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Lesbian Activist
Dies in SF Quake
San Francisco - A San Francisco lesbian
activist was among the victims of the October
17 earthquake. Robin Ortiz, who volunteered
for the Santa Cruz AIDS project was found
dead 41 hours after a building collapsed on her,
according to The Washington Blade.
Ruth Rabinowitz, Ortiz's lover, was reported
to be ho - "best friend" or "roommate" in all of
the news coverage of the search efforts, includ
ing a report by Dan Rather of CBS News, even
though Rabinowitz told the CBS crew that the
two women were lovers. The Washington
Post gave Ortiz's search a front page story and
reported the names of spouses of other victims,
but did not mention Rabinowitz.
In contrast, heartwarming stories of how the
lesbian and gay community contributed to the
quake effort are plentiful. Project Open Hand,
for instance, which usually prepares and deliv
ers 1,400 meals a day, increased that amount to
8,000 meals a day to assist displaced quake vic
tims.
Gay Black Candidate
Wins Place in History
Albany, N.Y.- Keith St. John, openly gay
candidate and black, was recently elected to the
Albany, New York Common Council. St. John
was elected on Nov. 7 when he defeated the
incumbent, Arthur Scott.
’ St. John said that being gay was "not an
issue, though Conservatives passed out some
literature attacking [his] sexuality.” Rochester
City Council Member Tim Mains explained
that St. John is "this country's first black-elect
ed [openly] gay official." Mains was New
York's first openly gay candidate who was
elected.
Mains emphasized his encouragement over
people who "are much less willing to be open
about their homophobia."
Four other gay candidates did not win their
elections but did manage to raise important
issues such as the AIDS issues addressed by a
PWA candidate in Syracuse.
700+ Athletes
Already Registered
for Gay Games III
Vancouver, British Columbia - Over 700
athletes have completed the first of three steps
to become a registered athletic participant in
"Celebration '90: Gay Games El and Cultural
Festival."
Eight countries outside of North America
are solidly represented, with athletes from
Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland,
West Germany, the Netherlands, Israel and
Venezuela among those committed to coming
to Vancouver next year. As of October 31,
1987, there had been a 75 percent increase in
registrations over the San Francisco games in
1986.
Shawn Kelley, Executive Director of the
San Francisco games, said "All artists and ath
letes should be making their plans now. Hosted
housing for athletes and artists in Vancouver is
going to be very tight." Kelly added that regis
tration fees significantly increase after January
31,1990 from the present $40 fee per sport.
The Third International Gay Games is
August 4-11,1990 in Vancouver, Canada.
Harvey Milk's Ashes
Await Burial in D.C.
A recent article in The Montrose Voice
reported that part of gay hero Harvey Milk has
not found its final resting place. The majority
of Milk's ashes were scattered in San Francisco
Bay, but some, taken to the Congressional
cemetery in Washington, were never buried.
The late gay activist Leonard Matlovich
transported Milk's ashes to Washington for a
ceremony but ran out of money before burial.
The remaining payment for the plots reserved
by Matlovich is $750.00 but there is a project
underway to relocate to a larger plot and
include a memorial which will increase the
amount to $3,100.00.
John Hanley, who oversees burials at the
cemetery says that he is "personally upset that
this great man... is sitting in [his] safe."
Ken McPherson in San Francisco and Marla
Stevens in Indianapolis are working on the pro
ject and only recently knew of each other's
existence.
Milk, San Francisco's first openly gay man
to be elected to the Board of Supervisors, was
assassinated in 1978 by disgruntled ex-
Supcrvisor, Dan White.
BWMT Founder Dead
of AIDS Complications
Gay Community News recently reported the
death of the founder of Black and White Men
Together, an organization devoted to dealing
with issues facing interracial gay men's rela
tionships.
7116 organization, founded by Michael
Smith, had its first meeting in 1980 and grew to
exist in 24 U.S. cities and a chapter in Bahia,
Brazil.
Smith died after a two-year battle with
AIDS and was remembered at a memorial ser
vice on Nov. 18.
Smith was a publisher for the Quarterly, a
small journal. He edited the book Black Men,
White Men and authored the book Colorful
People and Places which he was working on at
the time of his death.
8th Annual HRCF
Dinner Honors Wiesel
New York - "Those who hate you, hate me,"
Nobel Peace Prize Winner Elie Wiesel told an
audience of lesbians and gays and their support
ers at the Eighth Annual Human Rights
Campaign Fund Dinner held on Nov. 5 at the
Waldorf Astoria in New York City.
"Bigots do not stop at classes, at races, or at
lesbians and gays," Wiesel said. "Those who
hate, hate everybody," he said.
The noted scholar of the Holocaust was
awarded HRCF's Humanitarian of the Year
award at the dinner. In his remarks, Wiesel
recounted the shared experiences of the Jewish
and gay communities in Nazi death camps, stat
ing that he had seen gays "in those places of
darkness, silence and fire."
The black tie event, with a theme of "All
Part of the Family," was attended by nearly 800
lesbians and gays, along with families and sup
porters. The Human Rights Campaign Fund is
the nation's largest advocacy organization for
lesbian and gay civil rights and responsible
AIDS policies.
"The dinner was a great success," stated
Tim McFeeley, executive director of the
Washington, D.C. based organization. 'New
York's gays and lesbians understand the impor
tance of family and community in cur lives.
Thanks to their hard work and efforts, we had
an evening that highlighted the importance of
support, friendship and love," McFeeley stated.
McFeeley noted that HRCF was honored by
the presence of David Dinkins two days before
New York's mayoral campaign came to a close.
"David Dinkins has been a strong supporter of
lesbian and gay rights and we wanted to say
thank you," McFeeley noted.
Steffan Denied Hearing
for Reinstatement to
U.S. Naval Academy
A recent Washington Blade article reported
that the case of former midshipman Joseph
Steffan was dismissed by a federal judge.
Steffan is seeking reinstatement to the U.S.
Naval Academy as an openly gay man.
U.S. District Court Judge Oliva- Gasch said
he granted the government lawyer’s request for
dismissal of the case because Steffan would not
reveal his homosexual conduct while attending
the Academy.
Steffan said he would appeal the decision.
In 1987, two months before Steffan was to
graduate from the Academy, he was released
because he had revealed his sexual orientation.
Steffan's attorneys argue that their client
should not have to answer questions about con
duct since he was released because of a verbal
admission.
Sandra Lowe, the Lambda Legal Defense
attorney who represented Steffan, said that she
is confident that the appeals court will overturn
the decision.
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2/Southern Voice • December 7,1989