Newspaper Page Text
January 16 - January 29,1992 Vol. 4, No. 24
Ecology
75c WHERE SOLD
Racism
Theatre
by David Salyer
1991 was a remarkably queer year. Les
bians and gay men were everywhere. Of
course, we always were, only the media
noticed more often and were occasionally
inclined to report or dramatize something
positive, accurate or relevant about our
lives. And the media could hardly ignore
AIDS or HIV infection anymore after it
appeared in so-called "innocent" members
of the general population. Unfortunately,
coverage of AIDS issues ranged from hys
terical to marginally educational.
Here are some of the queerest media
moments of '91...
JANUARY
...Boston-based Alyson Publications,
Inc. acknowledges family permutations
with the first two in a new line of books for
and about children of
gays and lesbians.
"Daddy's Room
mate" and
"Heather Has Two Mommies" feature full-
color pages and easy sentences even funda
mentalists can understand.
.. .Is He or Isn’t He Homo Hall of Fame
member John Travolta pops the question to
actress Kelly Preston. Insiders speculate
the engagement is an attempt to restore the
actor's image after a National Enquirer arti
cle in which pom star Paul Baressi talked
about a two-year relationship with Travolta.
Grease is the word, John.
...ACT UPpers interrupt nationally tele
vised live evening newscasts at CBS and
PBS attempting to make the connection
between the lack of AIDS funding and
money spent on the Gulf War. Dan Rather
is unamused.
FEBRUARY
.. .The Redgrave sisters, Lynn and Vanes
sa, star in a TV remake of the camp ’60s
horror classic "Whatever Happened to Baby
Jane." Viewers query, "where can I rent the
original?"
...On NBC's "L.A. Law," lawyers Abby
and C.J. share a kiss, stir up advertisers, irk
the Rev. Wildmon and tease viewers.
MARCH
...Dr. Robert Gallo publishes an outspo
ken autobiography, "Vims Hunting," in
which he recounts discovery of the AIDS
vims and disputes French Prof. Luc Mon-
tagnier's assertion that he discovered it first.
The global AIDS death toll burgeons as
these two carry on like Crystle and Alexis.
Get over it.
...In an interview with The Advocate,
Roseanne Barr outs her brother and sister,
promises a gay character will turn up on her
show and reveals "I never had any lesbian
affairs or nothing."
APRIL
...The Reader's Guide to periodical Lit
erature, the country's largest index of maga
zines and journals, refuses again to index a
single gay or lesbian publication, effective
ly denying library users adequate
access to our lives and history.
* * ...A recurring gay character
on ABC's "thirtysomething"
tests HIV positive and lives
through the entire episode
without developing AIDS.
...Kitty Kelley docu
ments Nancy Reagan's
obsession with son Ron's
sexual orientation in an
unauthorized biography.
Kitty assures us the First
Lady relished the moment
Ron, at 17, was caught in
his parent's bed with the
wife of singer Ricky Nel
son.
...San Francisco com-
Continued on page 18
M r
Taking Pride in Our Culture
Minnie Bruce Pratt
looks for the roots of
oppression within herself in
her new book, Rebellion.
7
This Old Hoe
a new column by Maria
Helena Dolan makes some
earthshaking observations.
11
Full Moon
and Caucasian Chalk Circle
are both set in the South. Our
reviewer says the similarities
end there. 14
PWA's death may spark lawsuit against city of Atlanta
by KC Wildmoon
Atlanta—Kevin Fee died on Christmas morning after
living the last nine days of his life in Atlanta's Pre-Trial
Detention Center. He was 39. His friends and family knew
nothing of his whereabouts until a Grady Hospital social
worker phoned his mother in Largo, Florida to say her son
had died.
Those who loved Kevin are confused, concerned, and
angry. They contacted the American Civil Liberties
Union in Atlanta, and last week the ACLU's legal com
mittee unanimously recommended litigation against the
city of Atlanta.
"I have never seen the members of the committee so
angry and ready to take action," said Teresa Nelson, exec
utive director of the ACLU. "The treatment of Kevin Fee
was totally unacceptable."
The ACLU's Board of Directors will vote on January
13 on whether to accept the legal committee's recommen
dation.
Kevin Fee, who suffered from dementia,
spent his last days in jail. Family and
friends were not notified until his death.
What happened to Kevin is a nightmare that has left
family and friends stunned. Kevin had AIDS, and most
likely suffered from dementia. He was arrested on
December 16, confused and disoriented, trying to enter a
duplex apartment he had lived in ten years earlier. Ironi
cally, his own Lenox Road apartment was just a few feet
away, in front of the building he was trying to enter.
He was found guilty of disorderly conduct in court on
December 18, and was released that day for time served,
only to be arrested again a few hours later. This time he
was using his own keys to get into a car, mistakenly
believing it to be his, in the parking lot outside the jail.
Kevin's court date on this arrest, originally set for
December 19, was moved to December 26. He remained
in a single cell in jail until Christmas morning, when a
guard noted that he looked "sicker than normal." He was
taken to Grady Hospital, where he arrived without a heart
beat. Hospital personnel tried to revive him for two hours
before pronouncing him dead.
Kevin's family expected him home for Christmas, since
he spent every holiday, including his mother's birthday,
with them. They worried when they didn't hear from him.
"We kept thinking he was on his way,” said Elena
Cupler, Kevin's sister, who lives in Clearwater.
"I was worrying about him since I hadn't seen him,"
said Dee Lovera, a close friend in Atlanta. "But it wasn't
unusual for him to go visit friends in North Carolina for a
few days."
Continued on page 2
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