From: Date: Fri, 17 Mar 1995 10:18:08 -0500 Subject: Op-Ed on Mel White Fast Change at Home by Don Davis (op-ed piece) (668 words) 3/12/95 When Rev. Mel White came to Virginia to keynote the "Breaking the Ice Winter Pride Festival" in Norfolk, none of us could have anticipated the changes his presence would ultimately make in our lives. Rev. Mel arrived from Dallas and was handed a Norfolk newspaper soon after he left the airport. To his surprise, the front page of the newspaper featured a letter Mel had sent to Pat Robertson before he left Dallas and a letter of response from Pat Robertson. Mel, who is now openly gay and is a former ghostwriter for Robertson, had asked to meet with Robertson to discuss how Robertson's use of anti-gay rhetoric can lead to anti-gay hate crimes and even death. Among other things, Robertson refused flatly to meet with Mel. That was the beginning. Mel was determined that Robertson hear his message. At the pride festival, Rev. White called on the local community to support his efforts to meet with Robertson. A core group of local individuals organized quickly. People affiliated with the Metropolitan Community Church, the Unitarian Universalist Church, P-FLAG, Virginians for Justice, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force immediately began meeting and planning strategy. The goal was a simple one: We all wanted Robertson to meet with Mel. That finally happened on March 8 in the Virginia Beach City Jail. Grassroots organizers met daily between Mel's arrival in Tidewater Virginia, his arrest for trespassing at Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) on February 15, his jail stay and fast from February 15 until March 8, and his March 8 meeting with Robertson. Each day a group of local clergy people and community leaders returned to the CBN compound to ask Robertson to meet with Mel. We faxed news releases across the country, organized a vigil against hate crimes which hundreds attended, and encouraged religious groups to call on Robertson to acknowledge the consequences of his words and to meet with Mel. Mel White showed himself to be a man of courage and conviction. He was determined to meet with Robertson and discuss the impact of Robertson's words on the gay and lesbian community. He held onto that determination until Robertson yielded. For me though, the real story here was an act of civil disobedience which mobilized a local community into action. Hundreds of people in the greater Virginia Beach/Norfolk community stood up and were counted. I continuously spoke with people who told me that this was the first time they have ever stood up against the hate directed at gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. A new community has emerged. A community which has connected gay Christians with heterosexual Christians, older people with younger ones, career community activists with people who have never before taken a public stand, men with women, and ministers with atheists. That community is a vibrant, exciting one which won't go away. We've learned a lot. We have found through Mel's example a new community which respects the greater human condition. We took control of our destiny in our own back yard. Grassroots activism is where it all begins. It is here that we have the greatest ability to create change and make a better world. Even the "more seasoned" activists, such as myself, have been amazed at the power we derive from being in unique situations which allow us to look beyond the more traditional ways we try to create change for the benefit of all people. We have received quite an education here in Eastern Virginia...may everyone reading these words experience a similar education. We should take control of our lives and our destiny. We have learned that we can do that! _______________________ Don Davis is a resident of Williamsburg, Virginia, a member of the Board of Directors of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and was involved in Rev. Mel White's act of civil disobedience from its inception. (For verification-- (804) 887-5407. Don Davis)