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NEWS
Queer Nation Sends
Video Message to Cracker Barrel
Activists say they plan to continue actions and pressure
by Gary Kaupman
Atlanta—Members of Queer Nation/
Atlanta have sent a video taped compila
tion of their demonstrations against
Cracker Barrel to the company's CEO, Dan
Evins.
"The tape is just like a letter to let him
[Evins] know what's really going on," said
QN spokesperson Lynn Cothren. "We
want him to see the diversity of the people
that have been involved in our actions
protesting his company's discrimination
against lesbians and gay men."
The 30 minute tape includes interviews
with individuals who have been fired and
those who have participated in the demon
strations, as well as scenes from QN's
actions at the restaurants. "I think he
[Evins] will get the message when he sees
us marching out of one of his restaurants
singing 'We Shall Overcome,"' Cothren
added.
Cracker Barrel, which operates 90-plus
restaurants in the Southeast and Midwest,
fired at least 11 lesbian and gay employees
in late January and early February of this
year. After those firings and a written com
pany policy against the employment of les
bians and gay men were made public,
Cracker Barrel issued a statement that it
claimed rescinded the policy. However,
activist groups (including Queer Nation
Atlanta, the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force and the Tennessee Gay and
Lesbian Alliance) have refused to accept
the statement as sufficient. The groups
continue to press their demands that: the
fired workers be rehired and paid back
wages; that the company issue a clear
statement of anti-discrimination in its hir
ing and employment practices; and that the
company make a public apology and resti
tution for its actions.
Representatives of Cracker Barrel have
steadfastly refused to speak to the activist
groups or to comment to the press. QN's
Cothren says that his group's decision to
send its video tape came from their con
cern that "...Evins may not be getting the
message. We don't know what his store
managers are reporting to him [about our
actions] and we don't know whether he is
getting our phone messages and letters."
Evins did receive, and respond quickly
to, a letter from New York City
Comptroller Elizabeth Holtzman and City
Finance Director Carol O'Cleireacain. The
two women—trustees of five New York
pension and retirement funds which
together own more than $3 million in
Cracker Barrel stock—voiced their con
cern over the company's actions.
In his reply to Holtzman and
O'Cleireacain, Evins wrote, "As publicly
stated the policy has been rescinded...We
have no morally discriminating policies in
this company."
Holtzman and O'Cleireacain replied to
Evins with a request for a "clear statement
of the company's policy relating to the role
of sexual preference in employment."
They also requested information from
Evins on what "remedial steps" had been
taken in regards the employees who had
been fired. Evins had not replied to these
requests as this issue went to type.
Also after this issue went to type, QN
Atlanta staged yet another sit in at the
Morrow Cracker Barrel. Cable TV person
ality Deaundra Peek was scheduled to tape
her weekly show at the demonstration and
representatives from several groups and
organizations planned to voice their
support for QN's actions against the restau
rant chain.
Queer Nation will stage legal sit-ins at
the Norcross Cracker Barrel on Sun. May
5 and at the Douglasville store on Sun.
May 12. The second action is on Mother's
Day; participants are urged to invite their
mothers. See the calendar in this issue for
more information or call 286-2355 for
info.
Elton John to be
AIDS Walk's
Spokesperson
by Larry Pellegrini
Atlanta-Atlanta's first annual benefit
AIDS Walk, dubbed by its sponsor, AID
Atlanta, "From All Walks of Life," was
announced April 15 at a City Hall Press
Conference. The walk is scheduled for
September 8, at 1:00 p.m.
Elton John will serve as the Walk's
Celebrity Spokesperson. Elton commented
about his well-known involvement with
Ryan White and how it had changed his
life. He emphasized his committment by
saying he was willing to "raise money,
consciousness—whatever I can do to help
so that people will suffer less or to hopeful
ly find a cure. I'm not going to rest until
one day there is a cure. Let's all do what
we can to end this tragic disease."
The Walk sponsors have enlisted Mayor
Maynard Jackson and his wife Valerie as
well as President Jimmy Carter and his
wife Rosalyn to be honorary chairs.
The nine AIDS direct service agencies
that the Walk will benefit are: AID
Atlanta, AIDS Research Consortium,
Atlanta AIDS Legal Project, Atlanta
Interfaith AIDS Network, Childkind,
Jerusalem House, Outreach, Project Open
Hand, and the Atlanta Chapter of the
National Association for People With
AIDS.
"The AIDS Walk will be the largest
fund-raising event ever held in the state of
Georgia to promote community-wide
awareness of the AIDS crisis. We are
anticipating between 7000 and 9000 peo
ple from 'all walks of life' to participate,"
said Harry Brown, Project Director for the
Walk.
The route for the 5k (3.2 miles) walk
will begin at Grady High School and wind
through Midtown and Piedmont Park with
all walkers eventually returning to Grady
for live entertainment, celebrity emcees
and refreshments. Maps of the route, reg
istration information and other details are
now available by calling the Walk hotline
at 885-6800.
Speakers at the Press Conference
emphasized education as one of the priori
ties in the battle against the spread of
AIDS. Elton revealed, "I didn't know what
a condom was when I was young. I knew
Karen Dunigan
"I'm not going to rest until one day
there is a cure," Elton John claimed
during the announcement of the
AIDS walk benefit, "From All
Walks of Life," scheduled for
September 8.
what it looked like, but I didn't know what
to do with it."
It is rumored that John has recently pur
chased a condominium in Atlanta and will
be spending a significant amount of time
in the city.
HIV Planning Council
Recommends Six Groups
for Ryan White S
by KC Wildmoon
Atlanta - The executive committee of
the HIV Planning Council announced on
April 18 its recommendations for dispersal
of $900,000 made available by the federal
government for HIV health care services
in the metro Atlanta area. The money is
available through Title 1 of the Ryan
White Comprehensive AIDS Resources
Emergency Act of 1990. The full council
will vote on the recommendations on April
30.
The committee recommended
$600,000, the largest portion, to Grady
Hospital. "Grady has a six month waiting
period to get into the outpatient clinic (for
AIDS care)," said committee co-chair Jim
Martin. "We felt that had to be addressed,
and granting them $600,000 was how we
did it."
Other recommendations for fund dis
persal were $90,000 each to AID Atlanta
and the Visiting Nurses Association, and
$40,000 each to Southside Hospital adult
care, Project Open Hand, and the Fulton
County Health Department.
"Each group that applied had a strong
case for the money," said Martin. "The
committee had very hard decisions to
make. We did the best we could."
The HIV Planning Council originally
asked for $5.6 million from the supple
mental grant program. Martin said that
metro Atlanta "probably should have got
ten $2 million if everything had been going
absolutely right, based on the number of
AIDS cases we have."
Martin could only speculate on why the
city received only $900,000 out of $46
million allocated for the entire country.
"Probably other cities are further along in
organization, or have a stronger track
record . This council has only been togeth
er for 6 months," he said. "But that's only
a guess. I really don't know."
Ga. State, Tech Protest
Military Ran on Gays
by Ian Ginsburg
Shawn Badinger, a Tech student and
highly decorated ROTC captain in high
school was planning a career in military
service. "I was encouraged by ROTC
commanders in High School to pursue a
career in the Military because I was good.
I was aiming for West Point and I had a
spotless ROTC high school record as an
officer. To deny me this opportunity now
because I am openly lesbian is simply
stupid," she said. Badinger was denied
admittance to ROTC because she is a
member of the Gay and Lesbian Student
Alliance (GALA) at Georgia Tech.
Badinger, and other gay and lesbian
students are frequently denied admittance
to ROTC because of Military Directive
1332.14 of the Department of Defense
which reads, "Homosexuality is incompat
ible with military service.”
On college campuses nationwide on
April 10, this directive was challenged
through protests, sit-ins, press conferences
and information sharing activities. Locally,
GALA of Georgia Tech and Georgia State
University combined their efforts to
protest the Army ROTC's discriminatory
membership directives at a press confer
ence held inside the University Center at
Georgia State. According to its policies,
the University asked that the informational
protest take place in an indoor environ
ment. GALA protest organizer David
VanderGriff complied with the
University's request.
Noting that there are 24 ROTC scholar
ship students at Georgia State, VanderGriff
said, "these scholarships are not open to
gay and lesbian students, regardless of
ability, aptitude, strength or intelligence. It
is purely an exclusionary directive based
on ignorance and fear."
The Student Government Association
of Georgia State did not overtly support
the GALA action. However, they made
clear in a statement their, "support of a dis
crimination-free environment at Georgia
State. All discrimination should be banned
in the military."
GALA member John Jenkins, a gradu
ate student at Georgia Tech, read a state
ment that the Tech Graduate Student
Council had passed. It voiced the
Graduate Council's opposition to on-cam
pus discrimination of any kind against les
bians and gays.
At its conclusion, the informal press
conference moved outside to the library
steps in order for GALA members to hand
out fliers. VanderGriff was pleased at the
"curious and friendly reception" from
passing students. He observed that "there
was no negative reaction." No position
was taken by faculties or staff at either
school. GALA members at Tech informed
their president John Patrick Crecine about
the Army ROTC's discriminatory practices
in writing. There was no response.
ROTC headquarters at both Georgia
State and Georgia Tech refused to com
ment on the protests.
2
Southern Voice/April 25, 1991
