“All in the Family:”

Soon after I wrote my last “Journal” - about Hillsborough County, Florida’s “anti-gay pride” ordinance - a couple of South Florida incidents reminded me that anti-queer bigotry and hatred is not confined to this state’s more “conservative” Gulf coast. A few weeks ago, out publisher Carl Zablotny was the victim of a hate crime attack, proof positive that we are not safe, even in “gay” South Beach. The other incident, in Broward County, was more subtle and did not get our attention till weeks after it happened. To make a long story short, the Broward County School District’s Diversity Committee voted in May, by a 10-7 vote, that the “We Are Family” DVD not be used in Broward’s public schools. Produced by the We Are Family Foundation and the Anti-Defamation League, the DVD teaches small children to accept other peoples’ differences and to love one another. Over a hundred children’s TV characters, along with a few human ones, get together to sing the Sister Sledge song, expressing unity amidst diversity of size, shape and color.

Unfortunately for children everywhere, religious busybodies insisted on finding a sinister conspiracy behind all of this innocent fun. Though the DVD makes no mention of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered people, this did not stop the Rev. James Dobson of Focus on the Family from accusing it of “promoting” a homosexual agenda. In Broward County, conservative radio talk show host Steve Kane worried that “We Are Family” might lead to GLBT “lifestyles [being] taught to my children in public schools.” Kane, whose web site [stevekaneshow.com] has a whole section (“the GLSEN Files”) devoted to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, has made it his lifetime calling to oppose all forms of GLBT people and/or issues in Broward’s public schools where he sadly lives.

Kane and his producer, Brian Levitt, both sit on the Diversity Committee, and were active participants in the discussion that led to the majority vote against “We Are Family.” Other Committee members agreed with Kane’s belief that “We Are Family” was a homosexual plot; while others worried that the DVD’s all-inclusive message might lead impressionable children to befriend sex offenders. The fact that many of the Committee members, who might have voted the other way, had already left didn’t hurt things either. In any case, having made their decision, the Committee proceeded to send the offensive material to a screening committee, which also rejected it because it does not conform to Sunshine State standards or help prepare students for FCAT exams. (FCAT being the be-all and end-all of public education in Florida today.) Broward School Superintendent Frank Till agreed, noting that “we already have lessons about diversity in our curriculum.” As a result of all this, “We Are Family” is dead in Broward County unless it is revived by a member of the Broward County School Board.

For some reason, Broward’s GLBT community was not aware of the Diversity Committee’s vote till the beginning of July, when both the Miami Herald and the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel covered the story. Thus, we missed an opportunity to organize our troops during Pride Month, a time of year when our community comes together. Bill Rettinger, the out chair of the Diversity Committee, complained that he tried to drum up queer support against the measure, but with little success. It certainly puts a burden on Equality Florida, which already has its collective hands full with the Hillsborough County matter. Rising to the occasion, EQFL’s South Florida Director Stratton Pollitzer joined Mark Adler, Executive Director of the social services group SunServe, to call an impromptu meeting for July 15 at the Sunshine Cathedral MCC. The meeting, which attracted a variety of community activists, led in turn to a Town Hall Meeting on July 20, also at the Sunshine Cathedral

The Town Hall Meeting attracted over a hundred people - a veritable “Who’s Who” of South Florida gay and gay-friendly groups - who showed up in order to “Take a Stand Against Bigotry in Broward.” Patrick A. Santeramo, the President of the Broward Teachers Union, got a standing ovation when he expressed the BTU’s support for “We Are Family” and all it stood for. State Rep. Ken Gottlieb (Dem., Hollywood) was also there, as was ADL chief Aryl Stern. Participants watched the controversial DVD, listened to speeches and then broke up into six workgroups: School Board Outreach; Diversity Committee Outreach; Elected Officials and Business Leaders Outreach; Community Outreach and Education; Educators, Students, and Families Group; and Faith Community Group. Then everyone agreed to call or write the School Board members, attend the next Board meeting to express support for the DVD, and lobby other community individuals and organizations.

In my last column, I argued that it takes a clear and present danger to organize our GLBT community. Is the Broward Diversity Committee’s vote such a danger? Though the vote of ten bigots is not as deadly as AIDS, antigay violence or teenage suicide, it sends a clear message that Broward County places queer invisibility above tolerance and diversity. As EQFL’s Action Alert [eqfl.org] put it, “their animosity toward the gay community is so great that they are willing to attack the very notion of tolerance out of a fear that our community will also be respected.” This are the attitudes that we need to unite and fight against.

Jesse Monteagudo is a freelance writer and activist who has been working for GLBT rights in South Florida for thirty years. Write him at jessemonteagudo@aol.com.