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NEWS IN BRIEF
Atlanta March
Committee
Awarded $1,000
Atlanta - The Atlanta March Committee
received $1,000 from the National March on
Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. The
money is part of surplus cash left after the
October 11,1987 March.
More than 280 grant proposals came to the
National Committee, and 34 were accepted.
Other groups receiving awards from the
March include: the National Coalition of
Black Lesbians and Gays, the National
Lesbian and Gay Congress, ACT NOW,
Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays,
NAPWA, and the Southeastern Conference
for Lesbians and Gay Men (SECLGM),
whose next annual conference will take place
in Texas.
The grant received by the Atlanta March
Committee in early August will be used
towards funding a Southern Leadership
Conference.
Atlanta March Committee president, Cathy
Woolard estimates that the conference will
take place in about one year and, she
emphasizes, it will in no way compete with
the SECLGM (Southeastern Conference for
Lesbians and Gay Men).
•F.G.
Black Leaders Ask
for Gay/Lesbian
Participation in
Anniversary March
Atlanta - Organizers of the mobilization to
celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1963
March on Washington are urging lesbians and
gays to join in the event
The commemoration of the march in
which Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his
famous "I have a dream" speech, will involve
another march from the Washington
Monument to the Lincoln Memorial in
Washington D.C. on August 27.
Coretta Scott King, wife of the slain leader,
declared "...gays and lesbians could be found
on the front lines of every campaign led by
Martin Luther King, Jr....With this in mind,
and simply because it's morally right, I am
proud to support the lesbian and gay
llllli*
EMERGENCE International
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
The 5th annual conference sponsored by
Christian Scientists supporting lesbians
and gay men will address the ever present
power of divine Love to fill our lives with
joy and eliminate AIDS, discrimination,
and unhappiness from our experience.
Washington, D.C.
Oct. 7 & 8, 1988
Write: Emergence. P O. Box 581
Kentfield. CA 94914
Call: (415) 485-1881
community in their struggle for freedom and
human rights. In this same spirit, we
wholeheartedly welcome all groups...to fully
participate in the 25th anniversary."
Mr. Ophild Dukes, one of the Washington
organizers of the event, reiterated the
invitation to gays and lesbians to participate.
For more information on the anniversary
march, call Ms. Doris Cremshaw at the
Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent
Social Change at 524-1956.
•F.G.
Marines Punished for
Testifying in Defense
of Lesbian Sergeant
Parris Island, S.C.-Two Marine Corps
women who testified on behalf of a female
Marine sergeant accused of lesbianism have
been punished by the military because of their
testimony.
The two women had served as character
witnesses on July 14 at a court-martial in
which the sergeant was sentenced to a year in
prison and dishonorably discharged
On July 18 the two women were removed
from the drill field and reassigned to other
areas. Their permanent records will show an
unsuccessful tour of duty on the drill field
Following the action, Marine Corps
officers held "informational briefings" with
other female Marines to explain the move.
Corps officials acknowledged the two
women were punished for their testimony,
saying the testimony caused their superiors to
lose confidence in them because it showed
they don't understand or support their orders.
Attorneys for other women under
investigation on sodomy charges said the
Corps is intimidating people from testifying
in defense of any woman accused of
homosexual behavior.
Some military legal observers think this
incident will make it more difficult to
prosecute women accused of lesbianism.
They say judges will throw out more cases if
they believe potential witnesses for the
defense have been frightened away from
testifying.
-F.G.
"National Free Sharon Kowalski Day"
Observed August 7th
Demonstrators in more than a dozen cities across the country participated in
"National Free Sharon Kowalski Day" Sunday, August 7th, to publicize the plight of
a disabled Minnesota woman whose father has used his legal guardianship to keep her
and her lover apart for more than three years.
Kowalski, who suffered a debilitating auto accident in 1983, currently resides in a
nursing home in Ffibbing, Minnesota. Karen Thompson, her partner of nine years, has
not seen Kowalski since August, 1985, and lost her court battle to take away Donald
Kowalski’s guardianship of his daughter.
Sunday's activities, scheduled to coincide with Sharon Kowalski's 32nd birthday,
included vigils, processions, birthday cakes, and street theater. Activities took place in
New York, Boston, Washington, and several other cities.
The demonstrators' statement of purpose asks that Thompson or a neutral third
party be appointed as guardian, that Kowalski be moved to a facility better able to treat
her, and that she be allowed to participate in decisions regarding her treatment.
Kowalski's father has repeatedly refused to spend money on competency
evaluations for his daughter, and, according to Thompson, has refused to acknowledge
his daughter’s ability to make decisions. Thompson's ongoing attempt to force
Kowalski's father to have her tested seems to have succeeded, with a date for testing
expected to be set in the near future.
Thompson, who was communicating with her partner via typewriter before her
visitation rights were cut off, said Kowalski's last typed message to her was, "Karen
help me. Get me out of here. Take me home with you."
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