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By: ERIC ERVIN
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It began with an apology and ended amidst shouting and tears.
A panel discussion initiated by allegations of racism by the Atlanta Pride Committee turned heated May 2 when an African-American gay activist called the meeting a "ruse" and accused the organization of avoiding the issue.
The event was called by the Pride Committee to discuss race relations among gay Atlantans. For a majority of the nearly two-hour meeting, the topics of hate crimes, police brutality and discrimination, and immigration reform and its effects on gay men and lesbians took center stage.
But toward the end of the meeting, Kevin Bynes, an activist who works with AID Atlanta, questioned the Atlanta Pride Committee’s intent with the panel.
"I think it’s a ruse when Atlanta Pride — when faced with racism — contacts a PR firm," said Bynes, who is director of an outreach program at AID Atlanta. "The idea of black people heading a discussion of racism, it’s ridiculous."
Donna Narducci, Atlanta Pride Committee executive director, disagreed. She said she supported the organization’s decision to hire Zandra Conway, who owns a public relations firm, to coordinate the meeting. Conway is also a member of In the Life Atlanta, the organization that sponsors the annual Black Gay Pride event.
"I don’t believe that Atlanta Pride is a racist organization and I don’t believe that I’m a racist individual," Narducci said at the meeting. "I’m here to learn. I don’t believe it’s a ruse, it’s not a ruse."
The discussion panel included representatives from several gay and straight organizations.
Five of the nine panelists were black, including Officer Darlene Harris, LGBT liaison for the Atlanta Police Department; DeeDee Chamblee, executive director of LaGender Inc.; Gerald Boyd with the National Coalition Building Institute; Michael Slaughter, In The Life Atlanta board co-chair; and Ronald Moore, who is a retired diversity manager at Hewlett Packard.
Other participants were Narducci, Georgia Equality Executive Director Chuck Bowen,Trikone member Deepali Gokhale and Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials.
Heated confrontation
Bynes’ denouncement garnered applause from many of the approximately 100 people attending the meeting at the Fulton County Central Library. Some said they felt that the panelists were the wrong people to be talking about racism in gay Atlanta.
"I wonder where all the white people are for a conversation on racism," said Darlene Hudson of ITLA.
Public comment and questions were limited to two minutes with each panelist being allowed to respond. Bynes had approached the podium, made a comment and returned to his seat.
Tension mounted when he confronted Narducci from his seat as she responded to his remarks. Moderator Maddie Pimentel attempted to silence Bynes, noting the other people waiting in line to speak.
"I’m going to stay here and I’m going to say what I’m going to say," he replied.
Pimentel told Bynes he would have to leave if he continued.
"Baby, this is a public library — I have a library card — and I’m going to say what I have to say," he said.
When Craig Washington, an activist and writer, asked Narducci for specific details on the organization’s action plan to include more blacks, a shouting match ensued among Bynes, Washington and Betty Couvertier, who is Atlanta Pride Committee’s diversity co-chair.
"She physically blocked me from talking to Donna," Washington said of Couvertier. "There’s work for us to do, bottom line."
Couvertier, a Hispanic lesbian, was in tears after challenging the attacks against Atlanta Pride as racist.
Magazine publisher not included
Many in attendance felt one of the panelists should have been Dwight Powell, publisher of the black gay men’s magazine Clik, based in Florida.
"Dwight Powell just took the lid off and I’m sorry that he could not be here," Hudson said during the public comments period of the meeting. "To me, it’s not enough to just apologize."
Hudson also said she believed much of the discussion at the meeting, prior to Bynes’ comments, was not focused on the issue.
"This is not the conversation I came here to hear," Hudson said.
At the onset of the meeting, Narducci acknowledged the Pride Committee felt it necessary to hold a panel on racism after controversy erupted when she at first declined Powell’s offer of in-kind media sponsorship.
In March, Powell offered the Atlanta Pride festival $9,500 worth of free advertising in exchange for sponsorship. He said it would attract more black gay men to the annual Pride festival.
Narducci initially refused ...
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