| August E-Newsletter |
| Volume III / Issue 8 / August 5, 2007 www.respectsacramento.org |
| 2. Next meeting August 8 at The Lavender Library Our regular monthly meetings have returned to the Lavender Library Archives and Cultural Exchange at 1414 21st Street. Our meetings will continue to be held on the second Wednesday of the month at 6:30 pm. Hope you can make it! |
| 4. GSA Network News Wear Your GSA on your Sleeve! Buy a GSA Power T-shirt! Another GSA Network T-shirts hot off the press... Cafepress that is. Do you just love our GSA Power postcard? Well, now it's a shirt. Buy it today and help support GSA Network! Order one of our three New T-shirts and help support GSA Network * GSA Power * A is for Ally * Activist * Male, Female, Other / Neither / All of the above Also in stock * I heart GSA * I HELLA Heart GSA * and our classic GSA Organizing Shirt These new designs can ONLY be purchased at our on-line store. For every item you buy GSA Network gets a small donation ($3-5) to keep doing all the good work we do!!! So, help support GSAs and look cool doing it. To Buy Today: http://www.cafepress.com/gsanetwork |
| 4. Community Announcements Seventh Annual AIDS Run/Walk Sunday September 9 The AIDS Run/Walk helps Sacramento Region agencies meet the needs of people in our area, some of whom might be your friends and neighbors. Go to http://sacvalleyaidsrunwalk.org/ to learn how you can help! Or call (916) 448-1110 or email Capcityaidsfund@yahoo.com. Sacramento County Health officials conservatively estimate that more than 5,000 people have been infected with HIV in Sacramento. Already 1,500 have lost their lives to AIDS, with more than 2,000 confirmed cases of AIDS being reported in the Capital City area. Unfortunately, local public funding for Sacramento area HIV/AIDS organizations continues to decrease, while the case loads and needs of the local AIDS organizations continue to rise. This has created the situation where more local sources of private funds must be established to ensure that existing levels of service are not reduced or eliminated. In response, the Sacramento Valley AIDS Walk was born. Today the Sacramento Valley AIDS Run/Walk is a cooperative effort among the areas largest HIV/AIDS service organizations, including the Center for AIDS Research, Education and Services (CARES), Breaking Barriers, AIDS Housing Alliance, Sierra Foothills AIDS Foundation, Sunburst Projects and the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center. Capital City AIDS Fund, Inc. (CCAF) serves as the fiscal agent for The Run/Walk. In 2006 thirteen non-profit HIV/AIDS service agencies from Sacramento, Yolo, Placer, El Dorado, and Nevada counties participated and received funds from the Run/Walk. In 2005 a Run was added to the Walk and it was so successful that it became a permanent addition to the annual fundraiser. This year the Run will be even bigger and better. In 2006 over 1,000 walkers and runners raised over $140,000. Our goal for 2007 is 2,000 walkers and runners combining to raise $200,000!!! With your support we know we can meet this goal. SIGLFF Gay film fans don’t have to wait for the Sacramento International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (October 11- 13) to see queer cinema on the big screen. The Sacramento French Film Festival recently showed several gay movies, and now the 8th Annual Sacramento Film & Music Festival will screen the gay title Holding Trevor. Trevor will screen August 9 at 9 pm on the main screen at the Crest. For more information, visit www.sacfilm.com. The Sacramento International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (SIGLFF) is looking for volunteers for the 2007 year. See lots of films, meet the artists; use your talents, be appreciated; be on the inside of one of Sacramento's biggest LGBT arts event; meet and connect with interesting people; learn new skills; build relationships, network; play & have fun. Contact Diva at phyllips@comcast.net if you are interested in learning more or visit the website at http://www.siglff.org. Democratic presidential candidate debate on LGBT issues The Stonewall Democratic Club of Sacramento is holding a free admission party to watch the Democratic presidential candidate debate on LGBT issues at Headhunters on 20th and K Streets in midtown Sacramento on Thursday August 9 at 5:30 pm. "Free admission! Good eats! Raffle prizes! Commentary! Fun!" |
| That's enough for now. Did I leave anything out? Please drop me a line. Do you have an announcement or item that you'd like to include in our newsletter? Would you like to write an opinion piece about something in the LGBT education area? Tell us about what's going on in your GSA! Send complaints, comments, or submissions to admin@respectsacramento.org and I will be happy to place it in our newsletter, which is composed at the end of the current month and sent out in the first week of the subsequent month. Make this your newsletter by contributing to it! See you at our next meeting on August 8 at the Lavender Library, 1414 21st Street at 6:30 pm. Jerry O'Connor Respect Sacramento Board Member Respect Sacramento PO Box 191678 Sacramento CA 95819 (916) 733-2135 info@respectsacramento.org www.respectsacramento.org |
| 1. From the Editor: Respect Sacramento's statement at the West Coast Diversity Summit Board members of Respect Sacramento were among those who were in attendance at a July 21 community meeting called the West Coast Diversity Summit. Here is the text of the remarks delivered on behalf of our organization: Respect Sacramento is a local grassroots organization dedicated to creating safe schools for all sexual minority people in Sacramento area schools. We work to advance the rights and safety of all persons in K-12 schools, regardless of real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. We are a small organization with a handful of active members and contributors and a contact list of a few hundred individuals. Our primary work involves 1) advice, support, and guidance for students, parents, and teachers in the formation and maintenance of school-based support clubs popularly known as Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs); 2) organizing and presenting an annual leadership training for secondary school students on the issues and concerns of sexual minority youth and their allies in K- 12 schools; 3) supporting and organizing an annual GSA Dance; 4) advocacy for LGBT youth and teacher training in K-12 schools through the creation of structures like the district-level LGBT Task Force in the Sacramento City Unified School District; and 5) the development of leadership opportunities for youth on our board and in the wider community. Respect Sacramento has been confronted with the harassment and protests of reactionary “religious” groups since our first major Youth Leadership Training in 1999. Since then, right-wing groups have picketed or protested at our events on an almost annual basis, and in the last couple of years individuals from the Slavic churches have been the most prominent and vociferous. The inclusion of students and very young children in these protest groups reflects the indoctrination of fear and hate that is prevalent in these churches. Respect Sacramento believes that any form of indoctrination that targets specific groups of citizens as unworthy of community support contributes to a climate of fear, hatred, and oppression that gives rise to harassment and violence. Such violence has been evident by verbal and physical attacks in the past and most recently by the killing of Satendar Singh in July 2007. Respect Sacramento believes that inclusive education can provide an important counterbalance to mindless indoctrination. Public schools in California have a legal duty to provide safe and supportive schools for all, including LGBT students. One way to ensure the security of sexual minority youth is for districts and schools to train their staffs and students on the legal obligations and social merits of diversity and affirming and supporting all minority groups in our schools. With that in mind, Respect Sacramento desires to see the following take place in our community:
As a small non-profit with no staff and limited resources, Respect Sacramento can only see these goals come to fruition through the concerted effort of the entire LGBT community as well as the support of the greater Sacramento region and its leadership in the educational, political, religious, volunteer, medical, and mental health spheres. We call on all groups to play an active role in ensuring safe and supportive learning environments for our youth. We hope that the July 21 summit serves as a starting point for such a collective effort out of which may grow a community truly accepting and affirming of all its citizens. Sincerely, The Board of Respect Sacramento |
| In this edition 1. From the Editor: Our statement at the Diversity Summit 2. Next meeting August 8 at The Lavender Library 3. Satendar Justice Coalition meets with sheriff 4. Community Announcements 5. GSA Network News |
| 3. Satendar Justice Coalition meets with sheriff From Outword (7/26-8/9): The investigation and calls for justice continue on two fronts in the murder of Satendar Singh in Sacramento. Representatives from the Satender Justice Coalition met with Sheriff John McGinness on Tuesday, July 17 and on Saturday, July 21, members of the community came together at a public summit to strengthen our community against hate crimes. Sheriff McGinness assured the group that his department was aggressively investigating the crime and that they are placing a great deal of emphasis, from various resources in the sheriff’s department, on the case. |
