Guilford Alliance news [May 1990]

              Alliance News
Issue Number 5   A Publication of the Guilford Alliance for Gay and Lesbian Equality   May 1990
f  FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR THE
I ALLIANCE
We have an exciting future to look forward to as we go on
with the political and educational work we started almost
three years ago. Perhaps it would be helpful as we look to
the future directions of the Alliance that we remember and
reflect on our Statement of Purpose.
The Guilford Alliance for Gay and Lesbian Equality is an
organization of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and their
allies committed to the complete political, legal, economic, and social equality of all people, regardless of
their sexuality. We are explicitly political and progressive.
We are dedicated to working on issues in our own community: racism, sexism, and discrimination based on
class, age, faith, ethnicity, and disability. The Alliance is
open to all people interested in creating a world in which
we can fully express our love and humanity and manifest
our greatest power as individuals and community members. We are especially committed to building an organization in which racial and gender parity is reached as we
work together for the goals of equality and justice.
We have done admirably in maintaining our focus during
these past three years and we have definitely had an
impact in several areas of our Greensboro community.
Media: The News and Record has markedly changed its
stance on our gay rights issues. The editorial staff in
particular was very supportive in our quest for a nondiscriminatory city personnel policy. Omega News was
always "on our side" and we appreciate their support. The
TV stations have covered our City Council actions (particularly Channel 8) with relatively unbiased reporting. At
the very least, we have definitely succeeded in getting our
issues "out of the closet" and in front of the citizens of
Greensboro.
Community (At Large) Support: City Council, with its
underhanded rescinding of the October passage of the
non-discriminatory personnel policy, managed to enrage
a lot of people who, to that point, had not taken sides on
our issues. We were treated unfairly and people recognized that and came forward, with money and with their
presence at public meetings to support our cause. We
have friends on City Council, in city government, and in a
number of community organizations. These relationships
will be a valuable resource in the future.
Gav and Lesbian Community Support: More gay men and
lesbians than ever before are aware that the Alliance exists
and that we are doing work for the whole community.
While most do not come to our meetings (yet!), they do
lend their support through donations, help with the work
(mailings, etc.), and informing new folk about the work of
the Alliance.
So, what happens now? What are our goals for 1990 and
beyond?
* We plan to concentrate on strengthening our
internal relationships. We need to take care of ourselves
and of each other. The City Council effort took a lot of time,
money, and, most importantly, energy from us and we
need to draw back and concentrate on ourselves for a
short while. We are planning some social activities which
are intended to be energizing and will allow us to invite new
friends to join with us. We also intend to encourage
mentoring among our members. "Old hands" will work
with "new faces" to get the work done and to encourage
the development of new leadership.
* We plan to be a presence at the Pride March, June
30, 1990, in Chapel Hill. This will be a fun thing to do and
will allow us to see our friends from around the state. We
can share our experiences and communicate the directions the Alliance is taking for 1990 and beyond. Plan to
join us for this march.
* We plan to publich our newsletter on a more
regular basis. If any of you are willing to help with the
newsletter, please contact us. A regular newsletter, perhaps on a quarterly basis, will help us achieve several of
our goals for the future.
* The Alliance needs a broader base of support. We
need more members and we need to reach into more
diverse communities than we have reached to date. There
are lots of people "out there" who will, I'm sure, be very
supportive of our activities once they know about our
work. More people to do more work is our goal.
* We need to continue our coalition building in the
Greensboro community. This will include working with
individuals and with groups.   We can work to establish