Out in the Mountains

Notes from the Keynote:
An interview with Keith St. John

Bennett Law
01 TM Staff
ALBANY, NY — Keith St.
John was the featured

morning speaker at the 1995
Conference and Queer Town
Meeting of the Vermont
Coalition for Lesbian and
Gay Rights on October 28th
in Montpelier. He became a
national figure in the gay and
lesbian community when he
was elected to serve on the
pAlbany (NY) Common
Council in 1989 making him
the first openly gay
African—American elected
public official in the U.S.
(Photo: Bennett Law) From his office in Albany,
VCLGR Conference keynote speaker New York, where he serves as
Keith St. John Alderman, 2nd Ward, St. John
commented on coalition
politics, growing up black and gay, and the future of the g/l/b
movement.

OITM: Can there be gay Republicans? Can a healthy lesbian or gay
man participate in the political process from the Republican side of
the aisle? .

St. John: I’d be naive or dishonest if I were to suggest that there
couldn’t or shouldn’t be a gay or lesbian person who espoused
Republican ideals. We’re a diverse community. There may be gay
and lesbian people who are concerned with their own civil rights
and well being who espouse ideals of the Republican Party, such as
minimal government intervention and national defense.

OITM: Can or should gay issues be addressed independently of
those of other minorities (women’s issues, the poor and
disenfranchised, communities of color, etc.)?

St. John: There is a relationship that can be drawn among many of
these issues, but that’s not to say that the issues aren’t different
enough that they merit something other than a broad brush
treatment. There’s a value in understanding the distinct nature of
each particular issue, but at the same time I don’t want to say each
should be considered in a complete vacuum. There is an
interrelatedness, while some uniqueness.

OITM: In his statement at the Conference, Vermont State Auditor Ed
Flanagan suggested that the gay movement in Vermont needs to
develop its political savvy, that perhaps gays and lesbians need to make
some concessions to the political structure as it exists to enhance our
effectiveness in successfully promoting a gay agenda. Do you agree?
Can you identify any conscious effort you have madeto accommodate
the system in an effort to enhance your effectiveness?

St. John: I agree there is benefit in understanding the art of
compromise and negotiation, and the importance of being able to
work with a great number of people and constituencies to develop
the network that we need to propel the movement forward. We need
broad base support. What I have found successful for me is to not
be as strident as some of the activists. I don’t consider myself a gay
activist or political activist, though others do. My own success is
supported by my ability to go to the middle ground and play against
the extremes that the other activists tend to demonstrate.

Being successful takes time. I see and hear all the time that we’re
too anxious to make substantial progress and don’t appreciate the
importance of making progress in small steps. It takes a long time
to understand how people work and how systems work so we can

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work within’ those systems, to infiltrate them
rather than overcome or overpowerthem.

I worked my way into the system by playing the
game while keeping my own ideals and ethics
very strong. I try to be a player on the team
without reinventing the rules of the game or
establishing a new team. I want to be a part of the
existing power structure, not create a new one.

0ITM: As a gay African—American holding
elected office, you are in a rather unique
situation. We read and hear in the mainstream
press about the racial polarization of America.
Can you contrast your experiences coming out
as gay with any prejudice you encountered as an
African American?

St. John: My mother didn’t want my twin sister
and me limited by very obvious racial barriers.
She was ‘ very much a person who found it
important for her as a black person to excel in her
own right as a person before as a woman, or as
black, or as a black woman. She taught us to relate
to others divorced from their obvious differences.
She wouldn’t use her race as an excuse for being
mistreated. My race presents a challenge, a
reason, or a motivating factor to instill in us the
drive to just work harder and prove ourselves as
individuals first — as black or gay individuals
second. I cannot let my race or sexual orientation
cloud my value as an individual.

I have been the recipient of racial discrimination
— from the N word to the F word — I have
tended to ignore all of that. To do otherwise
would rob the energy people need to move
themselves forward.

My mother never accepted that I was gay.
There’s irony there, as it was the way she raised
me that enabled me to overcome being gay just
as it allowed me to overcome being black.

OITM: Has the positive public sentiment received

by Ed Flanagan emboldened you in considering‘.

pursuit of higher, perhaps statewide office?

St. John: It’s encouraging, although Vermont is
very different from New York, particularly
Albany County, a rather conservative area.

I envision moving into higher office, but I don’t
take for granted that moving up may be hard for
me. I want to take things one small step at a
time. I learn better that way. I don’t want to
presume to know more than I do. I don’t want to
spend less time than I need to fully understand
the people and structures, here. There’s more
time needed to do what I want to do at this level.

I’ve been told that I shouldn’t consider (a race for
the) State Assembly for prospects for a black gay
man in this area aren’t good, but we’ll see. As I
get better established here and continue making
accomplishments, we’ll see if my orientation
means a whole hell of a lot down the road.

OITM: Do you have any final thoughts for
Vermont's g/l/b community?

St. John: I am very impressed with the work that
went into the Conference and the enthusiasm that
people there have about the future. Continually
develop leadership. It will always be important
to , reach out to people from a variety of
backgrounds. There’s a lot we all have to offer.
Make work appealing, exciting and comfortable
for people, regardless of their limitations and
abilities, as we strive to be more inclusive.
Allow others to be a part of the movement and a
part of the community.

And we can’t be blind to the fact that there’s a
community outside our own. We need to connect
to that, too. We need to develop strong working
relationships on issues that are not only our own.
It’s that broadening of our own perspectives that
will teach us and allow others to learn about us. V

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Cliff Townsend
Out On His Own:

Former Flirtations‘ solo debut

An OITM Review by Miki Thomas
OITM Staff

ESSEX JUNCTION — I am probably not the
best person to review Flirtation Cliff Townsend's
debut solo album, Out Here On My Own.
Cabaret is not exactly my favorite means of
entertainment. Given the choice between
watching someone at a piano warbling away at
the moldy oldies of Tin Pan Alley and an AC/DC,
tribute band, I would take the AC/DC tribute
band, unless of course the cabaret singer starts
mixing in "Back in Black" and "Big Balls" into
his or her repertoire. This is not to say I don't
appreciate a good singer every once in a while,
it's just the sameness of the songs chosen and lack
of imagination given the arrangements of those
songs to which I object.

Out Here On My Own does not do much to
change my opinion though there are some nice
moments. The biggest problem I have with the
album is that damn synthesizer he uses on several
of the cuts. Indeed, there is nothing that makes
my skin crawl more than a song that has those
"boom-chucka" synthesized drums and a
synthesizer used to substitute for string and wind
arrangements, especially if used to excess. It
only succeeds in making the song sound cheap.
Examples of this show upon cuts like "I Never
Meant to Hurt You," Godspell's "Alas For You,"
Candide’s "It Must Be So," and most horridly,
"Old Man River," which Townsend turns into an
aria from a bad opera. Granted, he probably didn't
have much of a budget to play with and hence
could not afford a full orchestra but there are
ways in which he could have arranged a song
without overproducing it.

Interestingly enough, he does demonstrate just
that several times on the album, thus creating
some of the best moments on it. The title song,
taken from Fame, has Townsend accompanied by
a guitar. Its quiet arrangement allows Townsend
the opportunity to show off his booming bass
voice. Since he was the arranger for the
Flirtations during his tenure with the group, it is
no surprise that there are several cuts done
acappella, with Townsend overdubbing his voice
four or five times to create the illusion of a doo
wop group. Those cuts, '51 Been In the Storm So
Long," "Intermission," "You Make Me Feel
Brand New" (a 1974 hit for The Stylistics), "The
Long Day Closes," "Jingle Bells?" "Shine On
Me," and "Tiger Rag" are the most successful on
the album, which prove that one does not need
that dreaded synthesizer if one has enough talent.

Cliff Townsend does indeed have enough talent
to carry an entire album by himself as long as he
focuses on what his strengths are and not on
electronics. But despite my feelings about Out
Here On My Own, I still wonder how he would
arrange "Big Balls" acappella.

For more information, contact Clzfi‘ Townsend,
Risco Records, 309 W. 43rd St., New York, NY
10036-6409, (212)262-1745. V