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February 2007
East Tennessee and Knox
Area Briefs
Knox County Commissioner Mark Harmon meets with Leadership Council
Commission Mark Harmon, representative for District 2
– Seat A, met with members of the Public Policy committee and others
recently in a roundtable discussion aimed at improving relations with the
County Commission and learning more about recent events that have lef t
Knox County government in turmoil.
Leadership Council Co-President and Equality Herald
Publisher Beth Maples-Bays recently attended the National Conference on
Media Reform held in Memphis. Addressing local issues along with issues
arising from the recent National Conference on Media Reform, Harmon drew
from his own research in debunking the myth of “liberal bias” in the
media. The commissioner is also an associate professor of journalism and
electronic media in UT-K’s College of Communication and Information.
Harmon pointed out the fact that 3 out of 4 radio
talk show hosts are right wing conservatives. He also noted that only
three times since 1948 have a majority of our nation’s newspapers endorsed
the Democratic candidate for the Presidency.
Other issues discussed included nepotism in local
government, possible repeal of a 1993 Knox County resolution condemning
homosexuality, net neutrality and other telecommunications issues, and the
now-repealed FCC Fairness Doctrine that previously required balance in
broadcast presentation of controversial issues.
This roundtable was the fourth in a series sponsored
by the
Greater Knoxville LGBT Leadership Council.
Go
here to see a photos from the Leadership Council Roundtable.
UT Lambda Student Union up and running
UT-K’s Lambda members are already hot on the trail.
With two events already under their belt, the student activists have a
well-laid plan for a jam-packed school year.
Hot on the heels of their Luau at the Longbranch on
Jan. 26 and the Stir Fry Fundraiser on Jan. 30, the group has planned an
upcoming bag lunch with Kevin Jennings, co-hosted by the Appalachian
Community Fund and the not-so-secret UT Commission for LGBT People.
From their flyer:
Kevin Jennings
Founder & Director of
GLSEN,
the national Gay, Lesbian Straight Education Network
500 Yea rs
of Queers is a slide show by Kevin Jennings (author of Becoming
Visible: A Reader in Gay and Lesbian History for High School and
College Students) that looks at LGBT issues from before the arrival of
white people in North  America
until today.
Brown Bag Lunch Lecture
Thursday, February 8, 2007
12:00 PM—1:30 PM
Black Cultural Center
Multi-Purpose Room 102-104
This event is co-sponsored by the Appalachian
Community Fund (ACF), the University of Tennessee Lambda
Student Union, and UT’s Commission for LGBT People
Kevin Jennings is a writer, a teacher, and a leader
in the fields of K-12 education and civil rights. Kevin is the founder and
director of GLSEN, the leading national education association focused on
ensuring safe schools for ALL students. GLSEN programs like Gay-Straight
Alliances (GSA’s), No Name-Calling Week and Day of Silence are now
commonplace in America’s schools. Kevin was named to Newsweek magazine’s
“Century Club” as one of “100 people to watch in the new century” and is
also the recipient of the Human and Civil Rights Award of the National
Education Association. Kevin serves as Fundraising Chair for the
Appalachian Community Fund, where he established the Alice Jennings Fund
to help low income and battered women have the opportunities his own
mother was denied as a girl and woman from Appalachia.
The rest of the semester looks busy as well. It
includes Mardi Gras Night Out, Womanless Beauty Pageant, rafting, Jason &
deMarco, a Womyn’s Music Festival, and the ever-popular Lambda Drag Show.
Check their Web site for details at
http://web.utk.edu/~lambda.
UT-K adds LGBT Commission
The University of Tennessee at Knoxville has
authorized the existence of a historic Commission for LGBT People, similar
to others for women and blacks. The shroud of secrecy surrounding the
official announcement has been ripped open by the Commission’s sponsorship
of the upcoming Kevin Jennings brown bag lunch lecture.
The Equality Herald will bring you more details as
this story develops.
Transgender Vets Knoxville chapter official
More on the way
The long struggle is over. Knoxville is now a charter
chapter of the
Transgender
American Veterans Association as of Dec. 5, 2006.
The Tennessee and Massachusetts Chapters joined
Wisconsin in being the first three incorporated chapters in the United
States.
Plans are in the works for chapters in Arkansas,
California, Missouri, Ohio, and Texas in 2007. Additional Tennessee
chapters are also on the way. The group is considering adding chapters in
Memphis, Chattanooga, Murfreesboro, and Nashville. If this occurs,
Tennessee will be the first state with multiple chapters.
Neither status as a
transgender person or veteran are required for membership. These Chapters
are advocacy groups, not just for those who served in the military, but
also for those who wish to advocate for LGBTQ people hit by natural
disasters. This goal was added after the Katrina disaster revealed a need
for this work.
Interested parties
may call toll free 1-877-427-3230 or email Ann Knittel at
tomboygirl11@yahoo.com.
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