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Lesbian & Gay Pride Week '88 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Saturday, June 18th •The Pride Prom-Come kick off Atlanta’s Pride Week and dance the night away at the historic Inman Park Trolley Barn. Photo packages will be available and prom attire is requested. The Trolley Bam is located at 963 Edgewood Avenue. The Prom will begin at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $ 12/person, or $40 for a group of four (first beverage is included). Tickets are available at Charis Books and More and The Boy Next Door. AH proceeds benefit the Atlanta March Committee. Call 377-8312 for information. Work exchange slots are available prior to June 10th. Sunday, June 19th •HVA Volleyball Tournament-The action gets exciting as the Hotlanta Volleyball Association hosts both a competitive and recreational tournament at Piedmont Park (comer of 10th and Monroe) from 2:00 8:00 p.m. The cost is $50 per 6-member team, all proceeds to benefit Pride Week ’89. Call 633-0467 to enter and for further information. •GAPAC Volunteer Thank You Party-Atlanta’s lesbian & gay political action committee will host an open party to say thank you to their volunteers. A $5 donation is requested 1106 Lullwatcr Road 3:00-6:00 p.m. Monday, June 20th •Family Night-The Country Place at Colony Square will be the site of our family reunion. Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Gay and Lesbian Parents (and their children) Coalition International, Atlanta Couples Together and Couples, Inc. invite you to join them for dinner. The full menu will be available. Bring your parents, children, lovers and friends. Please arrive by 6:00 p.m. for dinner, or later for dessert Please contact MACGLO at 242-2342 for reservations and information. •Friends Atlanta at the Fox-Join Friends Atlanta at the fabulous Fox Theatre for an old-fashioned evening at the movies. Classic cartoons and sing-a-longs begin at 7:20 p.m. "Three Men and a Baby" (they say it’s a coincidence!) begins at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $3.50 per person. Tuesday, June 21st •"We Are Family"-Channel 30 WPBA will show this touching exploration of gay and lesbian couples who have children. A thank you to WPBA may be made by calling 873-4471. •Higher Ground: Voices of A /DS-opens at the Horizon Theatre in Little 5 Points. Presented by the Southeastern Arts, Media and Education Project, Inc. (SAME) and tiie National Association of People With AIDS/Atlanla Chapter (NAPWA), Atlanta Jay Rogers, Mike Edwards and John Williams at the closing ceremonies for the Names Quilt display in Atlanta over Memorial Day weekend. See story Page 12. PHOTO BY GERALD JONES Creature Patrol" Cops Provoke Stonewall Rumblings In what has become a regular occurrence, Special Investigative forces of the Atlanta Police Department set up road blocks at the comer of Cypress and 8th Streets in Midtown Atlanta during the evening of Thursday, June 2nd. Officers arrested three men on what onlookers called "trumped-up charges" just as the road block was being discontinued for the night The Special Investigations unit and the Zone 5 Precinct have been aggressively targeting this comer outside of the Gallus Restaurant for the past two months. The officers whimsically call this duty assignment "the creature patrol". What had been a resentful crowd of onlookers observing the action from windows and doorways, quickly turned near riotous when the three men were arrested. In the events that led up to the arrests, no illegal conduct was seen by the crowd on the part of the men. Describing the officers' actions as illegal and un-constitutional, a lawyer who was present but declined to identify himself, urged friends of the three men to press civil rights charges against the officers and the City of Atlanta. As the officers were waiting for the "paddy wagon" to transport the men to the City Jail, the angry crowd was more interested in immediate retribution against the officers than talk of lengthy legal manueverings. It was ironic that while lesbian and gay community leaders were struggling to devise the best strategy to improve relations with the Atlanta Police Department, the crowd was reliving the vivid imagery of the Stonewall riots in New York City which were sparked by similar police actions and gave birth to the modem gay and lesbian civil rights movement Although the officers escaped the area safely and no other arrests were made, it was obvious that they were very aware of the increasingly hostile crowd, and the possibility of danger. Although Atlanta Police spokesperson Myma May denied that any misconduct or selective enforcement was involved, patrons and employees of The Gallus complained bitterly that they were often chased into the restaurant/bar by officers, who then waited until closing time to seize and harass them when they tried to go home. It is widely believed that Cypress Street, known as the home of Atlanta's male prostitutes, has been gamering this much attention due to a city wide attempt to clean up the city's streets prior to the Democratic National Convention in July. Perhaps most galling to the crowd, was the use of rubber surgical gloves by the officers while they were searching the three men. According to department profiles, it is up to the discretion of the officers involved whether or not to use the gloves while in close contact with "suspected AIDS patients". That profile includes perspiration as a means of transmission of AIDS. According to Ed Younger, a bartender in the bottom-floor bar for 7 years, the police held a meeting with the owners and staff of The Gallus on May 31st to explain that they were performing the road blocks as a service both to The Gallus and the Midtown community. What they failed to address, said Younger, was "a 30 to 40 percent decrease in business (due to customers being scared away). Thank God for our regulars, they're the only thing that has been keeping us going." Due to the late-breaking nature of this story, it was impossible to reach the owners of the restaurant for comment The events that led up to the arrests were seemingly innocent Ronny Ray and an as yet unidentified passenger, whom Ray had agreed to drive to The Gallus, pulled up to the comer of Cypress and 8th just as Continued Page 3. Taking Pride in Our Culture