Gay Today: Letters to the Editor

Pen Points
Letters to
Gay Today

OUT for EVIL

Thank you for warning us about OUT for GOOD, this terrible deception foisted on our community during Gay Pride month. It's a horrid, distorted, inaccurate, ugly travesty of history. These lowlifes had the nerve to denigrate real heroes like Jim Owles, Marty Robinson and Bill Bahlman. These people were not out for what they could get out of anything. They were fighting for a better community for all of us and these authors turn our real history into cheap tale.

Randolfe Wicker,
The First Openly Gay Male Spokesperson to go on Radio & TV

OUT for GOOD: 'Trivializes, Misinterprets…Egregious Errors'

I'm deeply grateful to Dudley Clendenin and Adam Nagourney for attempting to write about contemporary lesbian and gay liberation in their new history, OUT for GOOD. However, they fall quite short of dealing honorably with our exciting movement. They trivialize and misinterpret and commit simply egregious errors of fact. How unfortunate that they did not trust themselves or us to entrust a number of us with manuscripts to do serious fact-checking.

Morris Kight

Morris Kight,
Founder of the Gay Liberation Front, Los Angeles

OUT for GOOD: GayToday's Scorched-Earth Review

Thanks for all of the work you are doing keeping the demonic influences of hysterians off our backs.

James T. Sears, author
Growing Up Gay in the South, Lonely Hunters: An Oral History of Lesbian and Gay Southern Life and co-editor of Overcoming Heterosexism & Homophobia, winner of the GLSEN award at the 1999 Lambda Literary Awards

Alert: Help Stop Right Wing Campaign Against PBS Documentary

This June, the award-winning documentary film It's Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School will be broadcast on public television. Each public TV station will make its own decision about whether to carry the program and when to schedule it.

The good news is that two-thirds of the major markets have already decided to air the show. The bad news is that one-third have either decided not to air it or haven't yet made a decision.

Many conservative organizations have mounted campaigns to pressure local PBS affiliates not to air It's Elementary. They have characterized the film as a means "to recruit the next generation of sex partners."

If you have seen It's Elementary, you know that nothing could be further from the truth. This inspiring eye-opening film makes a compelling case that it is never too early to prevent prejudice, and that there are many sensitive, age-appropriate ways to talk to kids and promote respect for everyone in their communities.

Related Stories from the GayToday Archive:
Review: OUT for GOOD

Review: Overcoming Heterosexism and Homophobia

Interview: Morris Kight

Related Sites:
People for the American Way
GayToday does not endorse related sites.

The San Francisco Examiner says It's Elementary "could become one of the most important films ever devoted to lesbian and gay issues."

People For the American Way Foundation played a small role in researching the film, and we strongly believe this important documentary should be seen by as broad an audience as possible.

And we certainly believe it should not be denied an audience because right-wing groups are spreading misinformation about it to PBS affiliates.

We urge you - - particularly if you are a donor to your local PBS station - - to call, write or e-mail the PBS station in your area and encourage them to air this timely, important film.

Urge them not to succumb to the censorship campaign, and to let viewers see the film and judge it for themselves.

With the increase in hate violence among students, we need MORE discussion of ways to prevent hatred among children -- not less. If you have friends who you think would also like the chance to see the film, please forward this alert to them.

These are some of the stations in the top 50 markets that have not yet decided whether to air the film:

Chicago WTTW 11 (773) 583-5000 viewermail@wttw.com
St. Louis KETC 9 (314) 512-9000 letters@ketc.pbs.org
Dallas KERA 13 (214) 871-1390
Kansas City KCPT 19 (816) 756-3580 kcpt@kcpt.org
Nashville WDCN 8 (615) 259-9325 tv8@wdcn.pbs.org
New Orleans WYES 12 (504) 486-5511 assist@wyes.pbs.org
Norfolk, Va. WHRO 15 (757) 881-9476 info@whro.org
Orange Co., Calif. KVCR 24 (909) 888-6511 info@kvcr.pbs.org
Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, N.C.: WUNC 4 (919) 549-7000 viewer@unctv.org
Winston-Salem WUNL 26 (800) 906-5050 Charlotte, N.C. WTVI 42 (704) 372-2442 adena_whitman@wtvi.pbs.org

Programmers say that the most helpful comments are personal ones -- not form letters -- and that your letters really do make a difference.

If you've seen It's Elementary, tell your station how this film made you and the audience who screened it with you feel. If you haven't seen it yet, tell them why you want to see it and ask them to let you know when it will be on.

To the best of our knowledge, the following major markets have decided NOT to air the film. If you live in these areas, let your station know how you feel about this decision.

CLEVELAND WVIZ 25 (216) 398-2800
DETROIT WTVS 56 (313) 873-7200 Viewer_Services@wtvs.pbs.org
ORLANDO WMFE 24 (407) 273-2300 wmfe@magic.net
MEMPHIS WKNO 10 (901) 458-2521 wknopi@wkno.org

If your station is broadcasting It's Elementary, send the folks there a word of thanks! And please let everyone in your area know about the air date! Be sure to tell all the parents, educators, and social service providers you know about this important -- and highly entertaining -- film.

For a full list of air dates, go to the It's Elementary website at www.womedia.org. For more information about It's Elementary and the broadcast campaign, contact the producers at: emfilms@womedia.org or call (415) 641-4616.

Thank you!

Signed, People For the American Way
& Women's Educational Media