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Jessica Xavier



Millenium March

March Madness

By Jessica Xavier


Author's note: On June 9th and 10th, meetings were held in Washington DC to discuss the proposals for the two national LGBT marches - the Equality Begins at Home (EBAH) states and territories marches scheduled for March 21-27 1999, and the Millennium March (MM), scheduled for April 30, 2000. As National Director of It's Time, America! I was the only transgendered person in attendance, although Helen Gonzales attended as GenderPAC's designated observer. The following is a report about the Millennium March for your information to assist you and your organizations in making your own decisions regarding your participation in the MM. I'll cover the Equality Begins At Home march in a future column.

There's nothing like a march to set us at each other's throats. The previous three Marches on Washington (in 1979, 1987 and 1993) and 1994's Stonewall 25 became battlegrounds for identity politics and unrepresented groups. So not unexpectedly, the two latest march proposals became controversial almost as soon as they were announced, but it was the Millennium March (MM) that quickly became the largest target. The Equality Begins At Home (EBAH) Marches were announced first, although their dates were not set until recently (March 21-27, 1999). Since the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force put the EBAH proposal forward, the Human Rights Campaign, in truest fashion, followed suit with the MM, and the latest chapter of their rivalry began in earnest.

The original idea for the EBAH seemed to come from NGLTF Policy Institute Executive Director Urvashi Vaid who made it at a September 1997 meeting of the National Policy Roundtable. Then at Creating Change last November, veteran lesbian organizer Robin Tyler looked at her watch and noticed that the Millennium year of 2000 would mark seven years after the last (1993) March On Washington. Since Tyler had produced the earlier marches, she approached several gay and lesbian leaders about some sort of national event to mark the Millennium. Martin Ornelas Quintero, Executive Director of LLEGO (the Latino/Latina Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Organization) expressed his organization's desire for an event to draw attention to the issues of queer People of Color, especially Latinos. Similarly, Reverend Troy Perry of the Metropolitan Community Churches felt that gay and lesbian communities of faith were under-represented in the previous marches on Washington. Although it did not have an Executive Director at that time, PFLAG was chosen for its focus on families of LGBT persons. HRC's Elizabeth Birch loved the idea, envisioning a huge television event on the Mall to dramatize the themes of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender family, spirituality and racial diversity.

Thus HRC teamed with LLEGO, MCC and PFLAG, and made what many regard as a preemptory decision and announced the MM in February of this year. The firestorm of intense criticism that followed the announcement created a national controversy which spilled over into the March 1998 National Policy Roundtable discussions. One transgender critic felt the name 'Millennium March' was chosen because HRC Communications Director David Smith still has difficulty pronouncing the word 'transgender'. Much of the controversy was generated by grass roots gay and lesbian leaders of the previous marches, and it led to the formation of the Ad Hoc Committee for Open Process.

The two-day meeting in June grew out of an earlier meeting of Executive Directors held in Laguna Beach, California, which discussed a means for salvaging both marches and framing both of them in a more positive, noncompetitive light. A Planning Committee for the meetings was formed, consisting of the Executive Directors of many major gay and lesbian organizations (HRC, NGLTF, GLAAD, NCLR, LLEGO, GLSEN, NYAC, NBLGLF, LA Lesbian and Gay Center, Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas, and OutFront Minnesota) - most of whom attended the June meeting. The invitation I received stated that the purpose of the meetings was to "collectively design the methodology and to create the structure necessary for the successful implementation of both (marches)". A second (confirmation) letter stated that while the planning committee "accepted the premise that the Millennium March and Equality Begins at Home actions are going to occur, everything else is on the table for decision." That did not prove to be the case. Although It's Time, America! has yet to officially endorse either march, I attended out of a need for additional information, in order to help my own board of directors make an informed decision.

The June meeting was originally intended for Executive Directors of national LGBT organizations by invitation only. About 20 members of the Ad Hoc Committee for Open Process, including Steve Ault, Leslie Cagan, Mandy Carter, John O'Brien and Barbara Smith showed up and also attended the meeting at their insistence. However, the Planning Committee opened only the morning session to them, in order for them to present their proposal and provide their comments at that time.

The Ad Hoc Committee issued a one-page proposal attached to a press release demanding that rally organizers use inclusive, democratic decision-making and organizing processes for deciding whether or not a national rally (the Millennium March) should be held. According to their press release, both HRC and the Metropolitan Community Church, lead organizers of the Millennium March, "have been sharply criticized for using heavy-handed and exclusionary tactics to try and gather support for an event many consider a poorly-timed, strategically-flawed diversion of resources." Congressman Barney Frank has voiced a similar complaint - that gay and lesbian efforts are better spent in the states, not in giant marches on the Mall.

The Millennium March Organizational Model

After an overview of the origins of the idea for the Millennium March was presented, the Planning Committee then presented its draft of a model for planning and organizing the MM for the consideration of those present. A Board of Directors of 10-15 members will handle its fiduciary and legal responsibilities, write its platform, organize fundraising and conduct fundraising itself, and supervise the march staff. A separate and much larger Leadership Council would be much larger and charged with the grass roots organizing of the event. Standing Committees for administrative, marketing, program, fundraising, etc. would be composed of one member from the Board of Directors, one from the Leadership Council, staff and volunteers. The march would be largely funded by the profit from hotel rooms (now 10,000, according to the Ad Hoc Committee). Robin Tyler, acting as if she had been already hired as the MM's Executive Producer, had already signed all the contracts for the hotel rooms, set up an 800 number and a website for the MM. The Planning Committee also announced that a Millennium March, Inc. had been formed prior to the meeting by HRC and MCC. Finally, the Planning Committee stressed that the MM and the Equality Begins at Home actions are complimentary and not in competition with one another.

Ad Hoc Committee for Open Process Proposal and Discussion

The Ad Hoc Committee handed out its one page proposal (issued in its recent press release) and its members spoke. Barbara Smith criticized the planning process as "elitist", undemocratic and lacking in sufficient representation for People of Color. Leslie Cagan said that their proposal was more democratic, open and inclusive, and also stated that literally everything should be open to discussion - including the process being used at this meeting itself. Steve Ault noted that elected representatives in previous marches resulted in high levels of local input and investment. Mandy Carter asked where were our allies in the original proposal announced in February, and she further explained that this event would be much more powerful if it was not just LGBT-specific - and that we have an opportunity to combine forces with other oppressed groups (People of Color, Immigrants, and others). Barbara Smith also noted that the proposed April 30, 2000 date was in conflict with the 25th Anniversary of the end of the War in Viet Nam.

It also should be noted that the open, inclusive democratic process model that the Ad Hoc Committee requested was that of the 1993 March On Washington. As a volunteer for the 1993 MOW, I watched that process work against transgender inclusion in that event, and several members of the Ad Hoc Committee, as well as some of the early organizers of the MM, have themselves opposed transgender inclusion in previous national marches and events. A proposal was made to the Ad Hoc Committee that they be allowed to stay after lunch and that one of their members be allowed to cast votes in the decision-making process to follow. That was unacceptable to the Ad Hoc Committee, who walked out of the meeting en masse shortly after it re-adjourned after lunch.

Decisions Made by the Meeting Participants

* The Planning Committee's model for organization and planning the MM was accepted;

* Composition of the board of directors and those involved in the decision-making processes was determined with strong regard to diversity (gender and racial parity);

* Responsibilities of board members were generally described, but included the proviso that they must "actively fund-raise" for the MM

* Recommendation to the board for disbursement of possible profits was adopted, with 33% going to People of Color organizations, 33% to statewide organizations and the rest to the board's discretion;

* Finally, the meeting took nominations for the Board of Directors. (I was nominated and declined). The meeting then elected seven (of the 15) members of the board -

Nicole Ramirez-Murray (LLEGO)
Elizabeth Birch (HRC)
Rev. Troy Perry (MCC)
Kerry Lobel (NGLTF)
Rea Carey (NYAC)
Ann DeGroot (OutFront Minnesota)
Diane Hardy-Garcia (Lesbian/Gay Rights League of Texas)

The following day, the above board elected two more members:

Beverly Saunders Biddle (National Lesbian & Gay Health Assn.)
Dwayne Cramer (Names Project Foundation)
Most recently, I received notice that four National Co-Chairs for the MM have been selected:

Nicole Ramirez-Murray (LLEGO)
Elizabeth Birch (HRC)
Ann DeGroot (OutFront Minnesota)
Dwayne Cramer (Names Project Foundation)

There were many questions and issues remaining when we adjourned, which are probably in the process of being decided by the above board and Co-Chairs. These issues included the role and hiring of Robin Tyler, the composition and authorship of the MM Platform, the composition of the Leadership Council, the times and locations of the regional meetings which are to bring more people into the process, and the April 30 date conflict with 25th Anniversary of End of War in Viet Nam.

A Final Note

It's Time, America! operates on a consensus-based decision-making process. Since it was our board's consensus that we not endorse the Millennium March at this time, I did not participate in the voting described above, nor did Helen Gonzales, acting as GenderPAC's observer. GenderPAC has not yet taken an official position on either of the marches.

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