From: JimBirkitt@aol.com
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 23:05:27 EDT
Subject: Major New Developments for Millennium March on Washington

N E W S   R E L E A S E

For Immediate Release:
April 26, 1999

Contact:
Co-chairs: Ann deGroot (202) 483-0576; Donna Red Wing (202) 216-1541; Duane 
Cramer (202) 216-1541 or (202) 546-1430; Nicole Murray-Ramirez (202) 462-3358

Millennium March on Washington for Equality Announces Major New Developments

Washington, DC -- The board of The Millennium March on Washington for 
Equality (MMOW) held  its quarterly meeting April 25 and 26  to discuss plans 
to mobilize and organize hundreds of thousands of people for a historic event 
April 30, 2000 on the National Mall in Washington DC. 

MMOW was pleased to announce the appointment of new board members Geni Cowan 
of Sacramento CA. and Jose Ucles and Ingrid Duran of Washington, DC, who join 
one of the most diverse national boards in the movement to plan and organize 
the historic event.

Members of the board discussed plans to broaden its structure and create 
additional points of entry into the process and leadership of the event. On 
April 30, 1999, exactly one year prior to the Millennium March on Washington 
for Equality, the board will hold a major press conference at 9 AM at the 
National Press Club located at 529 14th Street, NW, with groundbreaking news. 

In other news, the board held an important discussion with representatives of 
the Ad Hoc Committee for an Open Process. MMOW’s board invited the Ad Hoc 
Committee to serve on the national board. In response to concerns around 
diversity, the board was proud to announce that its makeup currently consists 
of 60 percent people of color and 60 percent women. 

The board also accepted the resignation of Kerry Lobel, who met with MMOW 
co-chairs to state that she was resigning for personal reasons. In her letter 
to the board, Lobel, who is executive director for the National Gay and 
Lesbian Task Force, raised concerns about the March. Many of her concerns, 
such as the need for an open process, accountability issues, and the value of 
a mass mobilization have been addressed in very significant ways by the March 
board and the community. The board regrets that she will not personally 
participate in the legacy of this historic event. We look forward to 
continued work with the Task Force.

For more information about the Millennium March on Washington for Equality or 
to participate in upcoming events, please contact MMOW2000@aol.com or look on 
the website at http://www.MMOW.org.


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