Subject: Fwd: URGENT NOTICE: ALL LESBIAN & GAY CONSUMERS, EMPLOYEES AND INVESTORS
From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1998 14:06:11 EDT

From: [email-masked]
Subject: URGENT NOTICE: ALL LESBIAN & GAY CONSUMERS, EMPLOYEES AND INVESTORS
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1998 13:13:01 EDT

Contacts:	Diane Bratcher, Leadership Co-chair 	212 870-2296
			Grant Lukenbill, Leadership Co-chair 	 212 727-8257 [email-masked]
			Nick Curto, Board President 			 289-1741
			Per Larson, Board Treasurer 			 914/534-9642  [email-masked]

Please Support The New  
Equality Project Lesbian & Gay Consumers, Employees, & Investors 
Make Your Voice Heard Regarding the Following:

The Culinary Institute of America (www.ciachef.edu) is about to honor ,
Ronald. N. Magruder, President of the notorious anti-gay Cracker Barrel Old
Country Stores (615 444-5533 fax: 615 443-9399).

A demonstration is planned the night of the event at 6pm at the Culinary
Institute's 1998 Annual Gala in New York City,  Wednesday, October 14th at the
Marriott Marquis Hotel, 1535 Broadway, NYC, between West 45th St. and 46th St.

If you can't attend, please call, fax, email or write to the address below to
speak out against the Culinary Institute of America for honoring Cracker
Barrel Old Country Stores with their tasteless tribute of calling the
President of the company a "respected leader in the food service industry". 

As you may remember, Cracker Barrel announced in 1991 that it would fire any
employee "whose sexual preference fails to demonstrate normal heterosexual
values".  At least 11 employees were fired and none have since been rehired or
compensated for their dismissal.  Since that time, Cracker Barrel has been
plagued by boycotts, sit-ins, shareholder resolutions and barrage of media
covering their anti-gay policies including Oprah Winfrey, Larry King Live and
ABC's 20/20.  Even the Roman Catholic Nuns and the New York Employees
Retirement Fund have spoken out against Cracker Barrel.

The Equality Project was organized to help gay and lesbian consumers,
employees and investors stay informed about emerging economic and employment
related issues in the communities where we live, work and spend money. Our
helpful list of Equality Principles is attached below for employers, marketers
and human resources managers.

Please join us on Wednesday October 14, at 6pm in our first public action.  If
you cannot attend, please join us by letting the Culinary Institute of America
known they can't get away with falsely honoring Cracker Barrel.  Let them know
that Cracker Barrel has never fully repudiated its policy towards gays and
lesbians despite calls from major shareholders and countless human rights
organizations.  Let them know that you support other important groups taking a
stand against Cracker Barrel including the Human Rights Campaign, Gay and
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force,
Lambda Legal Defense and others. 

Join the Equality Project along with New York City Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi,
Assemblymember Deborah Glick and Councilmembers Tom Duane, Margarita Lopez and
Phil Reed in publicly denouncing Cracker Barrel for its anti-gay and lesbian
hiring practices..

Here's everything you need to know including email addresses, websites, fax
numbers & contribution information.  The organizers thank you for supporting
the Equality Project.

Participate in the "Don't Feed Bigotry" Demonstration 
Sponsored by the Equality Project of Gay Lesbian Consumer Investors and
Employees
6:00 PM Wed Oct 14, 1998 
Meet out in front of the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel
1535 Broadway, between West 45th & 46th 

To help with the demonstration, call Equality Project Board President, Nick
Curto 289-1741.

Additional Contacts: 

Culinary Institute of America
Ferdinand Metz, President
433 Albany Post Road
Hyde Park, NY  12358-1499
Tel:  914/452-9600 x1230
Fax:  914/452-0165
Web  www.ciachef.edu
Chat  college-talk.com 

Cracker Barrell Old Country Stores
Ronald Magruder, President
305 Hartmann Dr. 
Lebanon, TN  37087
615 444 5533
fax 615 443-9399

Dinner Co-Chairs 
J. Willard Marriott, Jr. 
Chairman, Marriott International
10400 Fernwood Road 
Bethesda, MD 20817 

301/380-3000 x87511
fax: 301 380-8957 (office of the chairman)

Eric Hilton 
Vice Chairman
Hilton Hotel Corproation 
3930
Howard Huges Parkway 
Las Vega, NV  89109 
702/699/5000
702/699/5179

The Equality Principles On Sexual Orientation

1. Explicit prohibitions against discrimination based on sexual orientation
will be
included in the company's written employment policy statement. 

2. Discrimination against HIV positive employees or those with AIDS will be
strictly
prohibited. 

3. Employee groups, regardless of sexual orientation, will be given equal
standing with
other employee associations. 

4. Diversity Training will include sexual orientation issues.

5.  Spousal benefits will be offered to domestic partners of employees,
regardless of
sexual orientation, on an equal basis with those granted to married employees.

6. Company advertising policy will bar negative sexual orientation stereotypes
and will
not discriminate against advertising in publications on the basis of sexual
orientation. 

7.  Companies will not discriminate in the sale of good or services on the
basis or sexual
orientation. 

8.  Written non-discrimination policies on sexual orientation must be
disseminated
throughout the company.  A senior company official will be appointed to
monitor
compliance corporate wide. 

Our Purpose as stated in the EQUALITY PROJECT bilaws:
To create a not-for-profit consumer information source whose goals and
services that serve the lesbian and gay community, and friends of that
community.  

To research and inform members on corporate policies, associations, finances
and contracts of
private companies and non-profit organizations in relation to sexual
orientation.  To pursue
equality and non discrimination in the workplace, marketplace, and civic
space.

To do everything normally associated with operating a public policy
center for research including providing the public with information on goods
and services, references, sources and statistics.

To provide referral, advocacy, career and peer counseling information
services. To conduct workshops, seminars, lectures, and conventions. To
publish
newsletters, magazines, newspapers, articles,  journals, flyers, position
papers and to disseminate information in any media.

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