The Gayly Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 17, No. 19, Ed. 1 Friday, October 1, 1999 Page: 1 of 32
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THE STATEWIDE CAY & LESBIAN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1983
Vol 17, Number 19 • October 1,1999
INSIDE
Regional News
National News
International News
Health
Entertainment
www.gayly.com
OKLAHOMAN
WALKERS RAISE MONEY FOR AIDS AWARENESS AND SERVICES
AIDS QUILT FOUNDER SERVES AS OKC WALK GRAND MARSHAL
by Paula Brown
Walkers, young and old, will be taking part In three
different AIDS Walks this month, raising money and aware-
ness in the fight against HIV disease. The walks will take
place in Tulsa. Lawton, and Oklahoma
City, and agencies in each city will use
the money to provide care for clients in
their area.
As of June 30. 1999, the Oklahoma
State Department of Health STD/HIV
Service reported 2,290 cases of HIV
across the state and 1.682 people living
with AIDS. This means a total of 3,972
HIV/AIDS clients, a number that is up
from 3,129 one year ago. Even though
the number of deaths from AIDS has
declined because of new drugs and treat-
ment strategies, new infections con-
tinue to occur at an alarming rate.
"According to the Oklahoma State
Department of Health, women, young
people and African Americans are at a
high risk of contracting HIV," said Pat
Capra, president of the CarePoint board
of directors. “It is time we take notice of
the growing number of people who are
risk for contracting the disease and
those who are currently living with HIV
and AIDS.”
CarePoint, based in Oklahoma City,
and Tulsa CARES are the two largest
HIV/AIDS service organizations in the
state.
Taking part in the AIDS Walks will
help bring awareness to the growing
problem of HIV infect ion and raise money
for those organizations that provide care
and other services. Last year, hundreds
of people took part in the AIDS Walks in their areas and
organizers are expecting larger turnouts this year as support
for these events continues to grow.
In Oklahoma City, Cleve Jones, founder of the NAMES
Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, will be on hand to serve as the
Grand Marshal and deliver the keynote address.
Jones has been on the front lines of the global struggle
against HIV for over 16 years. In 1983, Jones helped found
the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and, in 1987, he created
the first panel of the AIDS Memorial
Quilt. Today, the Quilt contains over
41,000 panels and has become the
world’s most recognized visual symbol
of the epidemic’s toll.
Jones' role in the epidemic’s early
years is recounted in And the Band
Played On, by the late Randy Shilts. An
earlier book by Shilts, The Mayor of
Castro Street, describes Jones' friend-
ship and work with pioneer gay rights
activist and San Francisco Supervisor
Harvey Milk, who was assassinated in
1978.
HIV-positive himself, Jones is com-
mitted to educating other people with
AIDS about recent advances in HIV
treatment and to ensuring all people
with AIDS receive quality health care,
effective treatments, and full civil rights.
In addition to Jones, organizers
have a full slate of speakers and enter-
tainers lined up to kick things off.
Nationally known singer/songwriter
David Holladay will return to his native
Oklahoma to emcee the entertainment
portion of the event, which begins at
11:30 a.m. at the Myriad Botanical
Gardens in downtown Oklahoma City.
Walker registration also begins at 11:30
p.m., followed by the opening ceremo-
nies at 1:00 p.m. and the walk through
Briektown at 2:00 p.m.
Oklahoma AIDS Walks
Tulsa: Saturday. October 2, 9:00 a.m. in Veterans Park.
21st & Boulder.
Lawton: Sunday, October 3. 1:00 p.m. in Elmer Thomas
Park
Oklahoma City: Sunday, October 17. 11:30 a.m..
Briektown
Cleve Jones, OKC Grand Marshal
OUTART'99
GAY FILM &
ART FESTIVAL
Joining the ranks of
other cities across the coun-
try, Oklahoma City is now
boasting its first ever Gay
and Lesbian Film and Arts
Festival. OUTART ’99 will
take place Friday. Saturday
and Sunday, October 8
through 10, with plays, con-
certs, films and art show-
ings in different local ven-
ues.
According to a press re-
lease, a formal dress, grand “Edge of Seventeen'1
opening party called "Black
Tie Dinner and a Movie" is planned for Friday evening, Oct. 8.
Members of the featured movie will join invited dignitaries for
a buffet dinner and sponsored wine bar. The artists will join
in the evening and their artwork will surround the room. The
featured movie is the highly acclaimed Edge of Seventeen, and
this will be its Southwest premier. Tickets for the entire
evening are $35 per person and a limited number are avail-
able by calling (405) 752-2762. or out-of-town, 1-800-722-
8866. Tuxedo Specialists have put together a complete outfit
at a very special rate for those who mention “OUTART."
On Saturday, Oct. 9. and Sunday, Oct. 10. nine more
films will be shown in the evenings. A new play will premiere
on Saturday afternoon. “Musically Out" will pay tribute to a
wide variety of gay and lesbian composers.
The weekend winds down with a gay/lesbian film from
neighboring Texas called It's In The Water. The writer/
director will be on hand to introduce the movie and answer
questions.
Tickets, available individually or as a package deal, are
available at various outlets in Oklahoma City. For further
information, visit the OUTART website at www.gayokc.com/
outart99. or call (405) 752-2762. Outside Oklahoma City,
call 1-800-722-8866 for tickets and hotel package informa-
tion.
For a complete schedule of activities, see page 13 of this
issue.
NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY
CELEBRATION
by Paula Brown
All across the country, gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered people are celebrating National Coming Out
Day on Monday, October 11. Oklahoma City’s tribute to the
event will be held at the Copa Club as local speakers and
entertainers encourage others to openly declare their sexual
orientation while supporting one of Oklahoma’s oldest politi-
cal advocacy organizations, the Oklahoma Gay and Lesbian
Political Caucus. OGLPC members work tirelessly to promote
equal rights for all Oklahoma citizens, not just those who are
gay.
“Fair treatment for gays, blacks, women and other
minorities is intertwined. In the words of Coretta Scott King,
‘None of us are free until we all are free,"’ said OGLPC male co-
chair Paul Thompson.
While gays and lesbians have made great strides in
achieving equal rights, there’s a lot of ground yet to cover, and
the single most important step people can take is visibility,
Thompson said.
“It’s not enough anymore to take part in the Pride parade
once a year or financially support a gay political organization.
Through television, gays and lesbians in general have become
more visible than ever. Now it’s time for us to take the next
step by letting our families, our friends, our neighbors and
our legislators know we are here," he said.
Earlier this year, political analyst and commentator
Bums Hargis, a Republican, spoke with members of the
Cimarron Alliance, a gay and lesbian political action commit-
tee. When asked what approach might be most effective in
getting Republican support of gay rights measures, Hargis
responded by saying the most effective thing gays and lesbi-
ans could do for themselves is to let others get to know them
as people first.
Becoming more visible, establishing friendships with
those in elected office, and putting a human face on the issues
were the only way to make change, he said.
Hargis, who hails from a non-judgmental Episcopalian
background, said he was in adulthood before he realized he
knew someone who was gay. That association changed his
way of thinking. As an attorney, he has had a working or
client relationship with many people in the local gay commu-
nity. including noted civil rights attorney Bill Rogers and local
business-owner Lee Burrus.
“Knowing people who are gay. who I know to be good
human beings, keeps me from believing what I see on some
parade on TV," said Hargis, referring to television coverage of
the annual Pride parade. “Knowing a son or daughter is gay,
makes a difference to people." he said. "It’s no longer a
faceless issue."
Karen Parsons, past president of the Oklahoma City
chapter of EQUAL! at Lucent and vice-president of the
national gay employee group. a!s" agreed that visibility is the
next step in effecting social and political change, saying it was
part of the evolutionary process.
During an interview for The Gayly's annual June Pride
edition. Parsons talked about how the fringe elements of
society, groups such as ACT UP. make it easier for the rest of
the community to move forward.
Those groups provide visibility to the movement," she
said. "When it becomes more commonplace for us to be seen,
it will become more commonplace for us to be accepted. That
is the significance behind EQUAL! — to walk around the
factory and be visible to more than 5.000 people — so they
know a person who is gay and who is not some horrible
person.”
In addition to affecting social and political change, being
out typically provides the person with a greater sense of
emotional health. Thompson said. “Living a lie is never easy
and neither is living in fear," he said. “By coming out. we give
ourselves peace of mind."
Thompson and other members of the political caucus
invite the community to attend the Coming Out Day celebra-
tion, which will be hosted by John Beebe, a former Mr. Gay
All-American and former Gay NewsBreak anchor. Guest
speakers will include openly gay, former political candidate
Paul Barby.
The celebration begins at 7:00 p.m. and ends at 9:00
p.m. on Monday. October 11.
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Hawkins, Don. The Gayly Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 17, No. 19, Ed. 1 Friday, October 1, 1999, newspaper, October 1, 1999; Oklahoma City, Okla.. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc825178/m1/1/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.