Subject: FROM ROBIN TYLER: Revised Letter - Please Use This Final Version
From: UfmccHq <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 6 Mar 1998 14:52:36 EST

A "Letter to the Editor" from 
Robin Tyler, Executive Producer of the 
Millennium March on Washington for Equal Rights 2000

TELEPHONE: (818) 893-4075  FAX: (818) 893-1593 

E-MAIL: [email-masked]

LETTER TO THE EDITOR                      
MARCH 6, 1998

Historical Perspective

In the spring of 2000, our lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community
will once again "March on Washington." This is a crucial time in our history,
and we need to have a National March.  Although we have received some cultural
acceptance, and are finally recognized as a community by the media, and
certainly are targeted by corporations as consumers, the plain and simple fact
is we have no rights.

On the Federal level, we have not passed ENDA, and do not have the right to
work. DOMA (the defense of marriage act) is to stop us from marrying. James
Hormel's confirmation as an ambassador is almost dead, not because he isn't
qualified, but because he's gay. The 'don't ask, don't tell' military policy
has escalated the number of gays and lesbians who are being forced out of the
military. Because we have become more visible, violence against us has
increased enormously.

Many organizations want to do state marches in 1999. They feel that more work
needs to be done to bolster statewide organizations. I agree. But, as an older
activist, and an organizer for over 30 years, we must not erase our history.
We have been working at all levels, city, state and national, for decades. We
have had state marches (here in California we had two, the first being as a
result of the March on Washington). We must continue to organize on the state
level. We must continue to keep the pressure on at every level of government.
To March on the States in 1999, and to follow this with a March on Washington
in 2000 will be very, very powerful. There is nothing as moving as the
visibility of hundreds of thousands of us gathered together in Washington, and
a National March allows those who will not come out on a state level, to
participate.

The last March was held after the presidential elections. That was too late.
We relied on the promises of political parties that were not kept. This time,
we will show our strength, our unity and our committment, and our goals before
the elections.

Historically, in previous Marches, organizations either did not want us to
March (as in the first March in 1979, where we were told we would threaten the
gains of our movement and "drain the resources of our community") or
organizations came very late to the table (as in the second March in 1989,
where we were told a March on Washington would "drain the resources of our
community"). Of course, we went through the battle of 'Don't March' in 1993 as
it would conflict with our celebration of Stonewall in 1994 and also, "drain
the resources of our community." But we felt it was up to the community to
decide where to spend their money. All three times, despite being battered by
the forces of our own people who did not want us to have a National March, we
continued to organize successful Marches on Washington. These marches acted as
reinforcing fuel to the life force of our movement. They energized us for
years.

In 1979, 100,000 of us attended the first march, and we wept as we embraced
each other by the Washington Monument, faced the White House, and demanded our
Rights. I emceed and line-produced the main stage. The rally was heard over
National Radio. We knew we had made history.

The second March (attendance 1 million) gave birth to "The Quilt" and  "The
Wedding Ceremony." The wedding ceremony was so controversial within our own
community at that time. Little did we know that only a decade later, we would
fight for this to become a reality for our community. I produced the Main
Stage Rally and although television and newspapers covered the March, both
Time and Newsweek did not. They said we had not notified them in time. Today
we have been on the covers of Time and Newsweek.

By the 3rd March in 1993, we still had no rights, but more and more people,
including famous personalities, were beginning to come out. Melissa Ethridge,
Martina Navratalova, Sir Ian McCallen, the Indigo Girls, as well as straight
celebrity supporters such as Cybil Sheppard and Judith Light appeared on that
stage. We honored those of our community who had served and were forced out of
the military, and wept, as the mother of Alan Shindler (the young gay man who
was murdered in the navy) and one million of us paid tribute to his memory.
And for the first time, CSPAN covered us, and we were seen all over this
Nation, and on CNN, all over the world. And once again, we called for equal
rights. I co-produced that stage. Since that third March, the media has given
us tremendous coverage and recognized us as a community.

But we are more than just a community. And we are not the gay 'industry.' We
are a movement, and movements in order to survive and thrive, must move. We
must mount a successful state-wide action in 1999 and we must March on
Washington in Spring of 2000. We have received overwhelming support from
grassroots members of our community who attended other Marches on Washington,
or who have heard of them and want to participate in the next one. UFMCC and
HRC came aboard immediately, and the National Latino/a Lesbian & Gay
Organizations have been unwaivering in their support.

This should not be a battle over state marches vs. a national March. I
presented a financial plan to HRC and MCC that I believe will raise enough
money not only to cover the March, but to possibly raise money for
organizations who are fighting for our rights on every level. This march will
be televised nationally and all over the world, so millions of people who
cannot afford to participate in any March, can be a part of this great
experience. We will put our children on stage, and our parents, and show our
diversity, and our unwavering commitment. We will honor our youth and our
elders. Our courage, our will to live, and our strength through the struggle,
while maintaining our humor and our ability to love, have made us
extraordinary. We will not stop until we have equal rights. This includes the
right to work, to live without violence, to marry, to keep our children, to
serve our country, to support our health issues, and all of the other benefits
non-gays have in this country. And until that happens, like the Phoenix,
against all odds, we have and will continue to rise, again and again, and to
March on Washington, and to never stop the struggle until we have full
equality. We owe it to our future generations. 

We will do it with dignity and self-esteem and love. 

And we will win.

Robin Tyler, Executive Producer
Millennium March on Washington for Equal Rights 2000 (LGBT)

email: [email-masked]