|
Articles From Our February, 2002 Newsletter |
|
LGCC-KC FINDS NEW HOME The Lesbian & Gay Community Center of Greater Kansas City (LGCC-KC) has found a home in one of the most openly gay business districts in Kansas City and it's director is long-time community activist, Jamie Rich. PFLAG will have the opportunity to learn about the LGCC-KC at our February 10 meeting when Jamie will be our program. Already, several lgbt organizations are using the space for meetings; the Center is serving resident and visiting lgbt people. If you have not yet visited the Center, you may want to do so before Jamie talks with us about this wonderful new development in Kansas City. The Center is at 207 Westport Road, above Larry's Gifts and Cards shop. The phone number is: 816-931-4420. The Center will be having its Grand Opening on Friday, February 8th and Saturday, February 9th. Call the Center for details or check out the website: www.lgcc-kc.org. Jamie is a long time friend to many of us, so let's all come and give him our typical great KCPFLAG welcome. The meeting will start at 3pm on Sunday, February 10. AIDS WALK SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 20TH The 2002 AIDS WALK is scheduled for Saturday, April 20th at Mill Creek Park near the Plaza. Once again, PFLAG will be sponsoring a team and all interested persons are welcome to join our group. Information about the AIDS WALK will be distributed at our February meeting. Last year nearly 5,500 people walked and raised over $400,000. The money supports four major AIDS service organizations: The Good Samaritan Project, SAVE, INC., Heartland AIDS Resource Council, and The Kansas City Free Health Clinic. If you would like more information about the AIDS WALK, visit: walk@aidswalkkansascity.org or call (816) 931-0959. From Our President A wonderful opportunity to participate in an inspiring experience, the PFLAG National Conference, is available to PFLAG-KC members. The Conference, entitled, PFLAG: Family Voices for Equality 2002 will be held September 27-29, 2002 in Columbus, Ohio. Our chapter has funds from the Kauffman grant to help pay for Conference registration, transportation, and hotel reservations. Ban on Gay Marriages Bill Now in Congress There is a Constitutional Amendment being proposed that will ultimately ban homosexual marriages/civil unions and possibly domestic partner benefits in the future. It is being pushed through Congress quickly so as to make as little noise as possible. There's so much else in the news right now, that the amendment is not being noticed. This petition is being organized by a second party -- it's NOT an "add you name to the bottom and forward" kind of thing. Go to the site itself in order to sign the petition. Please pass this along to your friends and family, and to our straight allies. By doing so, we can convey the message that the Constitution is about human rights, not just "religious rights". PLEASE READ, SIGN, AND FORWARD ON... http://www.petitiononline.com/0712t001/petition.html Activist mother provides role model Harriet Hancock doesn't flinch. She has three children, and, while she loves them all, she admits her son holds a special place in her heart. "There is a bond that's created in people who have traveled a path together where there's so much pain involved," Hancock said, her eyes filling briefly with tears. This burst of emotion is surprising, given that her family-law practice relies on thick-skinned arguments about who is more deserving, virtuous, nurturing. But that's inside the courtroom. Outside the courtroom, Hancock, 65, is a mother, one who finds herself indignant that someone would judge - not to mention hate - her boy for being homosexual. For the past 20 years, Hancock has been the role model for how family should react to the words, "Mom, I'm gay." No matter what, it's going to be painful news. Naturally, Hancock said, a mother is going to fear the difficulties ahead for her child, from job discrimination to hate crimes and the terror of AIDS. But she has found joy, too. Hancock's son, Greg, 40 and a graphic designer in Atlanta, was 20 when he came out to his mother. He worked up to it in a conversation of fits and starts. "I said, 'Oh, is that all? I thought maybe you wrecked the car or got caught smoking pot,'" she said. "So we laughed about it. And then we cried." About a year later, Hancock became an activist for gay rights. She'd been listening to a call-in radio show with a New York woman who had started a group called P-FLAG, or Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. "She was getting the most awful telephone calls" from the Columbia audience, Hancock remembered. "She was going to go to hell - she and her children." Hancock said she could hardly wait to get to the phone to talk to the woman about starting a South Carolina group. In Hancock's book, here's the secret to being a good mom:
Hancock grew up in Columbia, married at 18 and was a mother and homemaker. When she was 43, her husband died. Only then did she consider college. "I had no skills. I had raised children. I had always been an avid reader, so I was a little self-educated." She enrolled at Midlands Tech to be a legal secretary. "One of the professors told me one day he thought that was the wrong side of the desk for me," she said. So it was on to law school and a practice based in divorce, adoption and child custody. She just finished paying off the student loans two years ago. Recently, Hancock was recognized by the University of South Carolina's Institute of Southern Studies as someone who has helped bring people together to adapt to a changing world. "I feel like my son being gay opened up a whole new world to me," Hancock said, "a wonderful community of good people who are fun, very artistic, talented, and intelligent. "It has enriched my life." PASSAGES FUND RAISER Hello all - for your information: Passages, the teen lgbt organization will be holding its Grand Arts Benefit fund raiser on April 12, 2002. Passages would like many people to be hosts of the event. This means contributing $150 to Passages and providing Passages with 10 names of people who will be sent invitations. Hosts will be listed on the invitations, will receive two passes to the April 12 event and will get to attend a fabulous host party in February. So look for more information in your mail. Helen The Tenth Voice The Tenth Voice, Kansas City's longest running, locally produced, radio program for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender communities, announces lineup and schedule of programming for February. The Tenth Voice can be heard each Wednesday evening, from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM on KKFI 90.1 FM, Kansas City's Public Radio. Up Coming Schedule of shows: Wednesday, February 6 at 6:30 PM Linda Wilson, hosts the second Wednesday of each month. Linda welcomes Kay Madden each week, with important political and community information. Other interviews and music are included. Joan Insco, hosts the third Wednesday of each month. Joan welcomes Elaine Meizlish, LSCSW, each week with relationship, psychological and family issues. Joan also features interviews and music. Bronwyn Werner, hosts the last Wednesday of each month. Tune in, to hear features, call in questions, and music. |
|
PFLAG SUPPORTS REAL FAMILY VALUES |
