page 2 - Out in the Mountains

 

Power and freedom

by Suzi

Everywhere I looked, women were
holding hands and hugging. Men did
the same. Two hundred fifty thousand
of us -- half the population of Vermont
-- stretching in all directions. farther
than I could see. A lesbian and gay
Woodstock with music, banners, people
passing out flyers and blowing bubbles.

This was the rally after the 1979
lesbian and gay pride march in
Washington, D.C. The march itself was
more than fun. It was exhilarating and
joyful. Marching by state, more or less,
meant that supporters on the sidelines
kept yelling, "Yay, Montana! Yay, New
Jersey!" And, no doubt, "Yay, Vermont!"
But I was from New Jersey then.

I and my friends had come down
in a caravan of women's buses from
New York. Our town in New Jersey
was too small to have a gay pride
march. The number of open lesbians
and gay men had not yet reached the
critical mass required for a feeling of
safety parading down the main street.
Not physical safety. Nothing as benign
as a gay pride march could seriously
ruffle the feathers of the residents of
a town_ as self-consciously liberal as
Princeton.

What we, the lesbians and gay men
of Princeton, lacked was the emotional
safety that comes from congregating
publicly -- in large numbers - - around
an unpopular issue. So a Princeton
contingent went to Washington, via
Manhattan, where we piled onto one of

Purpose

The purpose of (hit in the Jloiiiiiuiiix is to serve as
a voice for lesbians. gay men and our supporters in
Vermont. We wish the newspaper to be a source of
information, support and affirmation for lesbians and
gay men. We also see it as a vehicle for celebration of
the goodness and diversity of the lesbian and gay
community.

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Oil! in the .\loiiiiliiin.\'
PO Box 438
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Out in fhc Jfoiuiluiiis is published by the On! in the
Jfriiiiiiiiiiis collective: Elizabeth Mae, Howard Russell.
David Ryan. Suzi Shira. Philip Roberts. Linda Wheeler.
Terje Anderson. Gilles Yves Bonneau. and Antonio Baio.

seven or eight women's buses that left
from Union Square. Talk about power.
We the leaping lesbians leaped from our
buses into rest stops daring anyone to
glance sideways at our flamboyant
t-shirts or handholdina.

A silly image, isn't it? And yet
power is what it’s all about. Power and
freedom.

A pride march is a demonstration
of solidarity, strength, confidence,
reasonable risk-taking, and power. And
it’s easy when you're one of 250.000.

But what about in Vermont? '-""==.:ii
about when you're one of 100? Or even
500? I've been told you can't be in
Burlington’s pride march without seeing
iimong those lining the streets at least
me person you work with. This is what
raises those feelings which are the flip
side to exuberance and power. This is
what makes me want to wear a bag
over my head.

I thought if I were on network TV
during the Washington march, it would
be kind of fun, because everyone would
see at the same time how many of us
there are. But will I lose my job if I'm
the one on the cover of the Burlington
Free Press? The fear of unwanted
publicity stalks us -- but is it
unwanted? Am I not trying to say,
"Hey, look? I'm a lesbian and it’s
great!'?

But what if I were fired? How
would I feel? Would I be able to fight?
I have been a happily sheltered, out
lesbian for seven-plus years and have
never had a really nasty experience. I
wonder whether anyone will do
anything mean to me in this town
where everyone knows everyone -- or so
I hear.

I don't know what walking in such
a comparatively small group -- in the
city where I work and live and want
to stay -— will be like. I am afraid.

But I will walk in Burlington’s
lesbian and gay pride march, because
fundamentally I am proud. Because the
greater our numbers, the safer we will
all feel. And because to not participate
would be -- for me -- to bow to fear,
to empower prejudice, to reject
membership in a group of people with
whom I am linked culturally and
emotionally. I want to stand up for
freedom, for my civil rights, for the
civil rights of others. I can weigh the
risks to my safety, job, housing, and

judge that in my case those risks are
probably minimal. They are worth

taking. 1 know that not everyone can
say this.

And when I am actually in the
streets with my sisters and brothers, I
know I'll feel strong, confident,
exhilarated. I’ll feel the power -- and
the love -- that pride marches are all
about

_ _P_h_°!.0-

Pride photo
contest slated

ATTENTION PHOTOGRAPHERS! Send
us your favorite black and white
picture of this year's pride celebration
We will print the best one -- or more if
we have room -- in OITM and the
winner will receive a free subscription
to the paper (for yourself or a friend).
Be sure to include your name, address
and phone number on the back of the

National gay
leader to
keynote rally

Gil Gerald, who is keynoting this
year's Vermont Lesbian/Gay Pride
Celebration, is viewed as one of the
most effective and articulate national
lesbian/gay leaders. As Executive
Director of the National Coalition of
‘Black Lesbians and Gays, Gerald has
emerged as a key player in national
lesbian/gay organizing.

A tireless advocate of coalition
building and expanding the agenda of
the movement to address the needs of
the entire community, Gerald led a
group of lesbian and gay activists who
were arrested for civil disobedience last
year at the South African embassy in
Washington. As Lesbian/Gay
Co-ordinator for the 1984 Jesse Jackson
presidential campaign, Gerald prepared
the campaign's position papers on
lesbian/gay issues and took part in
campaign strategy and decision making.

In August of 1983, Gerald
successfully negotiated the appearance
of lesbian writer Audre Lorde as a
speaker at the 20th anniversary March
on Washington, and arranged public
endorsements for lesbian and gay rights
from Coretta Scott King, Rev. Joseph
Lowery and other prominent civil rights
leaders.

Gerald has served as a member of
the boards of the Gay Rights National
Lobby, the Human Rights Campaign
Fund, and the Samaritan Theological
Institute of the Metropolitan
Community Church.

According to one Vermonter who
has heard him speak at several events,
‘Gil is one of the most compelling and
powerful gay speakers I have ever
heard.“

Gerald was chosen as the speaker
by the Celebration organizing committee
to deliver the message of "No Turning
Back!” His appearance is in line with
the organizers’ policy of alternating
male and female speakers at every
other year's rally.