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“THE GROOVY NEWSPAPER SERVING ATLANTA AND,THE SOUTHEAST”
VOL. 1 NO. 4
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Atlanta Barb P.0. Box 82543 Atlanta, Georgia 30354 Phone 363-4789
The Barb’s Stud Of The Month
CRC Passes Gay
Rights Resolution
the commission mem
bers; the adoptinon of a
program which seeks en-^
forcement powers in thea-
rea of discrimination, and
the passage of the gay
rights resolution.
Gay people in Atlanta
have reason to clebrate.
They have even more rea
son to join together in a
concerted effort to ensure
that tne Atlanta City Cou
ncil enacts the legislation
that will make this resol
ution and the entire C.R.C.
program proposal an inte
gral part of the ordinances
of our city.
endous applause trom the
committee room audience.
Commissioners MaryStul :
ze and Mrs. Fred Patter
son. had deeper reservat
ion concerning the moral
issue of homosexuality.
Rev. John Gill, and for
mer Commissioner
Charles St. John, both sp
oke on the issue. Rev. Gill
cited several incidents of
police entrapment and job
discrimination, experien
ced by gay citizens. Charl
es St. John, briefly review-
his experiences as a gay
activist and C.R.C. Com
missioner, which at the end
of his commission term
found him fired from his
job and evicted from his
apartment.
The Commission then
voted to adopt the resol
ution. Chairman Dr. Randy
Taylor, summed up the
Tuesday night meeting with
the observation that it was
an historic occasion for
three seperate reasons.
The resignment of C.R.C.
Executive Director, Nat
Welch, which was received
with great regret from all
With fifteen of twenty-
two members present, the
Atlanta Community Relat
ions Commission passed,
without oppositon, a resol
ution to seek to end dis
crimination based on sex
ual orientation. The
crowded second floor com-
mitee room of Atlanta’s
City Hall had thined con
siderably after more than
three hours of intense dis
cussion on the future pro
grams and role for the
C.R.C. Over twenty gay
men and women sat quiet
ly scattered about the ro
om in small groups.
Rev. John Gill^ of At
lanta’s Metropolitan Com
munity Church, waited anx
iously as the minutes ticked
by and his flight departure
time grew nearer. Former
Commissioner, Charles St.
John, who, while serving
as a Commissioner during
1973 had laid much of the
necessary ground work for
the resolution, also waited
anxiously for the C.R.C.
decision. Representatives
from the Atlanta Lesbian
Feminist Alliance, The
Socialist workers Party
and a number of concerned
citizens including MCC
activist minister, Rev. Jim
Snow, the editor of the
Atlanta Barb Newspaper,
and long-time gay-activist
and organizer, Shelby Cul-
lon, were present.
At ten fourty-five in the
evening Commissioner Bill
Smith, moved that the At
lanta Community Relat
ions Commission, in areas
where it seeks to pre
vent discrimination be
cause of race, creed, color,
etc., also seek to pre
vent discrimination based
on sexual orientation.
Commissioner Dr. Joe
Lowery, seconded the mo
tion. Rabbi, Harry Ep
stein, began the discussion.
Noting his own religion’s
view on homosexuals, he
went on to eloquently ex
press his committment to
ending discrimination in
cluding discrimination
based on sexual‘orienta
tion. Dr. Joe Lowery, in
jected a light note on the
differing views of moral-
. ity, he expressed his moral
reservation. He added, “A
society that calls itself
normal does not have to
deny basic human rights
to those who may be dif
ferent, to protect their
norms. If they do there’s
something very wrong with
the norms”. Like Rabbi
Epstein, he too stated his
committment to ending the
cancer of discrimination.
While not gifted with the
eloquence of Rabbi Epstein
or Dr. Joe Lowery, Com
missioner Mittie Bell Wil
liams,expressed her con
cern for both the legal and
social oppression of gay
people. This brought trem*
CRC Commision Members And Staff
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