Every year Project CRYSP, an organization committed to gay men's health in Chicago, holds four community forums addressing issues across the board. Project CRYSP's last forum of the year, "It's Not Just 'Faggot!,'" addressed the ever-pressing issue of homo/transphobia; the Dec. 8 town hall packed the Center on Halsted's Hoover-Leppin Theatre. Dr. Simone Koehlinger of the Cook County Department of Public Health was the evening's moderator. She opened the forum saying that homophobia is not just about "telling me that you 'tolerate' me," adding that, "if you tell me that you're celebrating and supporting me then we have something to talk about."
The forum sought to find solutions to battling homophobia and was led by a panel of community leaders: Keith Green ( Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus ) , Rick Garcia ( Equality Illinois ) and Lois Bates ( Howard Brown Health Center ) .
Gay teen suicides were frequently highlighted by the media in the latter half of 2010, making Project CRYSP's town hall particularly timely. "Institutional homophobia ... starts early," said Green. "There is a lack of comprehensive sexual education in the school system." Green noted that for LGBT youth, being left out of the conversation in a sex-ed class is a subtle, but serious, form of homophobia that can lead gay teens to feel alone.
"When we walk out of [ the Center on Halsted ] , what do we see on this street?" Garcia asked the audience, "Kids," replied one audience member. Garcia continued, "Why are they not in school? And then I realized why they are not in school." Garcia, who sits on the governor's hate crimes commission, explained that during a statewide tour of Illinois' public schools, he and several others spoke with students about issues they felt needed to be addressed. The primary concern, Garcia learned, was bullying and that teachers and adminstrators were doing nothing to stop it. "We need to make sure that our next mayor makes a priority protecting LGBT children who are on our streets who should be [ in school ] ," he added.
Nodding to this year's anti-bullying bill passed by the Illinois General Assembly, Garcia said teachers and administrators who do nothing to stop bullying should be fired. He added that "Equality Illinois is committed to stopping institutional violence in our schools," and that the organization is speaking with mayoral candidates about getting Chicago Public Schools on board.
Two weeks ago the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation granting civil unions to same-sex couples; Gov. Quinn has promised to sign the bill. Despite this victory, Green said the LGBT community "still has a long way to go. We are not yet equal."
"For the last five years I have worked on this bill to make us second class citizens," said Garcia, who was at the forefront of granting civil unionn to same-sex couples in Illinois from the beginning. "I will tell you that there is a method to our madness," Garcia continued stating that Equality Illinois saw the passage of civil unions as a step, though the organization still believes there should be one institution for everybody.
When equal marriage legislation was introduced in 2005, many elected officials opted for civil unions, and Garcia acknowledged that LGBT citizens in Illinois needed legal protections now. "Is it enough?" Garcia asked, "No. Are we satisfied with it? No. Because we all needed to be treated fairly with one set of rules and one yard stick."
The civil-union bill goes into effect July 1, 2011, and Garcia promised that after one election cycle, "we [ Equality Illinois ] are going for equal marriage in Illinois because all of us should have the same rights that our neighbors do."
The audience gave its approval with roaring applause for Garcia's promises on behalf of Equality Illinois, but the evening's spotlight was stolen by Bates whose witty and humorous comments kept the audience on their toes throughout the evening.
The forum's concern was not just with homo/transphobia from people outside the LGBT community, but also from within. When Koehlinger asked the panel, "When should we compromise and when should we push forward?" Bates was the first to speak. Concerning the non-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act ( ENDA ) in 2007 that was supported by many within the gay community Bates said that activists were saying, "Well maybe we can get [ ENDA ] without gender expression." She added that many in the gay community "turned to the transgender community and said, 'We'll get you later.'"
Garcia quickly chimed in, stating that " [ w ] hen the Human Rights Campaign [ HRC ] decided to throw gender identity under the bus on ENDA, Equality Illinois was one of the first six organizations who said, 'Absolutely not.'" Garcia explained that in 2007, Equality Illinois drafted a letter to the HRC saying that if gender identity were absent from ENDA, not only would they withold their support, but they would oppose it. Within 15 days, the letter was signed by over 300 organizations around the country. Garcia added, "In 2005 we passed a bill in Illinois that included sexual orientation and gender identity, because it's all of us or none us. Nobody goes under the bus!"
When Koehlinger opened the floor to the audience, one individual noted that Chicago is still a very segregated city, "We divide ourselves in our communities ... Anderonville, Boystown ... we cannot discriminate ourselves." Another audience memeber asked how to combat homophobia that is prevelant in Chicago's West and South sides.
Garcia said, "Even though there are divisions, when push comes to shove, we in Chicago, we in Illinois, have a tendency to stand together." He explained that Equality Illinois has attempted to work closely with organizations in many areas such as Humboldt Park, the South Side, the suburbs and smaller communities throughout Illinois: "Not any one of us holds the truth, but all of us together holds the truth."
Perhaps a more surprising topic for the evening was reflecting on where the civil-rights movement for the LGBT community is today. "History is very important in any movement," said Koehlinger. "We're in a very important point in this movement." She turned to the panel on a personal note: "Moving ahead 50 years from now, looking at my daughter, how is she going to characterize this time?"
"As a time that changed America," replied Green. "Hopefully, she will look back and say, 'I wish I had lived in that time. I am proud to be an American. And I am proud what my moms did for my country.'" Green continued saying that the LGBT community is at "a fork in the road and, as a country, we can go in any direction."
Comments from the audience reaffirmed feelings from the panel that the LGBT community is indeed at a crossroads. "We have to be vigilant and careful now," said one audience member.
Koehlinger's final question for the panelists concerned what they thought should be the actions that the LGBT community considers to combat trans/homophobia.
Bates noted the importance of keeping these conversations alive: "Our community includes so many differnt identities, the more we know about each other the more we feel unified."
"What I have learned in dealing with a lot of anti-gay people," said Garcia, "is that the only difference between me and the male-to-female transgender person [ in the eyes of our opponents ] is that I am a fag and she is a fag in a dress." He continued that "while we make all of these distinctions, our opponents lump us togther and that is something we need to understand."
Green added that the LGBT community needs to "Be visible ... on the issues, in our churches, and in our institutionas," saying that, "If we're not present, our voices are not heard."
Bringing the forum to a close, Garcia reflected on the Illinois General Assembly's debate on the civil-unions bill, explaining that many elected officials ( some surprisingly so ) stood up in defense of the bill because they had a family member who is gay.
With that in mind, Garcia concluded that "the most powerful thing that any of us can do is to be open, to be proud and, sometimes, to be loud."
More information on Project CRYSP is at www.lifelube.org .