Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009
LGBT history makers
October has been recognized as LGBT (or GLBT) History month since 1994, founded by Rodney Wilson, a Missouri high school history teacher. The month was then recognized by the National Education Association in 1995. Now Web sites such as www.GLBTHistoryMonth.com and the LOGO cable network recognize gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people who have or are currently shaping our American history through activism, politics, art, music, literature and film.
As the month comes to a close I started thinking about my own personal LGBT heroes who made this year's list - Robert Rauschenberg, Zora Neale Hurston, John Cage and Suze Orman. As an artist Rauschenberg was probably my biggest influence. Hurston is responsible for one of my favorite pieces of literature, "Their Eyes Were Watching God," which has become an influential piece of African-American and women's literature. Cage was a pioneer in music and art and helped shape what we now know as performance art and modern dance. Orman tells us what to do with our money and has been named one of the most influential women in media by Forbes magazine.
Another historic figure we must remember this month is Matthew Shepard. It amazes me when I talk to younger LGBT people and they have no idea who Shepard is. This month back in 1998, I was the same age as Shepard. I had just recently come out of the closet and more often than not I was frightened to be gay. I remember the news coverage and I remember the shocking stories of how Shepard was left to die, alone in a field. His brutal attack and his death affected many of us, gay and straight. How could this happen? What kind of world are we living in? How could hate go so far? One blogger (www.ishouldbelaughing.blogspot.com) from South Carolina wrote "He could have been any one of us. He is every one of us."
It's important that we remember Shepard along with all of these other LGBT icons. It's important that each year we tell his story - the story that this month fueled the passage of a bill in Congress that will live on in his name and the name of James Byrd, Jr. who was dragged from a pickup truck to his death that same year.
In July, I told you how the Senate had finally closed the debate over the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was written in as an amendment to the Department of Defense reauthorization bill, almost guaranteeing its passage. The bill faced harsh opposition from right-wing legislators including South Carolina's Sen. Jim DeMint (R) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R). DeMint sent a letter to S.C. clergy warning that the passage of the bill would criminalize free speech and would be destructive to "faith, families and freedom." Both senators argued that hate crimes were already illegal and there was no need to separate out a single class of crimes for what Graham called "special consideration," according to a recent press release from the senator's office. Despite the opposition of DeMint and Graham, Congress gave final approval on Oct. 22 with a Senate vote of 68 to 29 to approve this major expansion of the civil rights-era law.
Following a slew of criticism from the LGBT community for not moving fast enough on civil rights issues, President Obama was expected to sign the bill into law on Wednesday, thus extending hate crimes protections to include gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and disability. Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, told The Washington Post, "We look forward to President Obama signing it into law: our nation's first major piece of civil rights legislation for LGBT people . . . we now can begin the important steps to erasing hate in our country." Groups such as the Family Research Council warned on its Web site that this "puts America in lock step with the stated agenda of homosexual activists." DeMint's response to the bill's passage wasn't much better saying that "there's no such thing as a criminal thought - only criminal acts," as reported by Brian Faler on Bloomberg.com.
Graham and DeMint, and the other right-wing zealots, must not realize how I felt that day when I was a mere 21-years-old. They must not realize how my parents felt, knowing that what happened in a college town in Wyoming could just as easily happen in a college town in the Carolinas. They must not remember openly gay 20-year-old Sean Kennedy, who died in 2007 after being struck outside a Greenville bar or the less-than-a-year sentence Stephen Andrew Moller served after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Let's remember the history that was made during LGBT History month and let's never forget the stories and events that helped make that history possible.
Who's your local LGBT hero? The inaugural Gay in the Life Award is coming up and I'm looking for nominations. Started last year, the Gay in the Life Award honors a person or organization (gay or straight) that has done an exemplary job of supporting or furthering the lives of LGBT people in the Myrtle Beach area. Send nominations to SouthernGayWriter@gmail.com or on Facebook.com @SouthernGayWriter.
out & about
Saturday, Oct. 31 - Lesbian poet Judy Grahn once called Halloween "the great gay holiday," and there's no wonder why. For those just venturing out of the closet, it gives you a chance to be daring - maybe try out drag or finally dress up as Tinker Bell. So don your best Judy Garland outfit or show the world what the dynamic duo (Batman and Robin) were really like and check out the two local gay bars in the area for a night filled with eerie excitement. Time Out! is located at 520 Eighth Ave. in downtown Myrtle Beach and just around the corner you'll find the Rainbow House Bar & Grill at 815 N. Kings Highway.
Friday, Nov. 6 - The First Friday Happy Hour group will meet from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at California Dreaming in Surfside Beach, located on Beaver Run Blvd. near the intersection of S.C. 544 and U.S. 17 Bypass. For more information, e-mail FirstFriday@GambleLivingston.com.
Saturday, Nov. 7 - Join people from across the Strand on Nov. 7 to raise money and awareness for HIV/AIDS at the 2009 Careteam 5K Run and AIDS Walk at The Market Common in Myrtle Beach. You may have noticed by the name that this year's event has added a 5K run which is hosted by the Grand Strand Runners Club, but don't fret - you can still do the regular walk as in years past. For more information, visit www.CareteamSC.org or pre-register online at www.GrandStrandRunner.com.
Have a thought, comment or Out & About event? Send Chris Rudisill an e-mail at SouthernGayWriter@gmail.com or on Facebook.com @SouthernGayWriter