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February 18, 1983, Vol, 14, No. T 504: Outside of D.C./Baftirnore Areas THE GAY WEEKLY OF THE NATION'S CAPITAL • 4111 alk 1111 VA V P'S. I I MI L. VP ill al NM MIMI Eh 1 MI MIDI NI I I NI It -,4111111 INVA Ell MINI WP' .41 I SI Levi picked by NGTF to replace by Lou Chibbaro Jr. Gay Activists Alliance President Jeff Levi has been appointed as the new director of the National Gay Task Force's Washington office, NGTF announced late last-week. Levi, 28, an editor for an Arlington-based consulting firm, will assume his NGTF duties on March 14. The current head of the NGTF Washington uffice, Melvin Boozer, last week announced he was resigning at the request of NGTF executive director Virginia Apuzzo. Levi's appointment follows a series of• internal disagreements among NGTF's board of directors and staff that led to the ouster last fall of the organization's former executive director, Lucia Valeska, and a decision by the majority of the board to change some of the New York-based group's goals and programs. NGTF first opened its Washington office in September of 1981, when Boozer was hired in the full-time, paid position. The title of the job, at the time, was director of civil rights advocacy. Boozer has used his home as an office for the post. Levi, who said the details of his salary are still being discussed, noted he is looking for office space and hopes NGTF will be able to provide some - logistical support as well as an office. He said his first major task will be to conduct a detailed study of how Gays are affected by every federal government agency. Levi said he plans to prepare a written report on the findings of the study which NGTF may soon publish. He said he will also continue the duties begun by Boozer of monitoring executive branch programs and policies, as well as the process surrounding the appoint— ment of federal judges, in. connection with issues of concern to Gays. Levi will begfri his new job in the wake of a stongly worded protest against Boozer's forced resignation by 10 leaders of Washington's black Gay community. The protest, in the form of an open letter to NGTF, called the departure of Boozer, who is black, an "extremely distressing development" that is sym-bolic of the Insensitivity to the concerns of black Gays by "the white Gay power structure." Apuzzo said she was surprised by the letter, which she said incorrectly implied that a racial motivation was involved in Boozer's resignation. "I am in accord with much of the sentiment [of the letter] regarding racism in the Gay and Lesbian community," Apuzzo said. "It is clear that there is much work to be done in bringing our movement in alignment with principles of equality," she added. "But it is unfortunate that the issue of Mel's termination with NGTF is being singled out as underscoring those con- Continued on page 13 Boozer APUZZth expresses surprise at Implication that race was a moti-vation in her ouster of Boozer. Rep._ Henry ,Wakrotht.r AIDS is A health issue, not a political issue On February 2, Washington Blade contributor Larry Bush met Ivith Rep. Henry Waxman to discuss the current AIDS epidemic and other issues of interest to Gays. Waxman, a five-term Democrat from California, chairs a House sub-committee on Health and the Environment and, as such, is a key player in public policy debate about health issues, including AIDS. In addition, he is a principal sponsor of the House Gay rights bill. Bush: According to the budget briefing books, the acquired immune deficiency syndrome [AIDS] doesn't become a line item in the Reagan proposal for fiscal '84. Do you consider it significant that it doesn't make it as a line item? Waxman: I &Ink think so. I'm satisfied that the appropriations that the Congress adopted for the Centers for Disease Control will in fact be used specifically and exclusively -for AIDS research, and rm satisfied that at NIH we'll see the same re•sults. WAXMAN: it would be "disgrace-ful" if AIDS were seized upon by • demagogues; Bush: Do you think it's because the - [Reagan administration] is nervous about being upfront about funding a program _ for AIDS research? Waxman- Possibly, but I just don't know that to be the case. They claim that they, internally in their budget presenta-tion to us, had that item set aside and in mind for $2 million. I'm satisfied right now with the representations that are being made to us by the administration that the money will be used for research, and we will be asking them questions on the record in hearings to make sure that's the case, and we'll be monitoring how they spend it. Bush: There's a lot of concern among Gay people that we don't know how much money is needed to ask for a realistic amount in the first place. Do you feel like you're getting a handle on that now, or do you know how long the process will take to understand that • ) Waxman: We have to distinguish between the Centers for Disease Controls and the National Institutes of Health. The Centers for Disease Control has additional money and they are very • much on top of this situation. The National Institutes of Health will come before my subcommittee for re-author-ization. At that time we will go into... Bush: By -what time is that, in May? Waxman: By May 15 the committee has to have reported the bill out. We will have them on record prior to that time in hearings as to how much money they think they're going to need, what time frame they're talking about, what their thinking is about the whole problem, and how much of a financial priority it will have to be for us to hope that we'll have a breakthrough. Bush: How much is this issue caught up in politics? You seemed to allude to that in your opening remarks in your AIDS hearing last April in Los Angeles. WPVITtalr There is always the possibil-ity that this issue, which is a health issue, could get caught up in politics. When I , first became aware of it, I was shocked that it seemed hlre it was not getting the attention that something like toxic shook Continued on page 24 Proposed conferences to - by Jim Marks * • Organizers for a proposed area-wide Gay conference, tentatively scheduled for later this year, will hold a second public meeting to discuss the conference on Febnny 24. Meeting planners, while acknowledging that the meeting has been left largely unstructured in an effort "to be very inclusive," say persons at the meeting will be asked to decide whether or not to go ahead with the proposed conference and to outline its agerida and a structurq- for plimning it. examine racism other issues The conference, which initially was envisioned as a forum to discuss a Gay agenda for the 80s and to air concerns about racism within the Gay community, was urged last November in a letter sent to some 60 Gay community leaders by Ray Melrose and Gil Gerald. Melrose is a past president of the D.C. Coalition of Black Gays; Gerald is the organization's current president. That letter-led to a December 6 public meeting at The -Coffeehouse where the approximately 40 persons present voted to set up two committees to publicize and organize the February 24 planning meeting. In addition, some of those present at the December '6 meeting decided after-wards to hold a related, but separate conference for black Gays. The purpose of that conference, organizers say, is to increase the visibility of the black Gay political community and define its agenda. A planning meeting for that conference is scheduled for February 26, with the conference itself tentatively slated for September or October. Organ-izers of the area-wide conference have urged that it be held after the black conference. Two presentations are currently scheduled for the February 24 meeting. One, by Gerald, will outline the general aims in holding the conference. The other, by Chris Bates, chairman of Black and White Men Together, will deal with the availability and cost of facilities in which to hold the conference. Bates has said that late August would be the best Continued on page 12
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Transcript | February 18, 1983, Vol, 14, No. T 504: Outside of D.C./Baftirnore Areas THE GAY WEEKLY OF THE NATION'S CAPITAL • 4111 alk 1111 VA V P'S. I I MI L. VP ill al NM MIMI Eh 1 MI MIDI NI I I NI It -,4111111 INVA Ell MINI WP' .41 I SI Levi picked by NGTF to replace by Lou Chibbaro Jr. Gay Activists Alliance President Jeff Levi has been appointed as the new director of the National Gay Task Force's Washington office, NGTF announced late last-week. Levi, 28, an editor for an Arlington-based consulting firm, will assume his NGTF duties on March 14. The current head of the NGTF Washington uffice, Melvin Boozer, last week announced he was resigning at the request of NGTF executive director Virginia Apuzzo. Levi's appointment follows a series of• internal disagreements among NGTF's board of directors and staff that led to the ouster last fall of the organization's former executive director, Lucia Valeska, and a decision by the majority of the board to change some of the New York-based group's goals and programs. NGTF first opened its Washington office in September of 1981, when Boozer was hired in the full-time, paid position. The title of the job, at the time, was director of civil rights advocacy. Boozer has used his home as an office for the post. Levi, who said the details of his salary are still being discussed, noted he is looking for office space and hopes NGTF will be able to provide some - logistical support as well as an office. He said his first major task will be to conduct a detailed study of how Gays are affected by every federal government agency. Levi said he plans to prepare a written report on the findings of the study which NGTF may soon publish. He said he will also continue the duties begun by Boozer of monitoring executive branch programs and policies, as well as the process surrounding the appoint— ment of federal judges, in. connection with issues of concern to Gays. Levi will begfri his new job in the wake of a stongly worded protest against Boozer's forced resignation by 10 leaders of Washington's black Gay community. The protest, in the form of an open letter to NGTF, called the departure of Boozer, who is black, an "extremely distressing development" that is sym-bolic of the Insensitivity to the concerns of black Gays by "the white Gay power structure." Apuzzo said she was surprised by the letter, which she said incorrectly implied that a racial motivation was involved in Boozer's resignation. "I am in accord with much of the sentiment [of the letter] regarding racism in the Gay and Lesbian community," Apuzzo said. "It is clear that there is much work to be done in bringing our movement in alignment with principles of equality," she added. "But it is unfortunate that the issue of Mel's termination with NGTF is being singled out as underscoring those con- Continued on page 13 Boozer APUZZth expresses surprise at Implication that race was a moti-vation in her ouster of Boozer. Rep._ Henry ,Wakrotht.r AIDS is A health issue, not a political issue On February 2, Washington Blade contributor Larry Bush met Ivith Rep. Henry Waxman to discuss the current AIDS epidemic and other issues of interest to Gays. Waxman, a five-term Democrat from California, chairs a House sub-committee on Health and the Environment and, as such, is a key player in public policy debate about health issues, including AIDS. In addition, he is a principal sponsor of the House Gay rights bill. Bush: According to the budget briefing books, the acquired immune deficiency syndrome [AIDS] doesn't become a line item in the Reagan proposal for fiscal '84. Do you consider it significant that it doesn't make it as a line item? Waxman: I &Ink think so. I'm satisfied that the appropriations that the Congress adopted for the Centers for Disease Control will in fact be used specifically and exclusively -for AIDS research, and rm satisfied that at NIH we'll see the same re•sults. WAXMAN: it would be "disgrace-ful" if AIDS were seized upon by • demagogues; Bush: Do you think it's because the - [Reagan administration] is nervous about being upfront about funding a program _ for AIDS research? Waxman- Possibly, but I just don't know that to be the case. They claim that they, internally in their budget presenta-tion to us, had that item set aside and in mind for $2 million. I'm satisfied right now with the representations that are being made to us by the administration that the money will be used for research, and we will be asking them questions on the record in hearings to make sure that's the case, and we'll be monitoring how they spend it. Bush: There's a lot of concern among Gay people that we don't know how much money is needed to ask for a realistic amount in the first place. Do you feel like you're getting a handle on that now, or do you know how long the process will take to understand that • ) Waxman: We have to distinguish between the Centers for Disease Controls and the National Institutes of Health. The Centers for Disease Control has additional money and they are very • much on top of this situation. The National Institutes of Health will come before my subcommittee for re-author-ization. At that time we will go into... Bush: By -what time is that, in May? Waxman: By May 15 the committee has to have reported the bill out. We will have them on record prior to that time in hearings as to how much money they think they're going to need, what time frame they're talking about, what their thinking is about the whole problem, and how much of a financial priority it will have to be for us to hope that we'll have a breakthrough. Bush: How much is this issue caught up in politics? You seemed to allude to that in your opening remarks in your AIDS hearing last April in Los Angeles. WPVITtalr There is always the possibil-ity that this issue, which is a health issue, could get caught up in politics. When I , first became aware of it, I was shocked that it seemed hlre it was not getting the attention that something like toxic shook Continued on page 24 Proposed conferences to - by Jim Marks * • Organizers for a proposed area-wide Gay conference, tentatively scheduled for later this year, will hold a second public meeting to discuss the conference on Febnny 24. Meeting planners, while acknowledging that the meeting has been left largely unstructured in an effort "to be very inclusive," say persons at the meeting will be asked to decide whether or not to go ahead with the proposed conference and to outline its agerida and a structurq- for plimning it. examine racism other issues The conference, which initially was envisioned as a forum to discuss a Gay agenda for the 80s and to air concerns about racism within the Gay community, was urged last November in a letter sent to some 60 Gay community leaders by Ray Melrose and Gil Gerald. Melrose is a past president of the D.C. Coalition of Black Gays; Gerald is the organization's current president. That letter-led to a December 6 public meeting at The -Coffeehouse where the approximately 40 persons present voted to set up two committees to publicize and organize the February 24 planning meeting. In addition, some of those present at the December '6 meeting decided after-wards to hold a related, but separate conference for black Gays. The purpose of that conference, organizers say, is to increase the visibility of the black Gay political community and define its agenda. A planning meeting for that conference is scheduled for February 26, with the conference itself tentatively slated for September or October. Organ-izers of the area-wide conference have urged that it be held after the black conference. Two presentations are currently scheduled for the February 24 meeting. One, by Gerald, will outline the general aims in holding the conference. The other, by Chris Bates, chairman of Black and White Men Together, will deal with the availability and cost of facilities in which to hold the conference. Bates has said that late August would be the best Continued on page 12 |