
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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