garcia organized a rally that drew national TV coverage and politicians and activists from around the state. (When Hardy-Garcia went to fill out the forms to get a permit for the rally, the clerk seemed confused by the word "lesbian." "They were, like, ‘Lesbene? Ma’am, how do y’all spell that?’" Hardy-Garcia reported in David Mixner’s book Brave Journeys. "That’s when I really knew where I was.") From there she began researching the many gay-bashing murders that had already happened, yet of which no one had taken notice.

Speaking about another gay murder, this one in Midland, Mixner quotes State Rep. Glen Maxey: "Dianne took this obscure crime that was pretty much thrown away in the general public’s mind–nobody paid attention to it–and developed it into a major news story. It’s just remarkable the kind of things she has done, again and again, in that context. Making it very visible, making people understand, bringing varied people to the table."

After tireless lobbying–including a significant trip to visit the family of James Byrd Jr. after he had been so horrifically killed–Hardy-Garcia saw the passage of the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act last year, thanks largely to her relentless efforts.

Under Hardy-Garcia's leadership, LGRL stopped the Texas version of the Defense of Marriage Act three times. Her vision and organizing skills prevented the passage of legislation that would have barred gays and lesbians from adopting or providing foster care. She organized the first passage of the Non-Discrimination in Education bill that included sexual orientation and gender identity in the Texas House of Representatives.

Hardy-Garcia is the former co-chair of the Federation of LGBT State Organizations and was the executive director of the Millennium March on Washington. She served as co-chair of the Austin Lesbian/Gay Political Caucus, and spearheaded the effort that established domestic partnership benefits for City of Austin employees and established a statewide domestic partnership registry in the state of Texas.

During Hardy-Garcia's tenure, LGRL tripled its membership, greatly increased its major donor contributions, and quadrupled the organization's budget.

Olympic Body Work

A Houston massage therapist will be in the middle of the Winter Olympics in Utah getting a hands-on experience of the athletic event.

When Jeffrey Salazar read that a volunteer team of massage therapists was being recruited for the Winter Olympics, he knew this was one service project he could give himself to heart, soul . . . and hands.

Salazar had to apply for the privilege of serving on the 2002 Winter Sports Massage Team, plus pay his own way in order to work six-to-eight-hour shifts as part of the 259 massage therapists flying in from around the world to give massages to the Olympic athletes, their families, and even the attending journalists–an estimated 25,000 people total.

"To be a member of this historic team would be a dream fulfilled," Salazar wrote in his application.

Actually, Salazar is no stranger to donating his services, giving massages on a regular basis at the Body Positive clinic and at the Bering Health Fair.

Students, STAMP for Your Rights

Queer students and allies interested in working on GLBT rights in Texas’s schools are invited to the next Students, Teachers, and Allies Making Progress (STAMP) Conference in Austin, Fri.—Sat., Feb. 22—23.

STAMP’s workshops and programs are designed to give students the tools they need to combat homophobia and discrimination within their community. Speakers include State Rep. Glenn Maxey and Dianne Hardy-Garcia of the Lesbian Gay Rights Lobby of Texas.

The conference will focus on the Non-Discrimination in Education Bill. Currently, neither Texas nor any school districts have discrimination policies inclusive of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Registration is free, and all are invited. To register, contact the Lesbian Gay Rights Lobby of Texas at (512) 474-5475 or info@lgrl.org.

GL Political Caucus, "And the winner is…"

The Houston Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus decided to do something a little different with their annual awards this year. Although normally they choose a whole slate of honorees, this year they chose only three. "We found the winners of these three awards to be exemplary and honorable examples of action and benefit to our collective GLTB community and those who support us, love us, work with us and support our issues," said caucus president Deborah Rogers.

The John Paul Barnich Humanitarian Award was given to the ministers of the greater Houston area for collectively opposing the passage of Proposition 2 on the November city ballot. "The selfless action of these individuals who went on the line to publicly stand by and live the substance of their convictions is something that we should all carry forward into the new year and draw on for ourselves as an example of conviction, humility and taking action on our stand," proclaimed the caucus.

The Harvey Milk Politician of the Year Award went to former city councilman Chris Bell "for his consistent, fair-minded support of GLTB-friendly legislation and eagerness to be educated to GLTB issues, as a city councilman, as a candidate for mayor, and as a candidate for congress in the future; and for not giving up on or abandoning the GLTB community and continuing to support our causes after a heated race for mayor."

Finally, the Barbara Ciganeiro Volunteer of the Year Award went to HGLPC officers vice president Ken Jones, treasurer Mark Wood, and secretary Karma Hinson.

Vote for Your Pride Marshals!

The time has come to vote for your choice of grand marshals to preside over the GLBT Pride Parade, which will be Saturday, June 29, this year.

Nominees for the position of female grand marshal are Janine Brunjes, Herlinda (Mela) Contreras, and Barbara Walker. Rusty Mueller, aka Crystal Rae Lee Love, was nominated as male grand marshal. Jane and Irv Smith are nominated for honorary grand marshals. Groups nominated for honorary grand marshal organization are the Gay & Lesbian Switchboard of Houston and Gulf Coast Archives & Museum.

You can find ballots at stores and bars in Montrose, or you can download a ballot at www.pridehouston.org. Send the ballot to the Pride Committee of Houston by Thursday, Feb. 14, to PCOH, Houston, Texas 77266-6071. Include proof of residency in Harris County or its surrounding counties, such as a copy of your driver’s license or a utility bill. Or vote on Saturday, Feb. 16, at the Lesbian and Gay Community Center, 803 Hawthorne, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The 2002 Pride Parade grand marshals will be announced March 14.

Pro-Life Movement Spurns Gay Pro-Lifers

Plus Prayer of Jabez Author Sues Gay Follower

Leaders of the Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians (PLAGAL) were arrested at the 29th Annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. The arrests were conducted by the United States Park Police by direct orders of March for Life organizer Nellie Gray.

PLAGAL president Cecilia Brown and vice-president Eric Jurek were at the March for Life for the "sole purpose of protesting the 1973 Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion-on-demand." The PLAGAL delegation was approached by officers and ordered to remove their banner, which had the group’s name and the slogan "Human Rights Start When Human Life Begins." When they refused, more police were called, and Brown and Jurek were arrested.

And when Dotti Berry tried to start a gay-affirming website as part of the popular Prayer of Jabez movement, she was sued by the book’s author Bruce Wilkinson. Although she had been authorized to serve as an official website distributed the book, she was contacted by an attorney from the book’s publisher saying they were distressed that she chose to include"gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender and allied persons in the category of God’s children," according to a press release from Berry’s foundation.

The central prayer of Wilkinson’s bestseller The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life is: "O that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that your hand would be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!"

Cutting-Edge Queer Cinema

If you’re interested in alternative queer cinema, here is a sampling of some upcoming standouts. The Horizons/Frameline Completion Fund was established 10 years ago to assist lesbian and gay media artists with the final stages of production, and strives to promote GLBT visibility through the media arts, especially for filmmakers exploring under-served audiences.

"Although queer-themed films occasionally enjoy crossover success, most do not get distribution or even screenings at mainstream film festivals," explains Jennifer Morris, Frameline’s festival co-director. "This fund aims to tap into the motivation and energy that fuels a queer artist to make their vision a reality and help them with the crucial last steps that could make the difference between being seen by a larger audience and not being seen at all."

This year, funds went to these four films: By Hook or By Crook (directors Harry Dodge & Silas Howard), a feature film chronicling three weeks in the life of a handsome, gender-bending, small-town butch with a nagging messiah complex; Barefeet (director Sonali Gulati), an experimental narrative short film about a South Asian woman who struggles to come out to her family in India; Making Media That Matters (director Liz Miller), a documentary about a nonprofit organization in Nicaragua that has managed to mainstream controversial feminist issues such as abortion, homophobia, and domestic abuse through a politically charged "Social Soap Opera"; and Ke Kulana He Mahu: Remembering a Sense of (director Kathryn Xian), a historical documentary on the rise of intolerance and homophobia in Hawaii as a result of Western colonization and modernization.

To date, more than 50 films and videos have been completed with assistance from the fund, including Cheryl Dunye's Watermelon Woman, Barbara Hammer's Nitrate Kisses, Rose Troche's Go Fish, Mark Christopher's Alkali, Iowa, David Weissman and Bill Weber’s The Cockettes, Yvonne Welbon’s Living With Pride: Ruth C. Ellis @ 100, and The Brandon Teena Story by Susan Muska and Greta Olafsdottir.

Each year, Frameline presents the San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, the oldest and largest event of its kind in the world. And Frameline Distribution is the nation's only distributor solely dedicated to lesbian and gay film and video.