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PINK TRIANGLE TO BE
SYMBOL
they have been subjected to
bigotry, discrimination, even
Pink Triangle, Symbol of
Nazi Persecution of Gays,
Now signals contempt for
Bigotry, Endorsement of
Intro. 554, New York City Gay
Civil Rights Bill
The same bigotry which
made possible Hitler’s
murder of 250,000 Gay people
between 1937-1945 has
emerged again in New York
City in the movement to
defeat Intro. 554 (the civil
rights bill to bar
discrimination against Gays
in employment, housing and
places of public ac
commodation) .
It is a little-known fact that
hundreds of thousands of
German, French, Polish,
Hungarian, Danish and
otherEuropean homosexuals
were interned and executed
along with 6,000,000 Jews.
In the concentration
camps, where Jews were
compelled to wear Yellow
Stars, the Gays were forced
to wear Pink Triangles and
were treated as the lowest of
the low by the Nazis,
In the eight years between
1937-1945, nearly a quarter of
a million Gays were executed
in a genocidal campaign
personally ordained by
Adolph Hitler.
Although this enormous
number of human beings
were asphyxiated in gas
chambers and burned in
ovens, few in 1975 are aware
of this dreadful chapter of the
Holocaust. The persecution
and discrimination waged
against homesexuals has
been cloaked with silence in
this as in countless other
cases.
Indeed, merely because
Gay men and women have
had a different love object,
Gay Harassment continued
from page 1
Taylor, expressed his con
cern at the lack of response of
the Atlanta police depart
ment to the suggestion of
sensitivity training made by
several members of the
commission several months
ago. Commissioner Jerold
Cohen stated that he had the
option to discuss with the city
administrators concerning
problems of gay harrassment
by vice squad officers and
was also concerned at the
lack of concern in the vice
squad operational tactics.
The commission then voted
to request Public Safety
Commissioner Eaves attend
the September Commission
meeting to explain to the
commission the vice-squad’s
harrassment of gay people.
Turning to the third and
probably the most con
troversial issue in Smith’s
memorandum, the municipal
court system, a short but
lively debate ensued. No
concrete action was taken by
the commission on this issue.
Several commission mem-
torture and death, in Western
culture—persecution which
persists even today.
To be a homosexual in the
Soviet Union, in the Arab
nations, in Cuba, Chile or
Spain, means imprisonment,
ostracism or at the very least
the inability to advance in a
career, to be without hope
and opportunity because of
official government policy.
Today irt New York City
being Gay also means facing
harsh discrimination, living
in a dangerous environment
of bigotry. Among the 800,000
homosexual men and women
who make New York their
home, many are victims.
In 1971, a civil rights bill to
bar discrimination against
Gays in employment, housing
and places of public ac
commodation was introduced
in the City Council. This
legislation-officially
designated Intro. 554 -- which
would substantially alter the
lives of hundreds of
thousands of New Yorkers by
providing true equality of
opportunity for all, has since
come up and been defeated
five times.
New Yorkers, who
historically rally to good
causes, have not extended the
City’s traditional compassion
to their Gay neighbors and co
workers.
Now the City Council and
the people of people of New
York have another chance to
reject bigotry and embrace
decency. In early October the
Council will again consider
Intro.554.
The principal sponsors of
the bill (Council members
Ted Weiss, Robert Steingut,
Robert Wagner, Jr., and
bers voiced their concern in
regard to the court’s
operation. While no vote was
taken a general consensus
that the issue be discussed in
full at a future meeting was
evidenced.
Many people expressed
their dissapointment that the
commission failed to vote
immediately in favor of the
proposal to urge the repeal of
the idling and loitering or
dinance.
Commissioner Smith stated
that “It is quite un
derstandable that the com
mission did not vote im
mediately for the repeal
resolution.. .It is important to
remember that the com
mission will make a
statement on the issue within
the next two weeks and
forward that to city council.”
Smith also expressed
confidence that the com
mission will urge the repeal
of the ordinance by the end of
September.
SEE WHAT A NICKLE
WILL GET YOU ON
PAGE 15.
Carter Burden) are seeking
public support to counter the
highly financed campaign of
bigotry being organized by
extremist groups whose most
recent concerns have been
fighting abortion, birth
control and divorce reform.
To generate public support
for Intro. 554, the Coalition of
Conscience will sponsor a
series of new conferences and
forums beginning shortly
after Labor Day at which
prominent New Yorkers in
the Catholic, Protestant and
Jewish clergy, elected of
ficials and other public
figures will appear wearing
the Pink Triangle, symbol, of
the Nazi persecution of Gays.
In World Warll, no king,
premier, president, no
prominent citizen came
forward to voluntarily wear
the Pink Triangle--as it is said
the King of Denmark wore
the Star of David in October,
1943 to signal his resistance to
the planned slaughter of the
Danish Jews.
The Coalition of Conscience
is reaching out to the citizens
of New York exactly as the
Danish King reached out to
his countrymen.
The Coalition is asking New
Yorkers of good will to
recognize the frightening
ramifications of irrational
prejudice, to wear the Pink
Triangle as it is said Danes
wore the Star of David. In this
way New Yorkers can signal
their contempt for bigotry
and their endorsement of
INTRO 544.
Editor’s Notebook continued
from page 2
Atlanta we have four major
projects going on. I am
personally sponsoring a
petition drive for the repeal of
Atlanta’s idling and loitering
law. The Community
Relations Commission has
requested Public Safety
Commissioner Reginald
Eaves meet with them to
explain the constant
harrassment of gays and why
no sensitivity training con
cerning gay people is in
cluded in the police training
program The Atlanta Gay
Coalition is moving forward
on an ambivalent media
campaign. Last but far from
least, various gay community
leaders are opening com
munication with other
community people con
cerning the deporable con
dition of Atlanta Municipal
Court.
If your have opportunities
to become involved in your
city, whatever city that is,
Atlanta, Charlotte, or Miami,
do so. Do so now.
Lesbian Writers continued
from page 3
conference are still available
from Lavender Press. A
second printing of this im
portant work will be available
from WOMANPRESS later
this year.
Conference coordinators
warn that free housing is
extremely limited and urge
women planning to attend to
make their own
arrangements for shelter to
the extent possible.
HUD continued from page 1
when on. August 6th Dr. Crew
met with the HUD conciliator
and three attorneys for th&
realtor. The conciliation
agreement would have
required the realtor to report
on a regular basis to HUD its
affirmative action in com
pliance with the Civil Rights
Acts of 1866 and 1968, as well
as to make a modest payment
to the couple for their ex
penses in the case.
Prominent counsel in
Macon has advised the Gay
couple that no lawyer in the
area can be expected to take
their case on a contingency
fee basis. The pattern has
been for juries in the state to
decide on the side of un-
THE BARB-13
popular complainants where
a government agency has
found discrimination, but
then to award damages of
below $25, hardly adequate to
cover a lawyer’s enormous
investment.
Meanwhile, the two remain
in Fort Valley, where Dr.
Crew is an associate
professor of English at Fort
Valley State College and a
prolific scholar. He has just
completed a book, The gay
Academic, (ETC
Publications) and recently
edited special Gay issues of
College English and Margins.
He has been a Fulbright
grantee and an NEH fellow at
Berkley.
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