From: "Thomas W. Holt Jr." Date: Tue, 31 May 1994 07:37:56 EST ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date sent: Thu, 26 May 1994 14:37:56 -0700 From: jessea@nature.Berkeley.EDU Send reply to: ftr-strategy-owner@qiclab.scn.rain.com [submitted by: Jessea Greenman ] STATEWIDE ORGANIZING PROJECTS (pull-quote: "We will mobilize one town at a time, one county at a time, one state at a time...until we are once again the head and not the tail." Pat Robertson, the Christian Coalition). Beginning on July 15, 1994, the Lesbian Avengers will provide direct, on-site assistance to local activists who are establishing grassroots, lesbian and gay controlled projects in states with anti-lesbian and -gay referenda slated for votes in November, 1994. We will assist campaigns, lesbian and gay organizations, and individual lesbian and gay activists to implement projects in the four areas below. These areas have been chosen in order to fill the greatest needs of states facing referenda and to best employ the skills, experiences and resources of the Lesbian Avengers. 1. Lesbian, gay and bisexual empowerment and mobilization. The purpose of these projects will be to help organize and mobilize our communities for the 1994 referenda and for the long-term battle against the Christian Right's homophobic agenda. In accordance with the mission of the Lesbian Avengers, and because of the existing disparity between lesbians and gay men concerning access to resources and leadership positions, we will focus particularly on the need for lesbian empowerment. Examples include: o A Training Program, with local, state and national activists conducting workshops on organizing against the Christian Right. (These trainings, and the literature distributed at them, will be free). o Video screenings, readings, and voter registration events in lesbian and gay venues, including bars and other places where our communities meet as a group. o A strong Volunteer Coordination Project to involve as many lesbians and gay men and bisexuals as possible in campaign organizing. 2. Lesbian, gay and bisexual visibility and survival. These projects emphasize the critical importance of lesbians and gay men coming out within all of our communities (family, town, work, etc.) and fighting back against the hatred that silences and destroys us. Examples include: o Lesbian and gay public forums in small towns where lesbian and gay men from that town speak about their lives and about the meaning of the referendum to them. o "Freedom Picnics" or other visibility events, appropriate to the town, where lesbians and gay men come together publicly as a community. o Direct actions or demonstrations, as appropriate to the town and led by local activists. 3. Education and mobilization of straight people on issues related to lesbian and gay lives. These projects will ideally focus on communities not being reached through other campaign efforts (often low-income and rural communities and communities of color). Examples include: o Door-to-door campaigns where out lesbians and gay men speak to people about their lives and the referendum, and simultaneously register them to vote. o Town video screenings designed to counter Christian Right propaganda on "special rights" and on lesbian and gay lives, accompanied by discussion groups and local speakers. o Free or potluck community meals with local speakers in supportive churches, shelters, or nursing homes. o Tabling at local malls and other public places. 4. Urban-rural and cross-state networking and organizing. These projects will bring people and ideas from different parts of our community together against the Christian Right. They may include: o Distributing the ideas and work of local activists to the national lesbian, gay and straight media through articles and press releases. o Coordinating lesbian and gay activists from other states to travel to a state with a Christian Right-sponsored referendum to work for any length of time (one week to four months) on campaign projects. While most traditional campaigns have budgets of $4-6 million for a single state, the Lesbian Avengers Civil Rights Organizing Project, because of our grassroots, activist, volunteer-based approach to organizing, is able to implement all of the projects outlined above for under $40,000 per state. -*-*-*-*-* Jessea Greenman, SAO, ESPM, UCB 112 Giannini Hall, Berkeley CA 94720 510-642-6730; "Remember, stressed spelled backwards is desserts." Unknown