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Southern Voice/August 16,1990
3
NEWS
Move to Dump Miller is
Unanimous Only in Dallas
Controversy ensues over prudence of boycott strategy
by Andrea K. Crown
Dallas activists and bar owners continue
to claim that their Miller beer boycott is
brewing up a storm; elsewhere the contro
versial ban seems to be creating more foam
than action.
On Saturday night, July 28, about 120
people gathered on Dallas' Throckmorton
Street to dump some 30 cases of Miller Lite
into the street. The action lasted about two
hours, with patrons of various bars rotating
the dumping duties.
At the same time, in front of D.C. gay
bar, J.R.'s, activists dumped a similar
amount of suds. Like actions took place
simultaneously in New York, New Orleans,
and San Francisco, as part of a growing
gay/lesbian boycott of Miller Brewing
Company, a subsidiary of Philip Morris. In
Atlanta the only reported beer dumping took
place at Blake's where four individuals
walked into the street and dumped their half
empty cans of Miller Lite.
The Miller boycott was officially started
in late June by ACT UP/San Francisco as an
extension of the ACT UP/DC-originated
ing to political campaigns—Reed cautioned
the group that it is Phil-PAC (Philip Morris'
political action committee), not Miller, who
will make the decision. Reed has promised
that the PAC will consider the request at its
next regular board meeting.
According to ACT UP sources, Philip
Morris has been Jesse Helms' single largest
corporate benefactor since 1977.
Miller, on the other hand, says it has con
tributed $600,000 to AIDS-related or gay
causes; the donations—made by Philip
Morris, not Miller—include $200,000 in as
yet unfulfilled pledges to various AIDS
organizations. Miller also claims that
$250,000 was actually donated to the
National AIDS Network, which has since
been dissolved.
According to Haskell, Miller's only direct
donation was $5,000 to the AIDS Resource
Center in Wisconsin. Says Haskell, "if they
want to claim those donations [to AIDS
organizations], they have to assume respon
sibility for the donations to Helms as well."
"And if Jesse Helms weren't in the
Senate, there probably would be an addition
al $6 million [in federal dollars] going to
MMUUfft
Patsy Lynch
A big stink in D.C.'s streets,
boycott of Marlboro. Both brands are owned
by the Philip Morris conglomerate.
The Dallas Gay Alliance (DGA) was the
next gay rights/AIDS advocacy group to
officially endorse the action; ACT UP chap
ters in a number of cities have since
announced their support. They have been
joined by a few gay bars, acting indepen
dently; at deadline, the Dallas Tavern Guild
was the only organization of bars officially
supporting the action. The Houston
Gay/Lesbian Political Caucus, and tavern
guilds in San Francisco, Houston and
Atlanta have specifically refused to do so.
Bill Haskell, of ACT UP/SF, who is coor
dinating boycott demands, indicates that let
ters have been sent to Miller distributor
ships, "asking them to denounce the politics
of Jesse Helms in North Carolina and to
denounce Philip Morris' contributions
[which total nearly $200,000] to Helms'
campaigns and to the 'Jesse Helms
Museum'.”
As previously reported in these pages, the
Atlanta Bar Owners Association (B.O.A.)
has sent a letter to Miller Brewing request
ing a $5000 contribution to the campaign of
Harvey Gantt, Helms' opponent in the N.C.
senatorial race. B.O.A. representatives state
that Thomas Reed, to whom that letter was
addressed, has assured them that their
request will be considered. But—because
corporations are prohibited from contribut-
AIDS," asserts John Thomas, executive
director of the Dallas AIDS Resource
Center.
"From time to time, Miller finds itself in
a difficult situation when Philip Morris con
tributes to a politician who makes statements
with which we totally disagree. We disagree
with Senator Jesse Helms on human rights
issues." So goes a letter to the gay communi
ty, written by Miller executive Thomas
Reed.
Miller distributors call themselves long
time supporters of the gay community.
Indeed, they often sponsor fundraising
events for AIDS organizations. Says Steve
Corrigan, of San Francisco Miller distribu
tor, Golden Brands, "There is no way a prof
it is ever made on these sponsorships."
"But sponsorship is not the same as dona
tion," says Haskell. "It is a P.R. campaign."
The money is appreciated, but "money won't
end the boycott."
"We asked Miller representatives lots of
questions about their self-proclaimed sup
port of the gay and lesbian community,"
says Bruce Monroe, president of the DGA.
"But we found that it was not so much a
commitment to our community, as it was
marketing strategies to sell more beer."
According to the DGA, Atlanta's B.O.A. and
other sources, Miller is the number one sell
ing beer in gay bars.
Continued on page 24
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