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ACT UP Adds to City Formula
A dash of spice was added to the ongoing
struggle for a judicious AIDS policy and
lesbian/gay civil rights in the city of Atlanta
by members of the New York-based AIDS
Coalition To Unleash Power (ACT UP)
during the recent Democratic National
Convention. Activists who had previously
followed the lead of Atlanta's black civil
rights predecessors and used negotiation
rather than street confrontation to make gains
with city politicians, admitted their surprise at
the success of ACT UP's boisterous tactics.
When the ACT UP contingent slammed into
city hall demanding an apology for the violent
treatment they received at the hands of
Atlanta city police, they may have subtly
altered the power base for all future
lesbian/gay dealings with the city.
The Southern qualities that make Atlanta
unique have also spread a veneer of apathy
over the wellspring of anger that groups like
ACT UP have tapped so successfully in other
major American cities, and have hampered
local lesbian/gay leaders in their dealings with
city officials. Forced to use a low-key
approach to city government because they
could not muster the chanting crowds that
emboldened other cities, Atlanta's activists
allowed politicians to give cloak room
consideration to anti-lesbian/gay
discrimination ordinances while skirting the
issues publicly. Many local lesbian/gay
leaders were reporting tin extremely high
incidence of bum-out from the endless grind
of working through aides and department
heads to make small gains. Billed as the "city
too busy to hate," Atlanta might well have
been called the "city too bureaucratic to
notice" when issues of concern to the
lesbian/gay community were brought up.
Mayor Young was brought directly into
lesbian/gay negotiations, however, when
members of ACT UP marched into city hall
with a contingent of Atlanta activists close on
their heels. ACT UP demanded and received
a public apology from Young for the violent
over-reaction of his police officers when they
ejected ACT UP from Marietta Street in front
of the Omni on the opening day of the
convention. Young was forced to issue a
second apology on Thursday because he
confused ACT UP with the quasi-anarchist
group No Business As Usual, and mistakenly
characterized ACT UP as rabble-rousers
during his apology to the lesbian/gay
community at Wednesday's press conference.
When ACT UP was attacked by the
police, they were attempting to hold a "kiss-
in" in front of the convention, but outside of
the city-designated Free Speech site. The
"kiss-in" was designed such that participants
walked in a circular loop, pausing briefly and
kissing each person they passed. On the
advice of their counsel, ACT UP believed that
as long as they kept moving and did not block
more titan half llte sidewalk the police would
have to allow them to demonstrate. The New
York activists claimed that their high level of
visibility as an AIDS and lesbian/gay-related
organization was the motivating factor behind
the Atlanta police department's use of riot
shields and billy clubs to suspend their first
SOUTHERN
VOCE
Managing Editor
Christina Cash
Assistant Managing Editor Advertising
Chris Duncan Joe Vindich
Photo Editor
Pamela J. Cole
STAFF
Sharon Blalock, Mark duPont, John Frame, Jr.,Terry Francis, F.G. Andrea Getty,
Dave Hayward, John Kappers, Rhonda Mensen, Terry Moffett, David Strawn,
David Tucker, Leigh VanderEls
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amendment rights at the Convention site.
Although city officials at first denied ACT
UP's interpretation of the Federal court order
that permitted the city to corral protesters in
the fenced-in Free Speech Site, Young did
agree that homophobia may have played a
part in the officer's over-aggressive response.
Where a local group might have accepted
Young's apology as a victory, and gone home,
ACT UP would settle for nothing less than a
city authorized re-enactment of the aborted
"kiss-in." The mayor was not the only
Altantan to good-naturedly complain, "That's
not the way we do things in Atlanta" when the
press and ACT UP refused to let the issue
drop. Cathy Woolard, who along with Chris
Hagin used ties in city government to get
ACT UP access to the mayor's office, agreed
with the mayor, saying "(ACT UP) belabored
the point There is a factor of diminishing
returns after a confrontation (has been
resolved)."
ACT UP not only encountered difficulties
with the police on Monday when they were
ejected from the area, but were also refused
entrance to the area by police officials after
the Mayor's Wednesday apology. On
Thursday, Police Chief Morris Redding still
refused the group entrance until he was
convinced by Chief Administrative Officer
Shirley Franklin, who accompanied the
group, that it was Young's express wish that
ACT UP be allowed to complete their "kiss-
in."
Gene Holloway, who was the Atlanta
contact for ACT UP and is a board member
with Atlanta-based Legislate Equality for
Gays and Lesbians (LEGAL), stated
emphatically that Atlanta will have an ACT
UP chapter within the near future. Recalling
his own history as a black, gay child,
Holloway called an ACT UP chapter the
missing element in Atlanta's lesbian/gay
political formula. He said, "I believe in one-
on-one negotiations, but I also believe in
direct action-from a historical point of view."
Both city officials and Atlanta activists
reported an overall positive effect from ACT
UP's presence during the convention. Said
Sandra Walker, chief of communications for
the city,"... (ACT UP) improved relations
between the city and the lesbian and gay
community, not damaged them. Some
conversations that had needed to happen,
happened,... and this helped enlighten some
officials concerned." Added Woolard, "I
think overall it has helped our relations with
city government... I don't necessarily think
we should be controversial, but we should be
insistent about our goals, and realistic about
our timelines."
An Atlanta ACT UP chapter should
substantially increase the power that
lesbian/gay activists carry into any
negotiations with city officials. The threat that
1(X) to 1000 screaming queers carry to a
politician's career are well documented, and
used wisely, should speed up the progress
towards substantial inroads against
lesbian/gay-discrimination and for an
enlightened AIDS policy.
-Chris Duncan
ACT UP/New York representative Neil Broome with Atlanta Chief
Administrative Officer Shirley Franklin at City Hall
MACGLO Votes with Conscience
The July 21st vote by the Metropolitan Atlanta Council of Gay and Lesbian Organizations
(MACGLO) to reject the Atlanta Gay Center's unwieldy proposal to restructure the established
police advisory committee and their vote to support the present committee is a positive step for
our community. Cathy Woolard, the new president of the Lesbian and Gay Rights Chapter of
the American Civil Liberties Union, has recommended a diverse and competent lesbian/gay
committee that MACGLO and Southern Voice believe will work well with Napper and
provide a truly diverse representation of the community. To change horses in midstream would
only add to the image of our community as a fractionalized and bickering group. In our effort to
work with the police on vital issues we must present ourselves as a unified and coherent
constituency.
MACGLO, with their endorsement of the existing Police Advisory Committee, also sent a
message to the Gay Center that it should no longer consider or present itself as representative of
Atlanta's lesbian/gay community. The Gay Center's reactionary and sexist stand concerning
women-only space, its continued presentation of unsubstantiated charges to Commissioner
Napper, the surreptitious way the Gay Center handled its "Task Force," the egotism of its
leadership, and its lack of growth in significant services have created a schism in Atlanta's
lesbian/gay community for far too long.
MACGLO membefs willingness to vote their conscience should direct the Gay Center to
bring about needed and long overdue changes. The near unanimous vote of non-support (only
Gay Center representative Michael Wilson voted against the resolution) should be taken
seriously by the Center. It offers them the opportunity to take stock of their motives and actions,
and decide if they will once again become an essential part of Atlanta's lesbian/gay community.
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