Subject: Notes From The March on Washington: 7/2/99
From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1999 12:37:32 EDT

Visit The Millennium March Website At
http://www.mmow.org

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/  Notes From The March  \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
News of the Millennium March on Washington
Produced by the MMOW Staff
July 2, 1999

INDEX:
1.  Here's How You Can Help The March!
2.  Martina Navratilova To Be Featured At March on Washington
3.  Had Problems Registering On-Line?
4.  MMOW Town Meeting, Board Meeting Set for Chicago
5.  We Welcome Many New Endorsing Organizations
6.  GLBT Marches Birth New Groups
7.  Meet The Newest MMOW Board Members
8.  Another Powerful Story... Don't Miss This One!

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1.  Here's How You Can Help The March!
Looking for a way to help promote the March on Washington? Willing to 
volunteer some time? We have MMOW peel-off stickers and handout cards for 
distribution at Pride Events and GLBT community events in your area.

If you are willing to distribute these MMOW materials to help promote the 
March, send us your name and mailing address and we'll rush promotional 
materials to you by return mail. Send requests by e-mail to [email-masked] 
or call the March office at 818-891-1748.

Write us today and let us know how many handouts you can use!
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2.  Martina Navratilova To Be Featured At MMOW 
Tennis champion, activist and author Martina Navratilova will be a featured 
keynote speaker at the Millennium March on Washington for Equality, the 4th 
national march for LGBT rights scheduled for April 30, 2000.

"We are honored that one of the great sheroes of the gay, lesbian, bisexual 
and transgendered community, and one of the greatest athletes of the 20th 
Century, will participate in the upcoming March on Washington," said Nicole 
Murray-Ramirez, co-chair of the March.

Navratilova, who won over 1400 professional matches and 167 titles during her 
professional tennis career, is also co-founder of the Rainbow Card program, 
which has distributed more than $600,000 to non-profit groups serving the 
LGBT communities since its founding in October 1995.

The Rainbow Card was conceived during Navratilova's participation in the 1993 
March on Washington and the photo on the front of the Rainbow Card was taken 
as she spoke from the main stage during that event.

"Martina Navratilova is a great role model for the LGBT communities," said 
Robin Tyler, Executive Producer of the Millennium March on Washington. "By 
coming out at the height of her career when she was the most famous athlete 
in the world, Martina made enormous personal sacrifices, including major 
corporate sponsorships and the significant revenue they brought to other 
athletes. Her courage pioneered the way for other celebrities to come out and 
has given hope to hundreds of thousands in the LGBT movement." 
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3.  Had Problems Registering On-Line?
If you experienced problems registering on the Millennium March Official 
Website, now is the time to try again. The registration system is now fully 
functional. Visit www.mmow.org -- or go to PlanetOut keyword: MMOW -- and 
sign-up today. Everyone who registers will receive a free MMOW Access Card 
good for $100 off travel and lodging to the March.

If you've already signed-up, be on the lookout for your MMOW Access Card. 
They will be mailed at the end of July!

If you encounter any problems registering on-line, e-mail us at 
[email-masked].
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4.  MMOW Town Meeting, Board Meeting Scheduled for Chicago
The next meeting of the MMOW Board of Directors will be held in Chicago Aug. 
2-3. This meeting is open to the public. A Town Meeting to gather community 
input for the Millennium March will also be held in Chicago on Monday 
evening, Aug. 2. Locations for both meetings are being finalized and will be 
posted on the Millennium March website at www.mmow.org as soon as 
arrangements are completed.
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5.  We Welcome Many New MMOW Endorsing Organizations!
There's a sense of excitement as GLBT organizations across the country 
endorse the Millennium March on Washington. 

MMOW Board Member David Medina and Associate Producer Ginny Foat report on 
the most recent organizations to endorse the March:

We extend a warm welcome to the friends and members of the HIV Network, Inc. 
of Johnson City, TN. The Network is a non-profit organization providing 
support and services to people with HIV and AIDS, and to their friends and 
families.... Welcome to Spectrum Center for LGBT Concerns. They provide 
services to 6000 persons annually in Marin, County, CA... Middle Tennessee 
State University Lambda (Murfreesboro, TN) has also endorsed. They provide a 
safe arena for GLBT students and their supporters to discuss issues of 
interest and concern to their community... Trenton Gay & Lesbian Civic 
Association (NJ), which fosters greater participation of Trenton's gay and 
lesbians in civi life... PrideNet.com of Trappe, MD, provides GLBT resources 
over the Internet... Cyberdolls On-Line, a lesbian networking and resourcing 
group with more than 300 members... and the PFLAG Chapter of Norfolk and 
Southern Hampton Roades, VA.

Here's a reminder that every organization endorsing the March may designate a 
member or representative to serve on the MMOW Leadership Council to implement 
the platform of the March and to work with local, state and regional 
organizing. Official endorsement forms may be downloaded from www.mmow.org, 
or are available upon e-mail request from [email-masked]. 
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6.  National GLBT Marches Birth New Organizations and Groups
Did you know that the GLBT Marches on Washington have consistently birthed 
new organizations and new movements? And the upcoming March will be no 
different. For example, the forerunner of today's National Black Lesbian & 
Gay Leadership Forum was born at the 1979 March on Washington. National 
Coming Out Day was born at the 1987 March, as was LLEGO, the largest LGBT 
Latino/a organization in the world. Both PFLAG and the National Youth 
Advocacy Coalition were founded from the national Marches in 1979 and 1987, 
respectively. And The Front Page, a premiere GLBT newspaper serving North and 
South Carolina was created from the inspiration of the 1979 March.
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7.  Meet The Newest MMOW Board Members
The MMOW Board of Directors continues to grow and expand, representing the 
broad diversity of the LGBT communities. We extend a warm weclome to the 
three newest members:

Malcolm Lazin is Executive Director of PrideFest America in Philadelphia. 
Malcolm is an attorney by profession having been an Assistant U.S. Attorney 
and thereafter a partner in a law firm.  He was Chair of the Pennsylvania 
Crime Commission overseeing a staff of 60 with a mission of investigating 
organized crime. He received the US Attorney Genral's Distinguished Service 
Award given annually to 5 of the over 100,000 employees of the US Dept. of 
Justice.  He has been active in the gay and lesbian community for over 10 
years.  He is founder of PrideFest America.  In 1999, he became its Executive 
Director.  

Butch McKay is Executive Director of Coastal Pride of Florida, which provides 
gay issues workshops, promotes safer sex practices, lobbies legislators on 
issues affecting our community, and organizes social events. He has been 
actively involved in the area of HIV/AIDS education, outreach, and case 
management for more than eleven years. He is currently the Executive Director 
of Okaloosa AIDS Support and Informational Services, Inc.(OASIS) of Fort 
Walton Beach, FL. 

Butch is the founder and chair of the Positive Living HIV Conference Series 
held annually in Northwest Florida, attracting nationally known researchers 
and presenters in the field of HIV/AIDS care and attendees from all over the 
Southeast. He serves on the Community Advisory Boards of the AIDS Clinical 
Trials Group and the AIDS Vaccine Evaluation Unit at the University of 
Alabama at Birmingham AIDS Research Clinic. He serves as a district leader 
with Florida AIDS Action Council calling on legislators both in Florida and 
in Washington, D.C. regarding HIV/AIDS legislation.  He has been recognized 
as Outstanding Social Worker of the Year by Florida Association for Health.

The 1993 March on Washington was a turning point in McKay's life. He wants to 
be a rural voice in Washington, D.C. on April 30, 2000 and will be working to 
get his brothers and sisters in small towns to participate in this historical 
event. 

Dennis Gorg of St. Louis, MO. Dennis is president of Events Group, Inc. and 
has long been active in the GLBT communities. He is a board member of St. 
Louis Pride, on the Executive Committee of the St. Louis Efforts for AIDS, 
Inc., a board member of Awareness of Breast Cancer, and a member of the St. 
Louis Convention & Vistors Commission.

The Board continues to maintain its strong committment to diversity in our 
communities. 50% of the board membes are women, and 50% are people of color. 
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8.  How National GLBT Marches Change Lives! 

LETTER FROM JEFF SIZEMORE AND TIM BATES (TENNESSEE):
I'm sure you've been overwhelmed with questions, comments, and requests for 
information about the upcoming march, so I'll keep it short...

My partner and I live in rural East Tennessee, where the majority of the gay 
"community" cannot afford, due to social/family/religious pressures, to live 
their lives openly and honestly, with pride and dignity.  

Our city's first "gay pride" celebration took place in a private, controlled 
area to keep media coverage, as well as potential social 
confrontation/violence, at bay. Such is life in rural, homophobic America. 
Granted, we're making progress.  But ever-so-slowly.

That's why we look with anticipation and hope to the upcoming Millennium 
March on Washington for Equality in Washington, DC on April 30, 2000.  Events 
such as this are not just important, they are VITAL to the visibility of GLBT 
communities in our country.  They are a peaceful reminder that intolerance, 
ignorance, and outright violence toward fellow human beings should never have 
been accepted, and will no longer be tolerated.  

As members of this community, my partner and I seek no special rights...only 
the human rights intrinsic to our status as companions in the human race. For 
this reason, in the spring of next year, we will join millions of supporters 
in our nation's capital in pursuit of freedom, justice, and recognition for 
all.

Because we care about ourselves...because we care about others...because 
we're not willing to mourn another senseless, tragic end like those faced by 
Matthew Shepherd or Billy Jack Gaither...we will be there.  

Jeff Sizemore/Tim Bates	

(END)