From: PlanetQ@aol.com
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 01:08:07 EST
Subject: PRESS RELEASE ad hoc committee

Ad Hoc Committee for an Open Process 
P.O. Box 1114
Old Chelsea Station
New York, NY 10011
lcagan @ people-link.com

Media Contact:
Bill Dobbs  212-966-1091
Leslie Cagan  212-927-8342


NEWS FROM
THE AD HOC COMMITTEE FOR AN OPEN PROCESS

For Immediate Release:
Sunday, November 15, 1998

CALL TO WITHDRAW FROM MILLENNIUM MARCH
ROCKS PITTSBURGH

AD HOC COMMITTEE TO OPEN THE PROCESS CONVENES
FIRST NATIONAL GATHERING IN PITTSBURGH

	On Thursday, November 12, 1998 150 activists from the lgbt movement gathered
in a national meeting convened by the Ad Hoc Committee for an Open Process.
This meeting was the culmination of grass roots organizing in response to a
call for a "Millennium March on Washington" in 2000.

	The MMOW has become highly controversial within the Lgbt community because of
the top-down and closed door methods of the initiating organizations. Formed
in the spring of 1998, the Ad Hoc Committee is a network of activists
including many organizers from the previous three national marches on
Washington.

	During the Nov. 12~ session it was clear that the Ad Hoc Committee's call for
a movement wide discussion about whether to march on Washington had struck a
chord with organizers around the country. In a standing-room-only meeting at
the Andy Warhol Museum an array of Lgbt activists added their voices to the
growing chorus urging a halt to the work on the MMOW and supporting the
opening of the process. Recognizing the critical issues at stake, leadership
from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Youth Advocacy
Coalition the Human Rights Campaign, the Names Project and LLEGO attended the
meeting.

	The energy of the meeting carried into the weekend as upwards of 500 people
participated in three workshops and several meetings organized by the Ad Hoc
Committee at the annual NGLTF Creating Change conference. Throughout the
conference the specific issues about the "Millennium March" and broader
concerns about the direction of the lgbt movement were raised and debated. The
NGLTF Board of Directors showed its concern about the MMOW by adding a special
session at the Creating Change conference. A diverse group- including many
young people - took up the Ad Hoc Committee's call and challenged NGLTF to
leave the MMOW Board.

	P-FLAG organizers from around the country responded to these issues by
putting together a meeting on the spot and unanimously urged their national
leadership to also withdraw from the MMOW board. Local P-FLAG chapters and
members had never been consulted about their organization's involvement in the
MMOW. This is one example of the problem of the lack of democracy and grass
roots involvement that the Ad Hoc Committee has been raising.

	Youth activists took their own initiative and issued a public letter calling
on NYAC and NGLTF to withdraw from the MMOW. The People of Color caucus which
met throughout the weekend added their concerns and criticisms, also asking
NGLTF to stand by our movement's principals of democracy and inclusivity by
withdrawing from the MMOW.

	By the end of the weekend hundreds of people were urging the Ad Hoc Committee
to continue its work. At a packed Saturday evening meeting, ideas for future
efforts were explored, and scores of people volunteered to serve on a
continuations committee.

	The Ad Hoc Committee will continue to pressure the MMOW board to open the
process. Most immediately a letter is being sent to their meeting in
Washington on Tuesday, November 17th. Responding to interest expressed
throughout the weekend, the Ad Hoc Committee is beginning to explore a
national gathering in the coming months to continue to discussion about the
state of our movement.

-30-