Greensboro PFLAG newsletter, May 2000

              Parents, ftmilki and Friends of Lesbians andGayi
GREENSBORO, N.C.
Vol.7 No. 5
MAY, 2000
Millennium March for Equality
By Tom Clarke
Hundreds of thousands gathered in Washington,
D.C. for the Millennium March for Equality on April
30. It was an exhilarating and uplifting experience to
march past the White House and toward the Capitol
along with 200,000 gays, lesbians, bisexuals,
transgendered, and straight supporters. Eight years ago
I didn't know anyone else who was gay - I felt alone
and *h?.t I was an outcast ia society. Now, d it**ac for
one day, we were a majority - proud of who we are, no
longer shackled by shame and fear.
There was much to be celebrated, for much has
changed since the first big march in 1979 - we now
have a President and Vice-President who strongly
support us, we now have generally positive treatment
by the national media, and it seems that we are on the
verge of becoming fully accepted in society. But the
extreme right is still a dangerous threat as they try to
move the clock backward. And while we celebrate the
victory of the "civil union" law in Vermont, it is still
short of true marriage, and there are still 49 other states
without equal benefits for same-sex partners.
There was a festive atmosphere, but a serious
purpose as speakers urged everyone to go back to their
communities with renewed enthusiasm to work
together in the on-going battle for full equality. They
especially encouraged people to become involved in
this year's election campaigns in order to elect gay-
friendly candidates who will push for nondiscrimination and hate crimes legislation.
*  *
I went with about 30 others from Greensboro on
the bus sponsored by Replacements, Ltd.     We arrived
Greensboro PFLAG
May meeting
May 16, 2000, 7:30 p.m.
Piedmont Friends Meeting House
1103 NewGarder
Pot luck supper at 6 p.m.
Bring a dish to share
Beverages, plates, & utensils will be provided
Welcome to PFLAG. We offer a safe, confidential
space in which to explore our feelings and
understandings about the gay experience, especially
"coming out" and what this means to families and
other loved ones. Listen and share as much or as
little as you feel comfortable with, knowing that
others can understand. Welcome especially to our
returning members whose love is so healing.
in Washington at 5 a.m. and had to wait two hours
before we could get into town on the Metro subway
which didn't start running until 7 o'clock. After a
quick breakfast we arrived at 8 a.m. at the base of the
Washington Monument, staging area for the march.
Crowds were very thin and there was some concern
that the march might be a bust. But by 10 o'clock
throngs of people were pouring into the staging area
from every direction.
Near the head of the march was a large contingent
of PFLAG people from all over the country. I looked
for the Greensboro folks, but couldn't see them. But
there were hundreds of parents, many marching
alongside their gay and lesbian children to show their
support.
It took about an hour before our large North
Carolina contingent actually took off down
Constitution Ave. with chants of "Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho,
Jesse Helms has gotta go." We passed Fred Phelps and
his small group bearing signs saying "God hates fags,"
and there was another group of half a dozen bible-
uiumpers, but otherwise the vast crowds lining the
streets were cheering their support.
* * *
The rally on the National Mall started at noon,
even as many marchers were still waiting at the
beginning of the route. There were six and a half hours
of speeches from representatives of every group -
young people and high school students, older gays and
lesbians, Native Americans, Latinos, African-
Americans, clergy, politicians, military people, boy
scouts, parents of gays, children of lesbian parents,
transgendered, and activists from every section of the
country.
On the stage we saw celebrities - Ellen, Melissa
Etheridge,    Martina    Navratilova. There    were