[WestMALocals] Fwd: [AriseAction] Stonewall event next Wednesday

[Owen Broadhurst]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: susan dorazio <susandor at crocker.com>
Date: Jun 21, 2006 6:26 AM
Subject: [AriseAction] Stonewall event next Wednesday
To: ariseaction at yahoogroups.com

*FRANKLIN COUNTY COMMEMORATES THE STONEWALL REBELLION OF 1969

*Late Friday evening, June 27, 1969, the New York City tactical police force
conducted one of its regular raids on a Greenwich Village gay bar, the
Stonewall Inn.   This time, the patrons of the bar and people from the
community fought back.  The four nights of protest now known as the
Stonewall Rebellion are considered to be the inauguration of the gay
liberation movement in the United States.

In commemoration of these historic "Days of Resistance", to honor the
lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer community in Franklin County, and to
protest the homophobic violence and oppression that persists in our area and
worldwide, a "Remember Stonewall: Out and Proud!" rally and speak-out will
be held on Wednesday, June 28, at 4:30 p.m. on the Greenfield Town Common.

According to Diane Lincoln, owner of Bruce's Browser in Athol, "Hatred,
intolerance, and ignorance of the reality of GLBT lives leads to violence,
as it did at the Stonewall Inn in 1969, and as it continues today.  Just ask
Kevin Aviance, a gay New York musician who was savagely beaten and
hospitalized by four young men earlier this month.  We need to be visible
and vocal, to show our faces and our lives to the world until everyone
discovers that someone they know, love, and respect is gay, that we are in
fact an integral part of the fabric of society."

"Remember Stonewall" is being sponsored by the Connecticut Valley Coalition
for Women's Lives, a network of local activists concerned with making links
between their various issues and projects. "Queer rights are essential to
any social justice movement." says Leverett resident and Coalition
participant Ann Ferguson. "Without them, no group will truly be free,
because there are queers of all genders, races, classes, ethnicities, and
nations.  Marriage rights alone will not make us free: only our strong
communities that refuse to stigmatize any consensual life style, and our
solidarity with other social justice movements, will do that."

For more information about "Remember Stonewall," contact Susan Dorazio at
susandor at crocker.com.





-- 
Owen R. Broadhurst
Candidate for State Representative
Third Hampden District
http://www.owenbroadhurst.org