Deb Law 0:03 Good morning St Louis. This is Deborah Law with Lambda Reports public service program by and for the lesbian and gay community. This morning, I am again talking with Tim Cusick, president of the 1989 Lesbian and Gay Pride Celebration Committee. We're doing the second of a two part series on gay pride celebration in St Louis and nationally. But if you missed that first part last week, don't worry, because we can take you up to date and let you know what's happening in the upcoming week. So Tim, before we get into anything else, why don't you let us know what we can look forward to this week and and what's happening with gay pride? Tim Cusick 0:42 Well, Deb, first, good morning and good morning to St Louis. And if people didn't hear about the events that we've hosted in the last week, they certainly have missed some exciting events. However, that's not to be taken too lightly. We have several events taking place up in the next week until the 25th of June, which is just a week from now. We have a volleyball contest, roller skating party, rap groups, couple more shows being hosted, another reception, and the reception for Perry Watkins that will be held at mix. If people want information, they can certainly get our Pride Guide, which has been out on the streets for several weeks now, that is available at Left Bank Books, Our World Too, Pages, Video and More, and Daily Planet News, as well as any other businesses that cater to or are patronized by lesbians and gays throughout the metropolitan area. Deb Law 1:35 If by some reason, somebody goes someplace and there are no more pride guides, is there a number that they could call? Tim Cusick 1:42 Yes, they can call the Challenge Hotline at 367,-0084. Sometimes they would be able to get through the lines. Those lines are very busy, or they there should be plenty of Pride Guides and information around Deb Law 1:56 Great. I just wanted to give somebody another opportunity in the event that those pride guides, which are going like hotcakes, they got there, and they're not there any longer. Maybe in this, at least this part of the show now we could really focus on what's happening with Pridefest 89. I know that there's big things planned for next Sunday, bigger than we've ever experienced in St Louis today. So maybe you could tell us about them. Tim Cusick 2:19 Well, this year we've planned it on a major scale. And instead of just having a picnic, we're having a festival. This year, what people can find that day is the festival takes place from 10am to 7pm. The space will be open with artesians, craftspeople. We have a psychic village, all sorts of nice food booths, different things to drink, games to play that day. We'll have a pre March rally at 1245 and then at one o'clock we'll have a moment of silence to memorialize those people that have died of AIDS. The parade kicks off at exactly one o'clock, and it winds us right way through the Central West End. People are certainly encouraged to join us for the parade. Carry banners, posters, flyers, if anyone is interested and hasn't heard yet how they can do it, they certainly can bring a vehicle or a float. We're looking for all sorts of decorated vehicles and floats. And the parade will take place for about an hour and a half. Wind its way through the Central West End and go back into Forest Park, where we'll host our rally. And I'm pretty excited about the rally. This year, we have two national speakers coming into St Louis. One of them is Jean O'Leary, who is with the National Gay Rights Advocates. She was on the steering committee for Mike Dukakis's campaign last year for the presidential race. She's also a former nun and is a very open woman fighting for lesbian and gay civil rights across the country. We also have asked Perry Watkins, or I should say, Sergeant Perry Watkins, who is known for fighting with the army, to be reinstated. He is originally from Joplin, Missouri, and we've asked him to come home for gay pride, and he is just very honored to be asked that. So we're very excited about bringing them to St Louis. And we also have some other entertainment lined up for the rally, and then after that, we'll have a dance there, right there, in Forest Park sponsored by the late nights at Pythias. And I remind people that the festival will be taking place all afternoon, all sorts of game booths and food booths taking place. Deb Law 4:13 That's great. Sounds really exciting. Can you tell us a little more about Jean and Perry in terms of kinds of things that they might be addressing, other opportunities for people in our community to see them, to get a chance to meet with them. Tim Cusick 4:27 Unfortunately, we're not going to be able to have a reception for Jean when she arrives in St Louis. She's got a very, very limited time schedule while she's here. She'll only be available during that day on the 25th she'll be giving a speech, as well as participating in the parade, and she'll be talking about how St Louis is a part of a national community, that there are not the coasts, and what happens for the lesbian and gay civil rights on the coast, but that many things happen with important people in the Midwest being involved in national decisions and establishing agendas for lesbian and gay civil rights. She'll be addressing that, as well as how other people in St Louis can become more involved, and how the national organizations are accessible to us here in St Louis. And then Perry Watkins will be talking and sharing his feelings on how it feels for him to come home and being invited home for gay pride. Perry is went into Vietnam in 1968. The army probably didn't anticipate him surviving. When he joined the army, he told them that he was gay. In 1983 or 84 I don't remember the year, they decided to not renew his high security clearance because he is openly gay, and he has been fighting the army since then, and he is has recently obtained a decision from the Supreme Court level in the state of California that the Army has to reinstate him. It is speculated at this time that the Army will appeal that and it will go to the Supreme Court. Perry's very, again, very excited about coming home for gay pride. We've asked Perry and Jean to come to St Louis to help us start rallying more people to get involved in our community and with the Celebration Committee to help us with outreach to people of color and to the women's community that the Celebration Committee is trying to increase our outreach and get more participation from those, from the people in those parts of our community, so that we are a very diverse group, and that's where our strengths lie, is in our diversity and recognition of that Deb Law 4:42 Great. We did address that briefly last week, and certainly from the speakers you're discussing, see that there's been a very aggressive move to take a strong stand on that. Will that also be an evidence in terms of the game boosts in the organizations that are going to be part of the Pridefest? Tim Cusick 6:46 Definitely people will be able to find many, many different groups involved, not only people that deal specifically with lesbian and gay issues, but other progressive and liberal organizations that are supportive of lesbian and gay civil rights and recognize that it's not just the minorities of lesbians and gays we're talking or the rights of the minority group of lesbians and gays that we're talking about, but the rights of all minority groups, and that until all of the minority groups and people that are oppressed work together and come together and start working for this in this common struggle, that's where our strengths will be. So people will find those other organizations involved that day as well. The amount of outreach that we have done for the parade itself to other organizations is tremendous, and they're responding very positively, and they'll be there as well. Deb Law 7:33 That's super Actually, I'd like to leave the Pride fest for just a moment, because really one of the other issues that I wanted to address was not that our celebration should end next set, next Sunday, and was wondering what the committee was doing, or what the committee's perspective was on the long term effects of the pride celebration. You've addressed some of these, and I wonder if you could expand on that. Maybe there's some other things that you'd like to toss in also. Tim Cusick 7:58 Well, the Celebration Committee meets year round, and we try and host other events through the year, mainly fundraising things to help us pay for this wonderful festival that is taking place next Sunday. We are encouraging people that want to get involved with the committee to come to our meetings. We will be meeting the second and fourth Monday of every month at the Metropolitan Community Church at 1120 Dolman. We certainly encourage and welcome anyone that would like to join the Committee. And I'd like to speak to something else that you addressed, and that is, we can only have a festival and declare how good we feel, perhaps one day of the year openly, but that we have to live for the rest of the year in this community. And people can get involved in the community when they get involved in the community, they help build strength for their own personal life. I'd like to encourage people just to come out that day and try and get involved in other things that will be taking place throughout the rest of the year. It's not just a one day event that we celebrate, but for our lifestyle that takes place for the whole year. Deb Law 8:59 It's great. One of the two of the things that you mentioned that I find very exciting is one that Jean will be addressing things on a national level, giving credence to our activities, or support for our activities in the Midwest, that sometimes one begins to feel like the states are shaped like a U, and it's only those on the coast who have any perspective in terms of what's happening, so certainly strengthening what we're doing in the Midwest, but also tying us together as a nation and actually as a global community in terms of what happens. And secondly, what you mentioned in terms of the coalition building that you're saying is happening among liberal and progressive groups in St Louis, Tim Cusick 9:38 Certainly, I think that one thing that can be looked at as a prime example is that the City of St Louis and our wonderful Mayor signed into law a Hate Crimes bill on the 22nd of February. And many, many organizations came together to work on this one bill, not only lesbian and gay people from our community, but people from the Anti-defamation League, The American Civil Liberties Union and from Deb Law 10:03 the NAACP. Tim Cusick 10:04 NAACP, yes, and other groups came together. This coalition building is getting work done out there that needs to be done. If you go out there and try and tackle these problems by yourself or just as one group, sometimes it's not easy to do. But when you start working together with other organizations and building these coalitions, things become easier to do, and you find that it not only can be fun, but you can have positive things happen. Deb Law 10:30 Imperative in this city. Did you find? When did the committee find, when going out and meeting with other organizations, that we've moved a bit beyond the need for lesbian and gay education, 101, is that still a basic part of the coalition building, some kind of sense of, you know, have we built on over the past years in the celebration, and now we can move to a different level in terms of coalition building? Tim Cusick 10:56 Oh, definitely, I think we have. I don't have to go to another organization and say, Look, I am so and so with the St Louis Lesbian Gay Pride celebration committee. And they don't jump back and think, Oh, my God, there's this gay man standing in front of me, and he even said that G word and that L word, but that we don't have to do that our civil rights are recognized as needed, as well as the civil rights and recognition of civil rights for all other groups that are oppressed and all other minority groups. So yes, we have gone beyond Lesbian and Gay 101, maybe we're at Lesbian and Gay 201, or maybe even 301, and many of those organization right organizations, recognize the validity that we have as a committee and as a community, as well as recognizing that within their own organizations, they have open lesbians and gays that are also doing educating in there. Deb Law 11:45 I certainly think that that was one of the very positive effects of and there were many, many but of the March on Washington is the fact of renewed emphasis for us being out in our organizations, and the effectiveness of the leadership of lesbian gays. I also think the inherent challenge also, as we begin to build these coalitions is that we deal with racism and sexism in our communities as well, and the same as we're requesting of other organizations to be dealing with their homophobia, Tim Cusick 12:16 certainly, certainly. Deb Law 12:18 Great. Back to the events in Forest Park. Tim Cusick 12:22 Well, what we were talking about these coalition buildings, like I said, we expect to have many of these other organizations involved in our March coming to our March for Lesbian and Gay Pride and showing that they are supportive of this and that they recognize that all of our civil rights are what we're fighting for, although it's not just necessarily civil rights that we're out there fighting for that day. We're out there because we feel good about ourselves and we want to come together in a very strong community and make a just to get together and have fun. Deb Law 12:53 That's great. Tongue in cheek. But is there a dress code for the Tim Cusick 12:58 Well, well, that's a good question. I thought I'd never well, yes, you definitely have to wear clothing. I would recommend, though, that given that this is a festival, people will have a chance to spend money. However, if they're uncomfortable with carrying cash or having to carry a wallet or a purse, that they can carry a MasterCard or Visa, and that will slip very nicely into the pocket of their speedos or into their tennis shoes or whatever else that they may choose where, yes, I think there is a dress code. You have to wear buttons to show that you support either yourself or your community or some other organization. But tongue in cheek, no, there is not a dress code. Deb Law 13:37 Great, great. We are really just about out of time. Is there any last words that you would like to share with us? And Tim Cusick 13:46 Well, I look forward to seeing everyone out there on the 25th of June, and from the Celebration Committee, we want to thank everyone that's given us the support in the last year, and that will be giving us the support when they out there, when they come out for Pridefest. Pridefest 89 in June. Deb Law 14:05 Great. I thank you for spending the time with us this morning and last week. And I thank you and the Pride Committee for all the work that you've done over the past year in making this what has already been a very successful celebration, what I know will be a very successful celebration next week, and culminating with the Pridefest 89 in Forest Park. I do expect that everyone who's been listening to this to be there and to be supporting all the activities this week, to be getting involved, to come out, and when you turn us on next Sunday, we'll remind you of all the activities that are happening throughout the day. Thank you again for joining us. This is Deborah Law with Lambda Reports. Tim Cusick 14:41 Thank you. Transcribed by https://otter.ai