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SPIRIT, IF NOT ON PAPER
discrimination on the basis of race, gender,
religion, national origin, or disability, but not
sexual orientation.” Because Congress has
not approved the Employment Non-
Discrimination Act, which would add sexual
orientation to that list, gay rights activists
say individual companies’ adoption of their
own policies is the next best thing.
Annette Hatton, chair of UGAs GLOBES (Gay. lesbian or Bisexual Employees and Supporters).
Photo by Chr.stine Harness.
The difference between the records of
Athens’ and Atlanta’s top companies can be
partially explained by obvious big-vs.-small
city differences. The nine companies polled
by Southern Voice employ 70,000 people in
Atlanta and over 500,000 people worldwide;
they include some of the world’s most presti
gious service-oriented international corpora
tions.
The Athens employers Flagpole called
employ 20,638 people in Athens. Employers
include two chicken processing companies
as well as manufacturers of clocks, motors
and transformers.
Dawn Bennett-Alexander, a UGA specialist
on employment law and a corporate diversi
ty consultant, says she’s not surprised that
Athens employers are a little behind. “In
many ways, Athens is a lot more cosmopoli
tan than the surrounding areas,” she says.
“At the same time, it’s still
Athens. It’s got a lot of the
same attributes small towns
do. People tend to be provin
cial.”
In a small town, she says,
“With all of the fights you’ve
got to fight, (the health insur
ance] hill is not the one you
want to die on."
“It’s different in Atlanta,
because you’ve got big com
panies operating on a national
and international level,”
Bennett-Alexander says. “Just
to look good, they'll imple
ment certain things.”
In a town like Chapel Hill,
the granting of health benefits
to domestic partners has
meant extending coverage to
only a handful of people. But
Bennett-Alexander and other
advocates see the extension
of such benefits as important
symbolicaily, and thus an
important bragging point for
cities marketing themselves to
more desirable industries.
“There are many people
who are heterosexual who still
want to live in a community
that says that they still care
about people," she says. “If I
were moving to a community,
that would speak volumes to
me about how responsible
they are to the people they
serve.” Bennett-Alexander cites Cobb
County’s disastrous experience with the
International Olympic Committee as proof
that cr» the global stage, a commitment to
diversity makes good marketing sense.
ATHENS INITIATIVES
Locally, the most publicized attempts to
change the status quo thus far have been at
the university. Though the University
Council passed a policy in 1991 stating that
>• continued on page 7
4. NEWT. DespitP the fact that he's got a les
bian half-sister, the House Speaker has
Irkened homosexuality to alcoholism, said
that only heterosexual couples should have
families, and remained silent as his GOP col
leagues engage in the latest round of legisla
tive and verbal gay-baiting.
6. THE REVEREND AMOS MOORE. Proving
that bigots thrive on both_sides of the color
line. Rev. Moore, who is black, spearheaded a
vicious campaign against white gay.s who-,
have moved into the historically black
Atlanta neighborhood of Kirkwood, accusing
them of spreading AIDS and recruit^ young
black men. According to London
newspaper The Independent.
Moore-explained his positionTo a
gay black man thusly outside,of
Atlanta's Ci-ty v Hall: ''.I hate you
"because God hates you.' Peace be
with you, brother Arnos.
12, thfe paper — part of the chain ja t
that owns the Athens Bonner- j ^ ‘^
Her old ond Daily News — ran the j £
following (excerpted) live-and-let- *
live editorial: “First homosexuals i V V
infiltrated Orlando's Disney World ! W •
and Atlanta's Six Flags over j I M
Georgia during special 'gay days' to V~-7i in'-M.'h
flaunt their deviant lifestyle. Now
Orlando is letting theft) fly their banners all opponent
over the Florida city itself. Will Atlanta be Like fello.
next? ” • • Who recei
“A city that embraces such deviant, anti- Court seal
family behavior does’n’t deserve to earn money vince voti
from tcunsts looking for family entertainment. with real
“Atlanta take note.
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