From: ACTUPSF@aol.com Date: Sat, 27 Apr 1996 07:48:08 -0400 Subject: N.O.W.'s AIDSphobia The following is a press release by the Los Angeles chapter of the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power. The general body of ACT UP San Francisco joins ACT UP LA in their condemnation of the National Organization against Women. Please forward any responses or inquiries to ACT UP LA's mailing address listed at the end of this release or to actupla@netcom.com. ACT UP! FIGHT BACK! FIGHT AIDS! ===================================================== FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 17, 1996 ACT UP/LOS ANGELES CONDEMNS PATRICIA IRELAND AND N.O.W. ----------------------------------------------- Activists decry violence against mother with AIDS and her child at Fight the Right March. On April 14, 1996, in San Francisco, Jenny Guembes with her five year-old son Leonardo was violently prevented from speaking at the March to Fight the Right organized by the National Organization for Women(NOW). Ms. Guembes, a Latina mother living with AIDS, had traveled to San Francisco with her son and members of ACT UP/Los Angeles for the sole purpose of addressing women's AIDS issues. ACT UP was in attendance at the express invitation of NOW and their president Patricia Ireland, who personally guaranteed that AIDS would be addressed at the march and rally. It was with this understanding that ACT UP/Los Angeles agreed to participate. Despite NOW's failure to even mention AIDS in flyers advertising the march, ACT UP/Los Angeles continued to make plans to participate in the event. In the course of negotiations, ACT UP suggested Ms. Guembes, a member of the women's HIV/AIDS support group Women Alive, as a speaker due to her reputation as an effective activist. As of departure time for the rally, ACT UP/Los Angeles was not aware of any final decision on this issue from NOW. Upon arrival at the march site, Ms. Guembes, accompanied by ACT UP/Los Angeles members Terri Ford and Stephanie Boggs and women's healthcare advocate Marie Cartier, was informed that she was not on the speaker's list. When the ACT UP/Los Angeles representatives asked to speak to either Ms. Ireland or Wanda Austin, they were curtly informed that the list was closed and all of the activist women were commanded to leave the area, despite the fact that the entrance was not being blocked. The activist women declined to leave until they spoke to either Ireland or Austin. The NOW "peace-keepers," all women, first threatened the activists with arrest, then called in male security to physically remove them. At this point, other ACT UP members gathered in support of the women. NOW monitors instigated violence by pushing and shoving and escalated the tension by calling in San Francisco police including mounted officers who rode directly into the crowd within inches of the mother and child. Patricia Ireland stood watching on a platform as police officers and NOW monitors trapped activists and supporters against the barricades. She did nothing to protect the mother or her child from harm by diffusing the situation. When asked to intervene Ireland refused saying she had "more than met our commitment" to AIDS. In fact, only two HIV positive women mentioned AIDS while speaker after speaker talked about affirmative action. The rally was more about support for affirmative action than a condemnation of the radical right for all their destructive policies. As Gloria Steinem and others spoke of unity and inclusion Ms. Guembes and her child were being pushed to the ground by the combined forces of NOW's hostile members, the San Francisco police department, park rangers and hired security guards. AIDS activists were repeatedly taunted with "We don't care about you people with AIDS!" All this to prevent a mother with AIDS from speaking! SILENCE = DEATH! We hold Patricia Ireland N.O.W. leadership responsible for the violence and disrespect perpetrated against Jenny Guembes, her son, members of ACT UP/Los Angeles and others who rallied to Ms. Guembes' Defense. Shame on all those on the stage who watched and ignored the violence taking place below them! Historically N.O.W. has ignored the problem of women and AIDS. Today women are the fastest growing group of new AIDS cases and AIDS is the leading cause of death of women between the ages of 25 and 44. This AIDS phobia must stop now! ACT UP/LOS ANGELES DEMANDS: 1. That N.O.W. establish a definitive plan of action to address the AIDS pandemic. 2. That N.O.W. publicly apologize for the violence directed at Jenny Guembes, her son Leonardo, and their advocates. 3. That N.O.W. meet with Women's AIDS organizations for sensitivity training. 4. That Patricia Ireland immediately resign as the president of the National Organization for Women. For more information contact: Stephanie Boggs or Terri Ford at (213) 669-7301 ACT UP! FIGHT BACK! STOP AIDS! ACT UP/Los Angeles; P. O. Box 18013, Beverly Hills, CA 90209-4013 Phone: (213) 669-7301; FAX: (213) 669-7302