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By Jesse Monteagudo
The last time we checked up on the Millennium March on Washington
(MMOW), the proposed April 30th, 2000 rally at the Capitol was in deep
trouble.
Robin Tyler's suggestion that our community hold a fourth March on Washington was initially endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), two important organizations to be sure but hardly representative of America's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Though other groups soon jumped on the MMOW bandwagon, its leaders' high-handed and autocratic behavior turned off as many individuals and organizations as they turned on. Opponents argued that a March on Washington costs a lot of money that would be better spent on local or state queer or AIDS organizations. Furthermore, as an election year, 2000 is a time when our energies would be better spent in grassroots organizing, lobbying, registering voters and working to elect gay or gay-friendly candidates. Things have gotten worse since then, to the extent that the actual occurrence of the MMOW this April 30th is seriously in doubt. The latest brouhaha revolves around "executive producer" Tyler, whose abrasive personality and dictatorial manner have antagonized even supporters of the March.
"The Executive Producer will be responsible, under the direction of the Board, for what is on stage ..." The Board went on to assure us that the March will go on, "no matter what". If the MMOW Board thought that creating a position of Executive Director, and appointing the respected Malcolm Lazin on an interim basis, would solve all their problems, they were very much mistaken. Tyler's supporters on the Board expressed their outrage, and Tyler herself ominously announced that she would "consult an attorney" to see if there was a possible "breech of contract". Even worse, the Board's move did nothing to allay the serious concerns that March opponents have about the event or its leadership. The fact that the New Orleans Board meeting was closed to the public and the press did nothing to ingratiate the MMOW Board with an increasingly disgusted community.
"The Millennium March on Washington will serve as a focal point to register our community and to turn out the GLBT vote at the polls in November", promised Interim Executive Director Lazin. Whether local or state groups would be willing to entrust their voting registration plans to the MMOW "Vote 2000" campaign is, of course, another story. The recent antics of the MMOW leadership have only reinforced our opinion that the April 30th March is an idea whose time has gone. But the Board's ineptness and holier-than-thou attitude is only part of the reason why many community leaders, including organizers of the three previous Marches, oppose MMOW. Many of us fear that heavy investment by corporations whose yen for the gay buck outweighs their community spirit will result in a March that is more about consumption than activism. The use of the Internet to acquire community input limits participation to those who can afford a computer, or who have ready access to one. But all opposition to a Millennium March on Washington boils down to one major reason: our community does not want one. The first three Marches on Washington were the result of widespread community support, and were buoyed by the pressing needs of the moment. Recent losses at the polls - and the assassination of Harvey Milk - inspired us in 1979. The AIDS epidemic and the Names Project Quilt moved us to March in 1987. The continuing AIDS crisis, joined by the needs of gays in the military and the promise (soon to be broken) of the new Clinton Administration created a "gay moment" which in turn sent over a half a million of us to Washington in 1993. Though none of the Marches were successful in the sense that none of their goals were accomplished, they galvanized a generation of activists. The 2000 March lacks a catalyst and an inspiration. As a veteran of all three previous Marches, I remember the excitement each event brought to our communities. Months before each March, we began to save, plan and organize. We held local meetings to rally the troops, made signs to deliver our messages and sewed Quilt panels to remember our loved ones. Our bars and businesses held fund-raisers and our media publicized each step of the way.
And we knew, deep in our hearts, that the Marches deserved our support and our
presence. All this seems to be lacking today, only six months before the MMOW's
scheduled date. We just don't care.
If the MMOW Board and their supporting organizations want to have a March on April 30th, there is nothing we can do to stop them. But supporters of the March are greatly mistaken if they expect our communities to contribute our limited time, money and energy to an event that we don't believe in. The Board would do well to take the advice of its critics, and avoid a major embarrassment by postponing or canceling the event. |
Nicole Murray-Ramirez 
© 1997-99 BEI