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SOUTHERN VOICE Southeastern Conference Schedule Page 6 Vol. 1, No. 4 Taking Pride in Our Culture April 14,1988 INSIDE News in Brief tops off the news, following the story of a Houston musician discriminated against because he is a person with AIDS (PWA). Religious persecution continues in New York City, where more Catholic members of Dignity were denied by the mother church and arrested by the police. From Poughkeepsie to Singapore, the news at a glance. Page 2. The Pride Foundation of Seattle was bequeathed $1.1 million dollars by two men who died last year. Seattle is bursting at the seams with mega-buck dreams. Page 3. Deignan speaks for the first time in Southern Voice, and delivers her clipped assessment of lesbians pursuing parenting. A special, controversial addition to the opinions of the Atlanta gay and lesbian community. Page 4. Sports Reporter Michael McMillan delivers his own antic version of the opening of the Hotlanta Softball season, using Ball Park Franks and lusty cheers to tell softball like nobody's told softball. Be sure to read McMillan's comedy disguised as sports. Page 11. Author Rebecca Ranson reveals a poignant passage from her forthcoming book, Ward 5B: Voices of AIDS. Jesse, a closeted gay man, faces the realities of death and sobriety, in an interview with Ranson. Page 12. The Normal Heart, currently running at the Alliance Studio, is reviewed by Johnny Walsh. As seen through his eyes, no stone is left unturned in the search for theatrical perfection in Larry Kramer's autobiographical play. The rage is apparent. Page 13. Comic Linda Moakes, scheduled to appear at the XIII Annual Southeastern Conference, takes a moment to talk seriously with Managing Editor,Christina Cash before jumping on stage in Atlanta this weekend. "Can we talk...?" Page 16. AID Atlanta, SAME Receive Heartstrings Grants The Atlanta Housing Authority was recently confronted about a lack of accesible housing in projects such as Capitol Homes. See story, Page 3. Photo by Jeannine Quintana Focus '88 Delivers Focus:88 spotlighted the activities of the Metropolitan Atlanta Council of Gay and Lesbian Organizations (MACGLO) on April 8th, with an impressive array of local organizations presenting their wares to Atlanta's lesbian and gay community. A crowd variously estimated between 200 and 400 people crowded the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta hall, sampling the latest move to provide outreach to non-involved gay men and lesbians throughout the metropolitan area. Organizations that staffed booths included the Atlanta chapter of the National Association of People with ADS (NAPWA), the Names Project-Atlanta, the Alfo-American Lesbian Gay Alliance (AALGA), the Atlanta March Committee-More than a phase, the Greater Atlanta Political Awareness Coalition (GAPAC), Atlanta Venture Sports (AVS), and Legislate Equality for Gays and Lesbians (LEGAL), among others. In its conception, according to MACGLO Executive Secretary Jeffrey Laymon, Focus:88 was "to bring all of the diverse elements of our community together under one roof." Focus:88 gained the air of a press conference for a while, however, as Dekalb County Commissioner Sherri Schulman made an unscheduled announcement regarding a proposal she intends to place before the full commission in the near future. Schulman startled the observers by announcing a comprehensive hale-crimes ordinance she intends to introduce. Schulman did not give any specifics about her proposal, beyond that it would cover crimes based on race, gender, age and sexual orientation. "Don't think that I’m telling you its going to be easy (to get the ordinance passed)", said Schulman. "Look to hear from me," she warned, referring to community support she will need to get the measure past the conservative forces on the Dekalb Commission. Schulman has been unavailable for comment since making her announcement. Geoirgia AIDS Coalition lobbyist, and local attorney, Gil Robison also tested the political waters Friday night, when he tantalizingy discussed the possibility that he might run for either of Fulton County's at-large seats to the Georgia House of Representatives in districts 39 and 40. Commenting on his possible candidacy, Robison said, 'Tm mulling over the options on the likely support within and outside the (gay and lesbian) community." Robison, who is a gay man, said, "I'm very tempted. I enjoy working with tire legislature. A lot of people think we did a good job with the AIDS bill (H.B. 1281)... and they are encouraging me to run." Robison refused to definitively announce for the race, saying only that he would make his decision on Monday, April 11th. If he were to enter the race, Robison would become the second openly gay candidate to announce for a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives. Due to press deadlines, please see Southern Voice issue 5 for his decisioa With the maelstrom of political victories and firsts for the gay and lesbian community in Atlanta this year, most obvservers were not really suprised at the flurry of political excitement in the air at Focus:88. -Leigh VanderEls & Chris Duncan Atlanta-The Heartstrings Fund of the Metropolitan Atlanta Community Foundation announced the first recipients of its 1988 grants on April 1. The organization awarded grants totalling $229,800 from monies raised during the 1987 Heartstrings: A Revival, which was billed as "an evening of hope for the healing of AIDS." AID Atlanta, an AIDS social services agency, received the lion's share of the allocated funds with $200,000. Specifically cited for funding by the Heartstrings board were programs of AIDS prevention and education campaigns (S60K), housing for PWAs (S60K), social services ($50K), and administration/resource development ($30K). The Southeastern Arts, Media, and Education Project, Inc. (SAME) received a grant of $12,700 to develop "a trilogy of AIDS plays by three Atlanta writers which examine AIDS and the effects on family, friends, lovers and (the) larger communities." SAME is the publisher of Southern Voice. The Atlanta Gay Center (AGC) received the third highest amount, $10,000. The AGC operates a three-night weekly HIV/Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic, in addition to support groups for HIV-antibody positive individuals. The fourth recipient was Atlanta photographer, Billy Howard. Howard, whose wok was exhibited during the benefit performance, received $7,100 to complete Epitaph for the Living, a book of photographs and personal accounts of PWA's. Howard intends to doiate the proceeds from the book's sales to AIDS social service agencies, according to Heartstrings officials. More grants are yet to be awarded, according to Carolyn Bryson of Heartstrings. She said, "We're doing a little further research into the applications we already have on hand." No more grant applications are being accepted at this time. - Chris Duncan Dekalb County Commisioner Sherri Schulman and Georgia AIDS Coalition lobbyist Gil Robison. Photo by Jeannine Quintana