[Vision2020] Festival Celebrates City's Diversity

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (June 10, 2007) Spokesman review -

http://tinyurl.com/yu7bcl
"From left, Barb Beyerhof, Stormie Oshun, and Bettie Stiritz, along with the
rest of the Giant Ass Drum Corps, raise their sticks as they prepare to
signal the start of the 2007 Spokane Pride Parade on Saturday."

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Festival celebrates city's diversity 
Speaker urges audience to fight homophobia

>From left, Barb Beyerhof, Stormie Oshun, and Bettie Stiritz, along with the
rest of the Giant Ass Drum Corps, raise their sticks as they prepare to
signal the start of the 2007 Spokane Pride Parade on Saturday.
 
Virginia De Leon 
Staff writer
June 10, 2007

In order to attain equal rights for all, people must speak out against
homophobia, said retired Army Col. Grethe Cammermeyer, who challenged the
military's ban on gays and lesbians and successfully fought to stay in the
Washington National Guard.

"Don't be afraid to challenge whoever is putting you down," Cammermeyer told
more than 1,000 people Saturday at the annual Pride Parade and Rainbow
Festival in downtown Spokane. "I firmly believe . if you are uncomfortable
in being out, in being who you are, it's probably where you need to be.
Because it is where the change will take place."

Unlike larger, metropolitan cities, Spokane hasn't always been an easy place
to be gay, acknowledged some participants at this year's celebration. But
change has indeed taken place in recent years, they said, empowering people
to speak out against discrimination and to come out of the closet and live
without fear.

"This is a time to gather together and give each other strength," said Angie
Black, 53 and a Spokane resident for the last 35 years. "As a teen growing
up in the '60s, I didn't have the resources that young people have today.
Look at how far we've come. I'm so proud of that fact, and this is the day
to celebrate."
 
At noon on Saturday, the streets of downtown Spokane took on the colors of
the rainbow as crowds of people danced, cheered, marched and reveled - all
in the name of diversity and pride.

"I'm here because I'm proud," said Gene Young, a lifelong Spokane resident
who wore a tank top and shorts in rainbow tie-dye to match his colorful
feathered boa, striped socks and black high heels. "I want people to know
that we deserve the same rights as everyone else."

The vibrant procession included elaborate floats and convertibles that
circled a half-mile route to the flutter of rainbow flags and the sassy,
brassy sounds of the Rainbow City Band.

Participants in the parade and festival included families with young
children, senior citizens, middle-age folk, as well as teens and young
people from area schools and colleges. Several churches also took part in
the celebration, including the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane and
Westminster Congregational United Church of Christ.

"Would Jesus discriminate?" asked a sign on a float designed by members of
Spokane's Emmanuel Metropolitan Community Church. The float - a red pickup
pulling along a colorful trailer - was covered with other messages,
including "Hate is not Christian," "Jesus Loves All the Children of the
World" and "God is Love."

Other participants included the Pom Squad, a group of "radical cheerleaders"
dressed in red and black uniforms made mostly out of leather and lace. "I
hope more people realize that this is a family event," said Anne Dietz,
whose 6-year-old son, David Spingola, wore a shirt that said, "Let My Moms
Marry."

This year's celebration drew dozens of people from smaller, surrounding
communities. Other cities in Washington state, including Yakima and
Vancouver, are having their pride parties and picnics this weekend as well,
but none offers a parade or the type of festivities available in Spokane,
said the Rev. Janet Pierce of River of Life Metropolitan Community Church in
Kennewick, Wash.

For the first time, members of the North Idaho Gay Men's Association also
took part in the parade. The guys from Moscow, Coeur d'Alene and other
cities wore cowboy hats while waving to the crowds from an old Suburban
decked out with flashing lights. "This is going to be the destination pride
event for the Inland Northwest," said Kevin Kappes of Moscow, who came with
his longtime partner, Jon Spears. "We're having lots of fun."

After the 45-minute parade through downtown, participants gathered at
Riverfront Park, which was filled with live entertainment, informational
booths and a kids' area, where children could spend the afternoon jumping in
bouncy castles, playing games or getting their faces painted. The festival
officially began with a short speech from Cammermeyer followed by the annual
wedding ceremony.

"I came over from Seattle and thought, 'There are no gay people in Spokane,'
" quipped Cammermeyer, the grand marshal of this year's parade. "And indeed
there are. There are many. I am so pleased to be part of this wonderful
event you're having."

After being fired by the military for being a lesbian, Cammermeyer was
reinstated in 1994. She wrote about her pain and successful court challenge
in "Serving in Silence," a book published in 1995. Her story also was told
in an NBC-TV movie produced by Barbra Streisand. Glenn Close played
Cammermeyer in the film. 

"We need to be acknowledged as contributing members of all aspects of
society," she told the crowd. "The only way that changes, is for each of us
- as we are able - to come out and challenge the homophobia that exists in
society."

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What:  Palouse Pride
Where:  Downtown Moscow
When:  July 28
For More Information:
  www.groups.yahoo.com/group/nigma
Additional Links:
  www.cammermeyer.com
  www.outspokane.com

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in
that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity,
their dignity and personhood,"

- Coretta Scott King (March 30, 1998)