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| By Jesse Monteagudo
That's over a hundred souls: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, cross-dressing, questioning or heterosexual; African-American, Latina/o, Native, Asian, Jewish or Anglo youth. Most of them came from colleges and universities in Central and North Florida; from LGBT community centers and youth groups; and from "safe zones" that dot an all-too-often unsafe State. The presence of large numbers of queer and questioning youth was one of the most encouraging aspects of the "Rally in Tally," Florida's contribution to "Equality Begins At Home".
Based in Tampa, Equality Florida's biggest project before last weekend was sponsoring its Executive Director, Nadine Smith, as our community's lobbyist in Tallahassee. Equality's '99 Rally is the first attempt, since the demise of the old Florida Task Force, to bring LGBT activists from around the Sunshine State together to accomplish a common goal. Like other Equality Begins At Home events, the Florida Rally stressed the need for LGBT activism at the state and local levels. As Eugene Patron, South Florida activist, journalist and Rally organizer, pointed that out in a recent interview, "Gays and lesbians have been involved at the local and national level, but not as much at the state level. So much of what affects our lives happens up in Tallahassee and it's time we're there, too - networking, getting visibility and making allies." Organizers like Patron, Smith and Equality Florida's Assistant Director Stratton Pollitzer worked diligently for months to get queer people and our heterosexual allies mobilized and ready to flock to Tallahassee on March 20-22. Though fewer than 500 people attended the Rally, we made up for the low number with our enthusiasm and their commitment. All areas of the State were represented at the Rally in Tally, proving that LGBT activism in Florida is not limited to the gay ghettoes of Key West, South Beach or Wilton Manors. Politicians who claim that there are no queer people in their districts were lobbied by their lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender constituents.
Key West was well-represented, considering the distance between the Keys and
the State capital. Miami-Dade County made up in quality what it lacked in quantity,
and the Dade delegation included the leadership of SAVE-Dade. Gainesville, Jacksonville,
Orlando, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Tampa and (of course) Tallahassee were
well represented. Only Broward County, where I live, disappointed with its
pitifully small delegation.
"The rally and conference were a terrific success," says Equality Florida's Stratton Pollitzer. "The feedback we've gotten from the evaluation forms and participant comments demonstrate the value of our gathering in Tallahassee." Though Pollitzer, of course, is biased, his views reflect those of the vast majority of participants. The State Conference, held at the Ramada Inn, featured a series of informative and stimulating workshops on everything from "Bisexual Invisibility" to "Fight the Right" and a series of youth-oriented panels. The "Capitol Party", held at Club Park Avenue in downtown Tallahassee (a "safe zone" for LGBT youth), was well attended, even if the techno-house dance music the DJ's played was too "progressive" for my taste. Of course the highlight of the weekend was the Rally on the steps of the Old Capitol Building. Nadine Smith, who moderated the rally, welcomed us to "lower Alabama" and reiterated the overriding theme of hometown activism. For a long time lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people would move to large urban areas like San Francisco and New York in order to be openly and safely queer. This is no longer the case, Smith noted. Instead, "coming out now means staying in the places where our families are and doing this [activist] work." Urvashi Vaid, Director of the Policy Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and author of the award-winning Virtual Equality, agreed: "It's not someone else living somewhere else who will give us the respect that we seek. It is we." Vaid's brief but intensive address touched on the major themes of the Rally and ended on an upbeat note: "We are here, we are queer, and we are going to change this land!" One of the activists behind the whole Equality Begins At Home movement, Vaid was making appearances at various state capital events, and had to leave early in order to attend her next rally. Other speakers reflected the variety and diversity of our movement. Toni Van Pelt, President of Florida NOW, called "on the governor and the legislators to demonstrate respect and legislate for the rights of all people." Melody Johnson, representing Rainbow and PUSH, led the assembly in a chant: "We who believe in freedom cannot quit until it's won." Wallace Boyd, an officer of Family Tree, Tallahassee's LGBT Community Center, read a letter from the head of the Florida chapter of the NAACP. Representatives of PFLAG - Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians And Gays - and other heterosexual allies where there to pledge their support. Valerie Tobin of BiNet and Jessica Archer of Trans Florida reminded us of the need to include bisexual and transgender people and issues in our groups and projects. I should point out that there was a large contingent of bisexual men and women at both the Conference and the Rally. On the other hand, the transgender representation was minimal, which was partly due to transphobia on all our parts. Archer made a point of that when she referred to U.S. Rep. Barney Frank's opposition to including transgender people in the proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
"We are winning the cultural and intellectual war in this country", noted Frank, "and we are fortunate to have in our enemies Jerry Falwell, who apparently feels compelled at least once a month to remind people that he is a moron." However, "we are not doing nearly as well in the political war." Even so, in spite of antigay legislation and referendum results, "the average American is not hostile" toward lesbian, gay or bisexual people - transgender people were largely absent from the Congressman's speech - "they just think they are supposed to be." Obviously, the more Mr. and Mrs. America know about us, the more supportive they are of us and of our issues. Above all, Frank noted, we need to get involved in the political process. These days, politics is largely the domain of special interests who shower candidates with money and expect favors in return - the Florida State Legislature is a good example. However, Barney added, political influence "It's not just about money. Votes that aren't cast, letters that aren't sent and phone calls that aren't made can be beat by a quarter." Frank suggested that LGBT activists put aside our fight for marriage rights and concentrate instead on domestic partner legislation, vote for politicians who support anti-discrimination laws and work for laws that protect gay students and crack down on hate crimes. During the Rally, Equality Florida awarded "Hometown Heroes Awards" to local organizations that worked against antigay bigotry and violence and in favor of anti-discrimination and domestic partner legislation: the Lambda Democrats of Key West, SAVE-Dade, GUARD and the Human Rights Council of North Central Florida (Gainesville).
Though the Rally was the highlight of our Tallahassee visit, the hard work came the next day, when we returned to the Capitol to lobby our legislators. With an Executive and Legislature controlled by conservative Republicans, we did not expect an enthusiastic welcome. Still, a few legislative aides attended our "Meet Your Legislators" Reception and were cordial when we visited them in their offices to discuss our LGBT "agenda": passage of Senator Daryl Jones's (D-Miami) Domestic Partnership Legislation (SB 2484), passage of legislation that would protect queer youth and opposition to a State Budget rider that would reduce funding for some AIDS medications. Being from Broward, I met largely supportive legislative assistants. Others lobbyists were not so lucky, and a delegation of young people from Sarasota was in tears after getting a less-than friendly reception from State Representative Lisa Carlton (R-Osprey). Though our lobbying efforts will change few legislative minds, we made an impression with our presence. According to Pollitzer, "a senior senator close to Governor Bush tapped me on the shoulder and said he'd heard about the Domestic Partnership bill. 'It's on my radar screen now ... stop by my office and let me see what I can do to help.' Another critical accomplishment is the real opportunity to work together this event provided for organizers from around the state. Sharing ideas and strategies and becom[ing] more powerful at the local and state level is the main goal of Equality Florida. There is a real camaraderie and desire to pitch in and help each other out that Equality Florida and this event help to cultivate." Will there be another Conference and Rally next year? You bet, says Pollitzer. "All weekend people were volunteering to help with next year's event. Suggestions and constructive advice have poured in from all over so I think we clearly should look at making this an annual event. We may look at combining our efforts more closely with our allies. Right now we are all going to recover from this intense and wonderful weekend." It was an intense weekend, alright. And a wonderful one. |
The Florida state capitol 
Rep. Barney Frank 
Jesse Monteagudo 
© 1997-99 BEI