Baltimore Alternative, June 1989

The В аЫ 1ч о re June 1989 ALTERNATIVE FREE ANOThERyoicE^NOTjwR^jwicE^ Chase-Brexton Clinic Seeks Larger Quarters, Independence from GLCCB Challenges of AIDS Epidemic Cited in Proposal Skinheads Go on Trial in D.C. Hate Violence Grows in Maryland by John Zeh by Garey Lambert The co-executive directors of the GLCCB’s Chase-Brexton Clinic have pro¬ posed to incorporate the Clinic as an organi¬ zation independent of the GLCCB, and to move from the community center building at 241 W. Chase Street to larger quarters. Elizabeth Kaeton and Greg Wise, the Clinic directors submitted their lengthy pro¬ posal to the GLCCB Board at the May monthly meeting. To the surprise of most GLCCB observers, all 11 board members present endorsed it “We’re very encouraged by the board’s decisive action.” said Kaeton. “We present- “We can’t expect people with AIDS to climb three flights of steps to get to their medical services. That’s a problem that cannot be overcome in the GLCCB building .” ed a good argument, and solid supporting material, and they recognized the necessity for both the relocation and the incorpora¬ tion.” Chase-Brcxton’s AIDS related services have steadily expanded in recent months. In addition to anonymous testing (one of only two anonymous testing sites in Baltimore) and counselling, the Clinic operates a “sero¬ positive reactor Clinic” which may well ex¬ pand to become a full primary care Clinic for HIV positive people. The Clinic has begun participating with other AIDS service providers in applying for federal and private grants to develop other AIDS related servic¬ es and programs. For any of these programs to succeed, the Clinic must have more ad¬ ministrative and clinical space, the proposal states. “We’re out of room,” says Wise. “We're already giving up office time so that our counsellors have a place to serve their clients. That’s no way to run things.” ‘The Clinic has got to be accessible to sick people too,” adds Kaeton. “We can’t expect people with AIDS to climb three flights of steps to get to their medical servic¬ es. That’s a problem that cannot be over- See CHASE-BREXTON page 2 WASHINGTON, D.C.— Trials set to be¬ gin June 28 in D.C. Superior Court of three teenagers charged with attempted murder of a gay man on the P Street "Beach" early one morning last fall shed light on both the grow¬ ing wave of hate-motivated violence, and peoples' efforts to fight back. David M. McCall, 18, of Dale City, VA, Richard C. Grimes, 17, of Ridge, MD, and Mark Hyder, 17, of Sutherland, MD, face several charges as adults, including assault with intent to kill and armed robbery in a total of four attacks. All the defendants have pleaded not 1989 National Lobby Days: Lesbian/Gay Activists Face Biggest Legislative Challenge in AIDS Era by Cliff O'Neill WASHINGTON — Usually American lesbians and gay men have to rely on a hand¬ ful of lobbyists and congressional aides in Washington to speak out on their behalf and demand justice from their elected officials in the nation's capitol. This month will be dif¬ ferent. This year, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force [NGLTF] has designated the entire month of June as National Lobby Days as part of a concentrated effort to beat back what could easily be the biggest legis¬ lative threat to the lesbian and gay move¬ ment in recent memory. "These are very important lobby days," says Peri Jude Radccic, the NGLTF lobbyist who is heading up the lobby days campaign. The reason: a new amendment, drafted by Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) which is in¬ tended for placement on the Hate Crimes Statistics Act, a bill which would mandate the collection of statistics of crimes motivat¬ ed by bias based on race, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation. To press his anti-gay agenda onto what will likely be the first gay-inclusive bill to ever pass Congress, Helms has devised his Perl Jude Radecic heads campaign See LOBBY DAYS page 33 guilty and declined controversial plea bar¬ gains offered by the US Attorney in the D.C. cases. One gay victim in the P Street Beach attacks suffered a fractured skull, broken “Not since the height of Ku Klux Klan activity during the civil rights era has there been [such] a group so obsessed with violence or so reckless in its disregard for the law. ” ribs, and a splintered shoulder. "If he had died, I don't think I would have felt any re¬ morse about it. I have a hatred for gays. They are a threat," Hyder reportedly told The Washington Post. Hyder was candid in a jailhouse interview about nighttime forays with "skinhead” friends wielding baseball bats into Rock Creek Park and Georgetown. A new study by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) reportedly will show that skinhead attacks were by far the most numerous and brutal of all hate groups incidents against gays documented in 1988. An "epidemic" of hate-motivated vio¬ lence sweeping across the United States was first forecast by the National Council of Churches early last year. This past February, the Southern Poverty Law Center's Klanwatch published vivid documentation that skinheads have proven themselves to be "the most indiscriminately violent" group of white supremacists in dec¬ ades. "Not since the height of Ku Klux Klan activity during the civil rights era has there See SKINHEADS page 32 NEWS Residents take back Mt. Vernon.. p. 3 S.F. Partners bill passes . p. 4 Across America . p. 8 Around The World . p. 10 HEALTH AIDS Update . p. 21 Steve Gavin Speaks . p. 20 ARTS Remembering Jeff Duncan . p. 19 Baltimore Dance 89 by Robert Haskins . p. 25 Art Events . p. 28 Books-The Fifth Child reviewed by Alan Waldien . p. 29 Film Listings . p. 30 FEATURES Every person is a hero . p. 15 Visibility for women . p. 17 Profile - Jeff Levi . p. 35