Join The Impact MA

A group of about 20 LGBT activists from Join the Impact MA and other groups gathered on Boston City Hall Plaza with a few straight allies Sunday evening, July 18th, to peacefully protest the anti-gay public statements of “ex-gay” Donnie McClurkin, the lead act for the City’s annual Gospelfest concert. As the warm-up acts performed, activists took shelter from the high winds on the terrace of the John F Kennedy Federal Building to make signs. Careful attention was given to sign messaging, to focus like a laser on only one outspoken homophobe whose defamations of the LGBT community are notorious. Signs included messages reading, e.g. “Separate Church and Hate,” “Diversity is Our Strength,” “Stop Hurting Your Gay Children,” “Love Cannot Hate,” and “You Can’t Turn Gays Straight.” Protestors intended no disrespect to fans or disruption of what was for most a deeply religious experience.

Donnie McClurkin, as the headline act, didn’t appear on stage until approximately 7;20 PM. Shortly before he was introduced, activists marched from the staging area near the JFK Building and took up positions at the back of the crowd. Rainbow flags and signs were hoisted high over the heads of onlookers so as to be clearly visible from the stage as McClurkin came on and performed. Fact sheets were handed out to people who wanted to know why we were there.

The crowd was largely unfazed by the presence of the LGBT activists in the rear. A few unkind words were heard, but more common were positive conversations with attendees who sympathized with the protest. Some onlookers left the concert when McClurkin came on.

Protesters accomplished their goal of delivering a pointed message to McClurkin denouncing his hate and the hurt it causes, while avoiding interference with a festive occasion for Gospel music fans from across New England. McClurkin avoided any inflammatory statements from the stage.

Justin Holmes of the Mayor’s staff, who is openly gay, liaised with protestors on behalf of the city, and Boston Police officers were present, though not needed. There were no incidents.

Lead organizer Don Gorton explained the exigency that motivated the protest: “Donnie McClurkin offers himself as living proof of a lie—that gays can be turned straight. He promotes quack science like reparative therapy or attempts to ‘pray away the gay,’ so-called ‘transformational ministry.’ The American Psychiatric and Psychological Associations have denounced such attempts to turn gays straight as futile and warned that these quack treatments can be dangerous to mental health. Especially at risk are youth in fundamentalist households, who are suspected of being homosexual or who come out. Their parents may see and hear McClurkin’s untruths and decide to force a change when none is possible. The hate McClurkin spreads drives some people to suicide, and we want it stopped.”

Activists were pleased to be joined by straight ally the Rev. Leslie Sterling, priest-in-charge of St. Barts’ Episcopal Church in Cambridge. Ms. Sterling has been a staunch supporter of LGBT equality; her presence demonstrated that a sizeable number of Christians reject the hateful teachings of men like McClurkin. Gorton added that McClurkin’s fine singing performance demonstrated that he still has a gay sensibility underneath the mean-spirited presentation.

135 people came out on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Boston to honor LGBT movement icon Harvey Milk on what would have been his 80th birthday. The commemoration at the Massachusetts State House centered on equal rights for Transgender Americans, and winning passage of the Trans Civil Rights Bill, H. 1728 pending before the Massachusetts legislature. Signs and chants rang out a message of “trans rights now” and “hey hey, ho ho, transphobia’s got to go,” as a succession of speakers demanded action on H. 1728 before the close of the 2009-2010 legislative session at the end of July.

Event coordinator Don Gorton welcomed the crowd with a tribute to Harvey Milk, and declared that if Milk were alive today, he would be at the forefront of the struggle for trans civil rights. Gorton described the impact Milk had had on his coming of age in the late 70’s in the Bible Belt, amidst the anti-gay crusade led by Anita Bryant.

Mass. Trans Political Coalition Director Gunner Scott gave an overview of the struggle for trans rights at both the state and federal level. Somerville Rep. Carl Sciortino talked about the opposition to the trans civil rights bill, which is being demagogued by the right-wing, and how the so-called “tea party” was exploiting transphobia in an effort to derail the bill. Sue Hyde of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force pilloried the pettiness of social conservatives who are belittling the trans civil rights bill as a “bathroom bill.” She debunked the manufactured scare scenario of men dressing in drag to attack women in bathrooms—there are no known cases of that ever happening. Gary Daffin of the Mass. Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus exhorted gays, lesbians, and bisexuals to embrace the cause of trans civil rights as our own.

Keegan O’Brien of the UMass Boston LGBT Equality Coalition critiqued the “gender binary” whereby arbitrary and rigid sex role conventions are imposed on boys and girls during socialization. Elizabeth Johnson of Equality Across America took note of the nationwide activities taking place in honor of Harvey Milk.

Trans youth Logan Ferrara gave a moving account of being fired from his job after his employer noted that his identified gender did not correspond to Social Security Administration records. David Hardy of Hingham spoke of his fears for the safety of his trans son. Nancy Nangeroni of the Mass. Trans Political Caucus recalled State House rallies in the ‘90’s after the murders of trans women Chanelle Picket and Rita Hester. The rally concluded with the recitation of a poem by slam poet James Caroline.

A large number of attendees marched after the rally, down Park Street to Tremont and Cambridge Streets to the Federal Building, then back to Downtown Crossing, across the Common, and back to the State House. Their chants filled the air over a wide area of downtown Boston.

Join the Impact MA is seeking to use the Harvey Milk Day Rally as a springboard for the Pride celebration June 4-13. With activist Grand Marshalls and an activist theme for Pride this year—“From Riots to Rights: Celebrating 40 Years of Progress,” Join the Impact MA and allied organizations will be emphasizing the political issues facing our community, and urging greater civic engagement to achieve full federal equality for LGBT people. New organizers are always welcome in Greater Boston’s grassroots activist iteration of the national youth-led movement dubbed “Stonewall 2.0”: check out our web site at www.jointheimpactma.com

Hello everyone,

I wanted to thank all of you who attended the EAA Northeast Regional LGBT Conference. It was an amazing & inspiring weekend! We had 380 conference attendees participate in the workshops on Saturday, and 70 people who came back on Sunday to discuss our next steps and plan common actions to push for full federal equality.

One of the suggestions that came out of the Next Steps meeting was that we should organize actions around the Northeast for the “Harvey Milk Day of Action” on May 22nd. This is a day where people in all 50 states will be coordinating events to demand full equality for LGBT people in honor of Harvey Milk’s birthday.

This Thursday, April 1st at 7:00pm, Join the Impact MA will be having an open meeting to start brainstorming ideas for the “Harvey Milk Day of Action” in the Boston-area. This meeting is NOT just for JTI-MA members. We really want representatives from all different groups to be involved; we are simply offering our meeting time & space to start a conversation.

The hope is that this Thursday’s meeting will help to build the enthusiasm, momentum, and ideas for a larger, more publicized city-wide planning meeting on Saturday, April 17th.

Remember— You don’t need any activist experience to get involved in the movement, just passion for the cause!

Thanks!
Join the Impact MA