From: UfmccHq@aol.com Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 12:48:30 EST Subject: First In A Series: Meet The Board Members of MMOW 2000 From the News Service of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches Meet The Board Members of The Millennium March On Washington For Equality Charles Ching (First In A Series) From The Rev. Troy D. Perry To The Friends and Members of UFMCC: Dear Friends: There has been a new burst of enthusiasm and excitement around the Millennium March, and I am eager to keep you fully informed of developments, events and personalities contributing to the success of this upcoming event. Over the next few weeks, I'd like to introduce you to the members of the Board of Directors of the Millennium March -- the outstanding women and men who are volunteering their time and energy on behalf of the GLBT communities and our enlightened allies. I have been genuinely encouraged as this Board of Directors has taken shape over the past several months. I believe the Board is fulfilling its mandate to be as broad and representative and inclusive as is our entire GLBT community. In fact, you may be interested to know that of the 16 members of the Board, 10 are women and 8 are people of color. Today, I'd like to introduce you to Charles Ching, a tireless worker for equality and a shining light in our GLBT movement. MEET CHARLES CHING Charles Ching is a a long-time community activist and past member of the Board of Directors of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). In fact, he has served on the Boards of Directors for Gay Games IV, New York City Lesbian & Gay Community Center, and the Imperial Court of New York. Charles is a founding member of the Greater New York Gender Alliance and a long-time member of Asians & Friends (NY). He is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions from a variety of community organizations, including the Lesbian & Gay Law Association, All Out Arts, Asians and Friends, and the International Court Council. Charles, who resides in New York City, holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Santo Thomas in Manila, Philippines. We are honored that Charles Ching has joined the Board of Directors for the Millennium March on Washington. He brings a broad background of experience and expertise to our organizational work on behalf of the March. The Millennium March on Washington for Equality will take place on April 30, 2000 in Washington, DC. For additional information on the Millennium March, contact MMOW2000@aol.com by e-mail. We're marching to our state capitals in March of 1999! We're marching to our nation's capital in April of 2000. And in November of 2000, we're marching to the ballot box! (END) THIS INFORMATION DISTRIBUTED BY: UFMCC Communications Department 8704 Santa Monica Blvd., 2nd Floor West Hollywood, CA 90069 Tel. (310) 360-8640 Fax: (310) 360-8680 E-mail: UFMCCHQ@aol.com website: http://www.ufmcc.com ================================================= From: UfmccHq@aol.com Date: Thu, 8 Apr 1999 12:11:20 EDT Subject: Part II: Meet the Board Members of the Millennium March on From the News Service of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches Meet The Board Members of The Millennium March On Washington For Equality Duane Cramer From The Rev. Troy D. Perry To The Friends and Members of UFMCC: Dear Friends: We want to keep you fully informed of developments, events and personalities contributing to the success of this upcoming Millennium March on Washington scheduled for April 30, 2000. That's why, over the next several weeks, I'm introducing you to the members of the Board of Directors of the Millennium March -- the outstanding women and men who are volunteering their time and energy on behalf of the GLBT communities and our enlightened allies. I have been genuinely encouraged as this Board of Directors has taken shape over the past year. I believe the Board is fulfilling its mandate to be as broad and representative and inclusive as is our entire GLBT community. Today, I'd like to introduce you to Duane Cramer, a tireless worker for HIV and AIDS education and awareness in the African-American and Latino communities and another shining light in our GLBT movement. MEET DUANE CRAMER Duane Cramer is an AIDS activist and an active member of the Board of Directors for the NAMES Project Foundation for the AIDS Memorial Quilt. He brings incredible passion and sensitivity to his HIV and AIDS work. His father, a professor at Howard University, died of AIDS-related complications in 1986. Duane, too, is HIV+. Out of his passion for HIV and AIDS awareness, Duane was awarded a social service leave-of-absence by his employer, Xerox. He has devoted this special leave to his work with the AIDS Memorial Quilt and to HIV education among communities of color, especially African American and Latino school-aged youth. Duane notes a recent Harvard University study which indicates that 44 percent of African Americans say the AIDS crisis has worsened in their communities and 50% are very concerned about HIV infection, a rate twice that of a national sample of all Americans. Duane also notes, "As an African American, I'm especially concerned about what's happening to people of color. According to the US Centers for Disease Control, African Americans now represent more than one-third of all reported cases of AIDS in the United States and 43% of new cases, even though they comprise only 12% of the US population. Latino populations account for 20% of new cases. And African American women represent 60% of all new cases among women. These statistics are staggering." During his leave of absence from Xerox, Duane has met with school superintendents, administrators and teachers across the United States and has spoken to high school groups of up to 1800 students. We're honored that Duane Cramer brings his experience, expertise and passion to the work of the Millennium Mach on Washington for Equality. We're marching to our state capitals in March of 1999! We're marching to our nation's capital in April of 2000. And in November of 2000, we're marching to the ballot box! (END) FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT: UFMCC Communications Department 8704 Santa Monica Blvd., 2nd Floor West Hollywood, CA 90069 Tel. (310) 360-8640 Fax: (310) 360-8680 E-mail: UFMCCHQ@aol.com website: http://www.ufmcc.com ==================================================== From: UfmccHq@aol.com Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 18:05:30 EDT Subject: Part III: Meet the Board of the Millennium March on Washington From the News Service of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches Meet The Board Members of The Millennium March On Washington For Equality DONNA RED WING From The Rev. Troy D. Perry To The Friends and Members of UFMCC: Dear Friends: It's my privilege over these several weeks to introduce to you the outstanding women and men who are volunteering their time and energy as members of the Board of Directors of Millennium March on Washington on behalf of the GLBT communities and our enlightened allies. As you know, the fourth national March on Washington in the history of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered justice movement will take place in Washinton, DC on April 30, 2000. It's clear focus will be a call for equality under the law I have been heartened by the organizers' commitment to assure that the Board of Directors is as broad and representative and inclusive as is our entire GLBT community. A significant majority of the Board are women and a significant majority are people of color. Today, I'd like to introduce you to Donna Red Wing, who has committed her life's work to grassroots activism in our communities -- and who, just this week, has been awarded a prestigious national award for her bold leadership. MEET DONNA RED WING Donna Red Wing has a long and illustrious history of working for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered equality. Donna joined the Human Rights Campaign as national field director in 1996 and heads a program to build the GLBT movement through grassroots activism. She coordinates a network of more than 150 local and regional HRC activists. Before joining HRC, Red Wing was a senior consultant to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation where she created a grassroots network of GLAAD outposts to monitor and respond to media representations of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and the transgendered community. She is also GLAAD’s former field director and community affairs director. Red Wing helped create and manage GLAAD’s media training programs as well as projects dealing with violence against gay men and lesbians and organizing against anti-gay initiatives. Only this week, Donna has been awarded the prestigious Walter Cronkite Faith and Freedom Award. The award is given annually by the Interfaith Alliance, an interdenominational religious organization which counters the religious right and strives to bring civility and compassion into civic affairs. In making the announcement, Walter Cronkite noted, "Today we honor [someone] who challenged the religious right's attempts to restrict religious freedom under the banner of religion by manipulating and narrowly defining the principles [of spirituality]." The award recipients were chosen by a six-person committee composed of former President Gerald R. Ford; Bill Moyers, journalist; Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, General-Secretary, National Council of Churches/USA; Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.; Cokie Roberts, news anchor; and Andrew Young, Chairman, Goodworks International. We're proud of Donna Red Wing: proud of her achievements and proud of her commitment to GLBT equality and justice. And we're honored that she brings her distinguished credentials and a passionate commitment to the work of the Millennium March on Washington. We're marching to our state capitals in March of 1999! We're marching to our nation's capital in April of 2000. And in November of 2000, we're marching to the ballot box! (END) FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT: UFMCC Communications Department 8704 Santa Monica Blvd., 2nd Floor West Hollywood, CA 90069 Tel. (310) 360-8640 Fax: (310) 360-8680 E-mail: UFMCCHQ@aol.com website: http://www.ufmcc.com