Newsletter - October 2020

View this email in your browser October 2020 In this October edition of the First Mardi Gras Inc. Newsletter, we have: FMG Inc. statement on the 78ers trademark issue: “78ers” belongs to all 78ers Karl Zlotkowski on our next Salon78 forum: Fifty Years of Visibility – Pioneers and Connections before 1978 Robyn Kennedy on Where did the name “78ers” come from? Barry Charles’ account of the InterPride AGM and Conference Our statement on the arrests and fines at the Community Action for Rainbow Rights 10 October Rally against the Anti-Trans One Nation Bill Our tribute to Kendall Lovett on his passing A link to Sydney Arts Students Society's diverse sexuality and genders literary magazine 1978, with Foreword by Diane Minnis and Ken Davis Calendar of Events. Diane Minnis In late 2017 a small group trademarked the term “78ers SEVENTYEIGHTERS”.  This was done without consultation with the wider 78er community and they are trying to limit who can use the term 78ers. Recently, a representative of the Original 78ers Collective Inc. (which incorporated in late 2017, with no connection to First Mardi Gras Inc.) has asked Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras to pay them a licence fee for using the term 78ers. Our legal advice is that the term 78ers describes a group of people, not a product or service, and that claiming an exclusive trademark on a descriptor for a group of people is not legally enforceable. In addition, registering a name as a trademark where the name is already in use, even if not trademarked, can constitute misleading or deceptive conduct. In this case, the ACCC can issue fines as well as force a change to the trademarked term. Later in this newsletter, Robyn Kennedy details how the name 78ers has been in use for over 20 years. This matter was extensively discussed at out recent AGM.   On 19 September 2020, at the Annual General Meeting of First Mardi Gras Inc., the following motion was carried unanimously: “That this meeting of First Mardi Gras Inc. believes that the term 78ers cannot be appropriated or licensed for exclusive use by any one group, since it belongs to all 78ers.” Following our AGM, Co-Chairs Diane Minnis and Ken Davis met with SGLMG CEO, Albert Kruger, and Board member Louis Hudson. We understand that a person said to be representing the Original 78ers Collective is asserting that SGLMG needs their permission to use the term 78ers, including for SGLMG‘s elected advisory 78ers Committee. SGLMG has previously been “granted” a licence by this group to use the term 78ers for the 2018 season. Albert Kruger told us that no royalties had been paid on that occasion. In light of the unenforceability of the trademark and extensive prior usage of 78ers, we urged Mardi Gras to strenuously reject the demand for a licence payment or any restriction on their use of the term 78ers. The claim by some members of the Original 78ers Collective Inc. to claim exclusive ownership of the term 78ers lacks any merit and is unethical. This represents an insult to all of us that fought so hard for our identity. We encourage all 78ers to use 78ers as frequently and appropriately as they wish.     By Diane Minnis and Ken Davis 78ers and First Mardi Gras Inc. Co-Chairs Salon78 goes Zoom! Our series of forums on issues of interest to 78ers and our friends returns in November 2020. This time we will be hosting the event by Zoom, which means that for the first time the audience of Salon78 will extend beyond Sydney to the rest of Australia, and the world. Our theme is Fifty Years of Visibility – Pioneers and Connections before 1978. Our speakers will bring recollections of the people and events that created the Australian LGBTIQ movement, and developed a community consciousness that took to the streets in the 70’s. Our aim is to show that without these pioneers, there would be no Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Melbourne Midsumma. Given the scale of this topic, we have divided the forum into two sessions:   Part 1 – 3pm, Sunday 29 November 2020 Part 2 – 3pm, Sunday 6 December 2020 The event will be free, but we will be asking for registration via Eventbrite, Facebook or to info@78ers.org.au. Keep an eye out for updates in the next two weeks! By Karl Zlotkowski 78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee Member In 1997, around 30 people who had participated in the events of 1978 began meeting to plan commemorative activities for the 20th Anniversary of the first Mardi Gras Parade in 1998. Fairly early on the group decided that they needed a name and the term “78ers” came into being. The name 78ers appeared on meeting minutes, newsletters and correspondence including an application to Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras for funding. The 78ers formed various sub-committees which produced a website, an exhibition, and the publication It Was a Riot. This booklet documented the background leading up to the first Mardi Gras Parade, what took place on the night of the Parade as well as the subsequent protest rallies and marches. The publication included numerous photos including many that were previously unpublished. The 78ers Festival Events Group aimed to ensure that It Was a Riot remained accessible in perpetuity by depositing copies with the National Library of Australia. Copyright of the publication by the 78ers Festival Events Group is recognised in Library’s citation, with copyright held until 2068. This recognition clearly establishes pre-existing use of the name 78ers which, along with numerous other examples, demonstrates that any attempt to claim ownership of the name is invalid.   By Robyn Kennedy 78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee Member Above: It was a Riot! InterPride AGM and Conference 2020 The AGM and Conference of InterPride, the international association of Pride organisers, was held on 1-11 October, 2020. First Mardi Gras Inc. is a member organisation and the AGM sessions were attended by Barry Charles, Robyn Kennedy and Helen Gollan. Of course, this year the conference was held online. InterPride membership has changed dramatically in the last 5 years. Membership has more than doubled to 374 groups in 2020 and regions outside North America now account for 49% of members compared to 29% in 2015. In 2020, however Board positions have largely continued to be based in North America. The organisation therefore needs to go through a structural and cultural change. A Strategic Planning Task Force co-chaired by our own Robyn Kennedy presented ideas, involving re-balancing of regions and greater outreach to developing Pride groups. These proposals were responded to on the last day. There were a number of sessions held over the 11 days, covering topics such as Seniors, People with Special Needs, Health promotion at LGBTIQ Festivals and Combating Racism. These sessions were recorded and information on the list and videos is provided below. Highlights of the final General Sessions were the: discussion on proposed changes outlined by the Strategic Planning Task Force a stunning presentation from Copenhagen on their plans for World Pride in August 2021 election of Board members, with Robyn Kennedy elected Vice-President - Global Outreach and Partnerships, and plans for future World Pride events. There was controversy over the last of these items. Since last year’s vote for Sydney in 2023, the Board of InterPride decided to award a WorldPride to Montreal for 2024. There was significant criticism of this decision given that the vote to award Montreal a WorldPride title was influenced by participation of Board members with a material conflict of interest and that the Standing Rules require a vote of the membership to award WorldPride. Before the AGM finished it was decided to take the decision back to the whole membership. Another idea presented for discussion was that WorldPride be held every year instead of every two years. In 2019 a number of us went to New York where it coincided with the 50 year anniversary of Stonewall. The next WorldPride is in Copenhagen in 2021 and then Sydney in 2023 at Mardi Gras time. There were some objections to the idea of annual WorldPrides given that that 2 year gaps ensured that smaller cities could develop viable bids and attract visitors. If WorldPride were to be held annually the financial risk to hosting cities may increase.   InterPride AGM Workshops Around 25 workshops covering diverse topics were conducted during the InterPride AGM held in early October. Recordings and slide sets are available for most of these workshops with topics including: Pride and Prejudice - Are LGBTQIA+ Elders the Forgotten Population (Workshop Recording) Speakers: Sherri Rase Combating Racism within the Queer community (Workshop Recording) Speakers: Richard Bell Living Proudly, Living Longer: Incorporating LGBTQ Health Promotion at Pride Events (Workshop Recording)Speakers: Adrian Shanker Solidarity at Stake - How Your Pride Can Change the World (Workshop Recording) Speakers: Stein Runar Østigaard, Antonio Mihajlov, Mina Skouen, Valentina Volunteer Empowerment: Building A Powerful Volunteer-Led Organization (Workshop Recording) Speakers: Melanie Mijares, Bob Leyh Organizing Pride Events in a Conservative Society (Workshop Recording) Speakers: Rahul Upadhyay Criminalization of same-sex relations: covid-19 and its impact on access to justice for LGBT persons in Uganda (Workshop Recording) Speakers: Adrian Jjuuko 2Spirit/Indigenous LGBTQ+ Resurgence in the 21st Century (Workshop Recording)  Speakers: Albert McLeod If you would like a copy of the workshop recording and presentation for any of these workshops and/or a full list of topics presented please contact Robyn Kennedy at robyn.kennedy@interpride.org.   By Barry Charles 78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Secretary Help Pay Protestor's Fines Community Action for Rainbow Rights organised a rally and march on 10 October 2020 against the anti-trans One Nation Bill in the NSW Parliament. If passed, the bill will increase discrimination against many, and in particular, increase repression of gender diverse children in schools. First Mardi Gras Inc., together with other organisations, endorsed the rally and opposed the court ruling against this protest. NSW allows many much larger gatherings of people at sporting events, without the masks, distancing, and preventive measures the rally organisers put in place. So why should political protests be subject to different rules? On the Saturday, hundreds of people took part in the rally in Taylor Square and marched down Oxford Street. The police arrested two participants and heavily fined eleven people. This shows a proclivity to discriminatory authoritarianism that predates the Coronavirus pandemic. The police actions compound the thrust of the One Nation Bill, which is designed to curtail social and political freedoms. Community Action for Rainbow Rights has now set up a Go Fund Me campaign to help pay the fines at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/73xau-community-action-for-rainbow-rights-fighting-fund?utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet. Vale Kendall Lovett 6.10.1922 – 21.10.2020 A life of activism for social justice Mannie De Saxe (L) and Kendall Lovett (R). Photo David Urquhart, ALGA First Mardi Gras Inc. is sad to report that a few weeks after turning 98, 78er Kendall Lovett has passed away. Ken is survived by his partner of 27 years, Mannie De Saxe. Ken was a tireless activist and campaigner for LGBTIQ, refugee and human rights. Most demos we went to from the late 70s onwards had Ken’s placards, banners, slogan vests or people-shaped placards – all in his distinctive calligraphy. Ken was a lovely supportive colleague in the Gay Solidarity Group (GSG), which organised the first Mardi Gras and coordinated the massive Drop the Charges campaign that followed. Ken joined GSG after the first Mardi Gras in 1978, and was arrested in the August demonstration in Taylor Square. Often during Mardi Gras parades and demonstrations, Kendall was waiting on alert with bail money ready. Ken stayed active in GSG, later renamed Lesbian and Gay Solidarity into the 2000s, after he and Mannie moved to Melbourne. Ken had been active in Gay Liberation after he returned to Sydney from the UK in the late 1960s, where he was part of the move for homosexual law reform. He took part in the 1972 demonstration outside St Clement’s Anglican Church at Mosman after they had dismissed Peter Bonsall-Boone from staff. Kendall’s main political activism prior to GSG in 1978 was in a resident action group saving Woolloomooloo from developers, with the support of the Builders’ Labourers Federation Green Bans in the early 1970s. Ken was very active at the time of the nationalist bicentenary in 1988, helping organise a big queer contingent in the First Nations mobilisation, around the slogan “200 years of oppression and bad taste.” He was involved in Enola Gay, the peace and antinuclear activist group, and founded “Inside Out” a network supporting gay and lesbian prisoners. Ken was one of the people in GSG who was very involved with international solidarity. He sustained a long correspondence with anti-Apartheid gay activist Simon Nkoli when he was in prison in South Africa on treason charges.   In the early 1980s Ken and GSG were active in organising around inclusion of homosexuality in the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act, in demanding removal of the anti-buggery law and in responding to the rise of the Christian Right. Just prior to American Jerry Falwell’s visit in 1982, Kendall and Leigh Raymond registered the name, Moral Majority, and used it to campaign against Fred Nile and Falwell.  Ken also supported the Gaywaves radio program on 2SER FM over many years. He provided a weekly news bulletin – GRINS (Gay Radio Information News Service) – sometimes as a collective effort, but mainly as a one-man band, week in and week out.  This was circulated to other lesbian and gay media across the country. Ken was a key member of the Sydney collective of Gay Community News (1980-82) and the organising body for the Sixth National Conference of Lesbians and Homosexual Men in Sydney (1980). He was also a correspondent to gay newspapers overseas and the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA). In October 1982 Ken and GSG supported Roberta Perkins and the Australian Transsexual Association (ATA), in staging the first transgender protest in Australia, in Manly. The protest was held to challenge a judgement against two transwomen, who a Magistrate had ruled were men. In response the NSW Attorney-General said that ‘Attorneys-General of the six states had committed to new legislation to recognise the validity of sex changes’. In 1985 the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence canonised him, in recognition of his extensive gay activism, as St Kendall the Constant. Kendall formed a relationship with Mannie De Saxe, a revolutionary socialist and Jewish anti-Zionist activist from South Africa, after they met in GSG. Both of them remained active in lesbian and gay, and other social justice, causes. They volunteered to help people with AIDS, and founded SPAIDS, which planted a memorial grove of trees in Sydney Park.    After retiring from his job at Choice magazine, Ken moved to Newcastle. Twenty years ago, Ken and Mannie moved to live together in Melbourne and in recent years had practical home support from other activists and friends. Ken and Mannie have been very engaged in the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives. They have made big contributions to the struggle to improve services for older lesbian, transgender and gay people. Ken and Mannie were featured in the “2 of Us” in Good Weekend magazine on 10 March 2007.But they were very angry in 2009 when Social Security, as part of a path to marriage equality, decided they were a couple and cut their pensions, even though they had been independent tax payers. Ken and his long-term support for LGBTIQ and other social change struggles will be sadly missed. Our condolences to Mannie and to Ken’s many friends.   By Diane Minnis and Ken Davis 78ers and First Mardi Gras Inc. Co-Chairs Kendall Lovett (L) and Mannie De Saxe (R) holding the Lesbian and Gay Solidarity banner at an 'Out of Iraq' rally for peace, Melbourne, 2005. Photo John Story, ALGA 1 9 7 8 – 2020 – Sydney Arts Students Society's (SASS) diverse sexuality and genders literary magazine 1978 was published on Aug 29, 2020. 1978 includes a Foreword by Diane Minnis and Ken Davis. We were pretty chuffed that SASS were encouraged by our struggles in 1978 to name their literary magazine after the events of that momentous year. Click here to see 1978. Calendar of Events   General Meeting of First Mardi Gras Inc. – 4pm, Saturday 21 November by Zoom Opening of Coming out in the 70s: Early Gay and Lesbian Activism in Australia Exhibition at the State Library – Saturday 28 November Salon78 forum: Fifty Years of Visibility – Pioneers and Connections before 1978, Part 1 – 3pm, Sunday 29 November by Zoom Annual General Meeting of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (including changes to their Constitution) – 11am, Saturday 5 December by Zoom Salon78 forum: Fifty Years of Visibility – Pioneers and Connections before 1978, Part 2 – 3pm, Sunday 6 December by Zoom

Sydney Arts Student's Society's diverse sexuality and genders literary magazine 1978 - 2020.

Sydney Arts Student's Society's diverse sexuality and genders literary magazine 1978 - 2020.

Click here to read the magazine (published on August 20, 2020), including a Foreword by Diane Minnis and Ken Davis.

Newsletter - September 2020

View this email in your browser September 2020 In this September edition of the First Mardi Gras Inc. Newsletter, we have: The results of the First Mardi Gras Inc. AGM on 19 September A link to our Annual Report 2020 William Brougham’s interviews to mark the 50th anniversary of the CAMP Inc. announcement Gabrielle Antolovich on What the Passing of RBG means to the US LGBTIQ Community My report on the Mardi Gras Consultation on their Constitution Barry Charles on the Mardi Gras Member Consultation Karl Zlotkowski with Part 2 of Poland – the View from Here Robyn Kennedy’s update on Oceania InterPride Details of the Protect Trans Kids, Kill Latham's Bills Rally, Saturday, 10 October 2020, 1pm at Taylor Square. Diane Minnis First Mardi Gras Inc. members participating in the AGM by Zoom We had a great roll up to the First Mardi Gras Inc. Annual General Meeting, held by Zoom on Saturday 19 September. This was the first meeting of members we have held in 2020, though the Committee has been meeting regularly by Zoom. It was particularly good to see so many members based outside of Sydney taking part in the meeting. The following Management Committee members were elected at the AGM: Co-Chairs: Diane Minnis and Ken Davis Secretary: Barry Charles Treasurer: Richard Thode Committee Members: Karl Zlotkowski, Maree Marsh, Robyn Kennedy and Rebbell Barnes. After three years of valuable contributions, Betty Hounslow has stepped down as Co-Chair and from the Committee, due to her responsibilities on other community sector organisation boards. Betty was a great source of advice and support during her time on the Committee and provided generous hospitality when hosting Committee meetings at her home. Robert French also stood down from the Committee to concentrate on his 50 Years of Visibility work. Many thanks to Robert for all his contributions to the Committee and we look forward to seeking advice from and working with Betty and Robert in future. Ken Davis and Diane Minnis 78ers and First Mardi Gras Inc. Co-Chairs The First Mardi Gras Inc. Annual Report is out and the Co-Chairs note how glad we are that the SGLMG Festival and Parade were held before COVID hit. Our well attended Salon78 forum: A Lavender Menace? Australia’s Early Lesbian Movement was also able to go ahead. 78ers attended seven regional Prides this year as well as Melbourne’s Midsumma and London Pride. We continued our broader political activism – rallying against the Religious Exemptions Bill and issuing a Joint Statement with First Nations Rainbow deploring Police violence at Black Lives Matter protests. Diane Minnis 78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Co-Chair CAMP Inc. members Ian Black, Robyn Plaister, Peter de Waal and Robyn Kennedy (L-R above) were reunited in Sydney on 10 September 2020. This was the 50th anniversary of an article appearing in The Australian newspaper which reported on the formation of the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP Inc.). John Ware, one of the groups founders, was interviewed for the article. Both Ian and Peter were foundation members of CAMP Inc. and Robyn P and Robyn K served on the Executive. CAMP Inc. played a leading role in the early gay and lesbian rights movement in Australia. In my video, Peter discusses the article in The Australian and Ian and the two Robyns share some of their memories of CAMP. William Brougham First Mardi Gras Inc. Associate Member Remembrance Vigil for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the #BillyDeFrank Center, San Jose, California, USA – with Silicon Valley Pride   On Friday 18 September in San Jose, we were at the first outdoor opening for the gay bars downtown when we heard that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died. Young and old queer people were devastated – it is a political disaster! Some drank more, others ordered extra food, and many cried. We knew then we had to organize a Remembrance Vigil for her for the Queer Community and allies. So off I went to the office and started organizing the event with Silicon Valley Pride to have it in the Gayborhood, in the parking lot of the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center. We showed slides of RBG, gave speeches and cried, and socially distanced with masks on. Everyone was so glad we had our own Queer Vigil for RBG. My main reflection was that being a first generation immigrant of the 1950's my parents (like most immigrant parents) wanted me to be a doctor or lawyer. I remember telling my parents that women don't easily become those. We didn't yet have the language that Australia (and America) were sexist/homophobic countries, more so back then, than they are now. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was in Europe in the early sixties and saw how more women were in all kinds of professions and respected more than back in America – and how it inspired her to fight against discrimination against women and LGBTQ+'s. I now understand that my immigrant parents brought their European values to Australia and believed I could be a doctor or lawyer like I could have in Europe. It deepened my understanding why I had these clashes with my parents about career choices, and it helped me truly understand the impact RBG has had on American culture. We cannot let anyone get in the way of her progress. We deserve all that she has achieved. As a result more people are registering to vote and supporting progressive candidates.   Gabrielle Antolovich 78er and Board President, Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Center, San Jose, California, USA San Francisco demonstrations that followed the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, including in the Castro LGBTIQ area Mardi Gras Consultation on their Constitution In late August and early September 2020, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras held a series of consultations with its members on proposed constitutional changes. One of the sessions was specifically for 78er Lifetime members. A Constitution Review Consultation Feedback Report has now been issued, removing some of the proposed amendments but proposing that other amendments be taken to a General Meeting. A positive proposed change is having electronic voting close at the same time as in-person voting at the AGM, so members can view the meeting and vote online. Yet some worrying proposed amendments include: New members having to wait for 6 months before being granted voting rights The number of Board members being increased to 10 (currently 8) with the 2 extra members appointed by the Board through an EOI process. The Board appointment of a Treasurer if these skills are deemed not to exist in elected members, bringing the proposed number of non-elected members to 3. Several of us at the 78ers consultation suggested having a 3 month waiting period before new members can vote. This is a common provision in the rules of unions and political parties like the ALP. However, appointing extra board members rather than electing them really isn’t democratic. This would allow board members who are not re-elected to be appointed, supposedly based on ‘merit and skills’. We also raised the point that if the intent is to encourage a skills-based Board, then the current provision in the Constitution limiting candidate statements to 200 words is counter-productive. Limiting candidate information to one third of a page prevents candidates from fully presenting their credentials and constrains the ability of members to assess candidates. This suggestion was, however, not included in the Feedback Report. One change that we can get behind is including in the constitution the process though which 78er Lifetime members are appointed. That is, candidates for Life Membership need to be nominated by the Board and passed by a special resolution (75% of votes) at a general meeting of members. On 18 September, details of these and other proposed constitutional changes were sent to members who attended consultations. A survey was also sent to allow further input on contentious changes. The final proposed constitutional changes are not yet clear, but they will be circulated to members prior to the planned Extraordinary General Meeting in October 2020. Diane Minnis 78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Co-Chair 78ers at the 2020 Mardi Gras Parade. Photo Meagan Lawson   Mardi Gras Member Consultation Albert Kruger, the CEO of SGLMG, has held a number of online member consultations to discuss SGLMG’s response to issues raised in its Survey, conducted following the 2020 Festival.  At the first of these meetings on Wednesday 23 September, First Mardi Gras Inc. was well represented among the 30 or so participants by Co-Chairs Diane Minnis and Ken Davis; Secretary Barry Charles and member Sallie Colechin. The CEO presented the results of the Survey, of which 40,000 were sent out to members of Mardi Gras and to the wider public. Unfortunately, only 2,119 were completed, and it was not clear what percentage of those were from members or from the general public. The major take-outs appeared to be that Mardi Gras should have more of a year-round presence (60%) and should engage and support other Queer community groups in their activities and campaigns. There was a notable number (29%) of responders who cited lack of access to events and information. Particularly those outside the Sydney region. Many said they only found out about the existence of support and activist organisations of interest or benefit to them, during Mardi Gras itself and then only in passing. Discussion groups were formed within the forum to quickly suggest what actions SGLMG could take to support the rest of the community. Suggestions included funding, publicising, statements of support etc.. Issues covered a wide area including Black Lives Matter, youth mental health, unemployment and aged support. Back in the full session, questions were raised about the plans for 2021. Albert said that discussions with the State Government were on-going around exemptions from COVID restrictions that could be applied to both Fair Day and Parade. In response to a question from Diane Minnis about what Parade format SGLMG had proposed to the government, we did not get much information. One area was clear though, this year’s Launch is not going to be an in-person public event but will be an online occasion. Barry Charles 78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Secretary Last month we reported on recent events in Poland, including protests and arrests surrounding the re-election of the President (on an anti-gay platform) and the declaration of so called ‘LGBTI-Free Zones’ in some Polish communities. Much of this was drawn from reports published by Belgian activist Remy Bonny. Our friend William Brougham has also published a two part audio interview with Remy, which can be found here: Part One starts at the 13.25 mark Part Two starts at the 11.47 mark. Since then two more reports have highlighted the polarisation in Polish society.  On 16 September the President of the European Commission, Ursula van der Leyen, declared that “LGBTI-Free Zones have no place in the European Union”. Click here for an extract from her speech.   Membership of the EU is vital to the preservation of secular liberties in Poland. After 1989, Poland devoted its efforts to join the EU with an urgency drawing on a national tradition that Poland is a Western nation (as opposed to Russia, which is not). The EU offers opportunity and escape from the old demons of the past, which is why educated younger Poles from the cities support it and traditionalist Poles from the regions distrust it and turn to religion, and nationalism. In late August a conference of Polish Bishops called for ‘clinics’ to be set up to assist LGBTI people to “regain their natural sexual orientation”. Although tempered by opposition to violence or aggression, the statement shows clearly that the traditional church continues to insist on its right to define individual sexual freedoms and if necessary resort to coercion. A Church sponsored view is reported here. 78ers remember clearly the corrosive influence exerted by the traditional Church during the pandemic struggles of the 1980s, under the leadership of a Polish Pope (elected, as it happens, in 1978). At that time the Polish Bishops were also engaged in their own national struggle against Russian influence, a struggle they have led since the 18th century. Traditionalist Poles see their Church as custodian of the nation’s identity, a role their Bishops are not afraid to protect, and manipulate. The intersection of this nationalist view and current anti-secular, anti-LGBTI rhetoric becomes clear in a 2019 statement by the archbishop of Kraków, comparing the LGBTI movement to Soviet Communism. “Our land is no longer affected by the red plague, which does not mean that there is no new one that wants to control our souls, hearts and minds … not Marxist, Bolshevik, but born of the same spirit, neo-Marxist. Not red, but rainbow.” In Poland the struggle over LGBTI rights is not just a matter of faith, morality or ‘family values’. It is a struggle for the soul of the nation. And that struggle continues…   Karl Zlotkowski 78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee Member Oceania InterPride Russell Weston and Robyn Kennedy   In September, InterPride members in the Oceania region elected two representatives to the InterPride Global Advisory Council – First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee member Robyn Kennedy and Russell Weston, Co-Chair of First Nations Rainbow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation. InterPride membership from Prides in the region has expanded to include most states of Australia as well as members from New Zealand, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and Fiji. Participation in monthly meetings of Pride organisations in the region also continues to grow with regular attendance by a wide range of organisations and locations.   Robyn Kennedy 78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee Member Community Action for Rainbow Rights is making an urgent call to protest Mark Latham's bill which will ban all mention of trans and gender diverse people in NSW schools. Meet at Taylor Square on Saturday, 10 October 2020 at 1pm and march to Hyde Park North. Wear a mask and keep a social distance. Further information is available on Facebook.

Annual Report 2019/2020

The First Mardi Gras Inc. Annual Report for FY 2020 has been released ahead of the upcoming Annual General Meeting. Download and view the report by clicking here.

Queer Stories: Dennis Altman – The Masseur and the Lunch Party

Video: Standing Together - NSW Police in partnership with a small group of 78ers

---

On August 28, 2020 (Wear it Purple Day), the NSW Police Force is proud to launch a short film produced by Playhead Productions and made in partnership with a small group of 78ers, the first Mardi Gras participants.

Watch the video below, or click here to watch the 20 minute film on YouTube.

---

Newsletter - August 2020

View this email in your browser August 2020 In this August edition of the First Mardi Gras Inc. Newsletter, we have: Robert French on next month’s anniversary – Fifty Years of Coming Out! An invitation from the SGLMG 78ers Committee to the 30 August zoom meeting: Support and Connection in a COVID World Robyn Kennedy’s update on Oceania InterPride  Information on how to register for the online 2020 InterPride World Conference Karl Zlotkowski on Poland – the View from Here My report on 78ers and First Nations Rainbow Black Lives Matter meeting with Police Our announcement of the occasional journal Salon78 A link to the Impact of COVID-19 on Older LGBTI Australians booklet. Diane Minnis First Mardi Gras Inc. AGM The Annual General Meeting of First Mardi Gras Inc. will be held on Saturday 19 September at 4pm and will be conducted by Zoom.  The Annual Report and Financial Report will be presented at the meeting and and members of the Management Committee will be elected. Following the AGM, we will have reports and general discussion of current and planned projects. Please make sure that your make sure your membership is up to date, so that you can vote at the meeting. Members will receive further information and a meeting link early next month. CAMP Inc. being honoured in October 2018 with the prestigious ACON President’s Award. Accepting on behalf of CAMP Inc. were 78ers Peter de Waal and Robyn Plaister and Ian Black, who chaired the first public CAMP Inc. meeting in 1970. From video by William Brougham. By Robert French 78er and Committee Member of First Mardi Gras Inc.  Member Pride History Group As we all know, September and October mark important anniversaries for us all. First, the anniversary of the public announcements of the formation of CAMP Inc. Interviews with John Ware on 10 September 1970, and Christabel Poll, John and Michael Cass, his partner, in the Couples article in The Australian on 19 September. This was followed by an interview with John and Michael on ABC-TV’s This Day Tonight two days later. Secondly, with the TDT interview with a lesbian couple – Francesca Curtis and Phyllis Pappas of the Australasian Lesbian Movement shortly afterwards. It is not just that these were brave people for the time but that these events mark the beginnings of LGBTQ visibility in Australia. And with the following 50 years of achievement, they are worthy of commemoration. I have been trying to stir up some media interest in this anniversary but with little success so far. One newspaper might be interested but not, it seems, The Australian. But, then no one is surprised by that! If you have contacts in the media who might be able to assist, please let us know. Note that the State Library exhibition has now had a name change to – Coming Out in the 70’s. It is to be divided into three sections – Being Seen, Being Heard, Being Together. The opening is still planned for late November 2020.     Hello fellow 78ers, This message is from the 78ers Committee of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Many 78ers say they would like to be more connected to our communities, especially in these strange COVID-19 times. We thought we would run a Zoom meeting to share with each other about how we’re all coping in this COVID-19 world. You are invited to join us on Zoom at 2pm on Sunday 30th August 2020. To RSVP, please reply to 78ers@mardigrasarts.org.au and we will send you the Zoom link a few days before the meeting. We look forward to seeing you! Sallie Colechin, Rae Giffin, Helen Gollan, Diane Minnis, Lance Mumby, and Kate Rowe – your elected SGLMG 78ers Committee. Photo below by Sally Colechin Oceania InterPride By Robyn Kennedy 78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Member InterPride Interim Region 20 representative Co-Chair InterPride Human Rights and Diversity Committee Co-Chair InterPride Strategic Planning Committee robyn.kennedy@interpride.org Pride organisations in the InterPride Oceania region met for the second time as a network on 17 August. There were 24 people in attendance from 17 organisations. It was great to see participation from new members from Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands. InterPride members from Oceania include Prides from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Samoa, French Polynesia, Tonga and Tuvalu. We are now going through a formal process to appoint two delegates to the Global Advisory Council to ensure our region has a recognised voice in InterPride. 2020 InterPride AGM and World Conference The InterPride and European Pride Organisers Association  (EPOA) Annual General Meetings and World Conference that was to take place in Oslo on October 1-3, 2020, has now moved online due to COVID-19. There is no charge for registration, but all participants must be from a member Pride organisation. First Mardi Gras Inc. is a member organisation. For security and connection reasons, the deadline to register, for all participants, is 20 September 2020. If you would like attend the online InterPride World Conference from 1-3 October 2020, please email us at info@78ers.org.au. By Karl Zlotkowski 78er and Committee Member of First Mardi Gras Inc.  Most Australians understand very little about Poland, and probably don’t care. It’s a long way away, and when we were travelling very few of us had Warsaw on our bucket list. The language is almost incomprehensible to English speakers, and the locals can appear stolid and resentful.   In the old days we visualised Warsaw in shades of grey, but it isn’t like that now. If you Google Warsaw you see a modern glass city. Right now they’re topping out the tallest shimmering tower in Western Europe. It’s just across the road from the old Palace of Culture – a gift from Stalin that Varsovians love to hate.   Yet modern Poland is showing all the signs of social dislocation as a result of rapid economic change. The push to modernise and liberalise society to qualify for membership of the EU has alienated traditionalists, who associate the Rainbow Flag with the encroachment of western neo-liberalism. And populist politicians have exploited this using tactics of division and scapegoating under the guise of promoting social cohesion and public order.   This is happening elsewhere in countries with similar challenges – Hungary and Turkey come to mind – but in Poland the anti-LGBTI agenda has become especially vitriolic. Much of this has been driven by the Law and Justice Party, to which the President (Andrzej Duda) and the Prime Minister belong (though Duda has resigned his formal membership). Law and Justice have a history of appealing to “family values”, and most recently summoning up the spectre of something called “foreign LGBTI Ideology”.   This slogan surfaced in the June Presidential elections, along with a statement from Duda opposing same sex marriage and adoption. In July, following his (very close) re-election, he drafted an amendment to the Polish Constitution to that very end. At the same time he also apologised, confusingly, “if anyone felt offended by my actions”. Meanwhile, the crackdown on LGBTI activists has continued.   'LGBTI-Free Zones' have been declared by many local authorities, even though LGBTI rights are enshrined in Poland’s constitution. For this reason, at least, the declarations are not legally enforceable (for now). Clashes between LGBTI activists and police continue, and a recent campaign of placing rainbow flags on public monuments has resulted in arrests for “insulting religious feelings and insulting Warsaw monuments.”   Article 196 of the Polish criminal code prescribes up to two years in prison for a public action that “…offends the religious feelings of others…”. This particular article was invoked in 2019 when an activist, Elzbieta Podlesna, was arrested for publishing a poster showing the Virgin of Czestochowa (Poland’s most celebrated religious icon) with a rainbow halo. The poster was a protest against homophobic statements by the Roman Catholic church.   The arrest was ruled to be legal, though unreasonable (which presumably means she was let off with a warning). She had, however, made her point: “Sexual orientation is not a sin or a crime and the Holy Mother would protect such people from the Church”. Though, not surprisingly, the Church would not agree. And while a bad law is on the books, the police can enforce it.   More recently, in July an activist known as 'Margo' was arrested over an incident the previous month, when she had thrown paint over a truck covered with anti-LGBTI slogans that was broadcasting homophobic statements in the streets of Warsaw. The prosecutors requested a pre-trial detention period of three months, subsequently reduced to two months. The charges included “participating in a riot”, which may have some resonance for 78ers.   And yet, up against this campaign of intimidation, members of the Polish parliament staged a dramatic challenge to Duda on the day he was sworn in, wearing rainbow themed dresses (and masks). As one of the MPs put it: “We wanted to remind President Andrzej Duda that … in the constitution there is a guarantee of equality for all”.   The struggle continues...   Below: https://remybonny.com/2020/08/09/poster-polish-stonewall/?fbclid=IwAR20cEGLfXCnFVkcAp7FMcXPtUSqTFMX_6oYJjr3O9gE9If4g0oJtwkP-h4 78ers and First Nations Rainbow meeting with Police By Diane Minnis 78er and Secretary First Mardi Gras Inc. Following our Joint Statement on the Black Lives Matter demo, 78ers working on anti-bullying initiatives with Police and First Nations Rainbow reps met with NSW Police. On 30 July we met with Assistant Commissioner Gelina Talbot, Corporate Sponsor LGBTI and key staff. First Nations Rainbow’s Russell Weston and Ricky Macourt along with 78ers Sue Fletcher, Diane Minnis and Peter Murphy, conveyed their anger at Police tactics used at the protest. Russell made it very clear that for First Nations people it is the colour of their skin that determines their first level of harassment from Police. While undertakings were made to pass our comments on to operational Police, there were some positive outcomes of the meeting. First Nations Rainbow will be invited to meetings of the Police LGBTIQ Stakeholder Forum and are now working with Police on improving their education on First Nations issues. Photo Star Observer Due to COVID-19, we are taking our Salon78 forums into print – as an occasional journal for 78ers and our friends. Salon78 aims to include articles, essays, reviews, poetry, short fiction, photographs, art works, videos and interviews. We are hoping to have our first issue out for next year's Mardi Gras festival. If you would like to join our Salon78 Working Group or submit a contribution, email us at info@78ers.org.au. KZ  Photo Anne Morphett Impact of COVID-19 on Older LGBTI Australians Teresa Savage says: ‘One of the last things I did when working at the National LGBTI Health Alliance was write this report. It was such a privilege to speak with older LGBTI people about how they have coped with COVID-19. I’m so grateful for their generosity and insight. Please share this around – with the current situation in Victoria we need all the wisdom we can get.’ The booklet was published in July 23, 2020 and is available at: https://www.lgbtihealth.org.au/impact_of_covid_19_on_older_lgbti_australians?fbclid=IwAR0DggpbTiO-TRDI4Hsn-t6sqLRZGGEUxr1LXg6HGafutZ3lxY4uEN65cz0

Download the August 2020 newsletter as a PDF.

How did the first Mardi Gras happen and why is it still important to fight for LGBTIQ rights?

Written by Diane Minnis and Ken Davis on behalf of First Mardi Gras Inc, a community association for 78ers.

---

In early 1978, San Francisco activists wrote to Ken Davis and Annie Talve seeking solidarity activities in June 1978. This was to support their campaign against the Briggs Initiative – a referendum to remove all supporters of gay rights from all jobs in the school system in California.

In the early 70s, we adopted lesbian gay as inclusive, politically constructed identities – not meaning exclusively homosexual and including intersex, radical drag, drag/kings and queens, transsexuals and transvestites.

The date was to coincide with the anniversary of the Stonewall riots which started on June 28, 1969 in New York. Following a police raid, patrons of the Stonewall Inn, other lesbian and gay bars and neighbourhood street people fought back when the police became violent. This catalysed a new militant era of gay liberation, during a decade of global youth rebellion and revolutionary change which started in 1968.

To prepare for international solidarity actions, Ken and others called a meeting with a coalition of lesbian and gay groups: Gay Lib and Ad Hoc at Sydney University; Acceptance and the Metropolitan Community Church; the Political Action Group of CAMP Inc; Young Labor, socialist groups and young activists. The late Marg McMann, former Co-President of CAMP Inc., moved that we take the name ‘Gay Solidarity Group’.

We planned a morning march from Town Hall to Martin Place and a forum at Paddington Town Hall on the international gay and lesbian movement. Two weeks before 24 June, people from CAMP Inc. suggested we add a night-time, fun event for our community.

People swung into action, securing a police permit, hiring a truck and sound system and painting an International Gay Solidarity banner which was also used in the morning march. Leaflets were handed out on Oxford Street and a lesbian poster squad spread the word. On the poster, our night-time street party was called a Festival, starting at 10pm in Taylor Square. But Marg McMann dubbed it a Mardi Gras and that is the name that immediately stuck.

That first Mardi Gras attracted a more diverse group of women and men than the day-time marches. It was a fun event, less serious, but no less political. We had friends from our households, inner city lefties, heterosexual as well as LGBTIQ people and those who were starting to mobilise for homosexual law reform.

But events that night did not go as planned. We were hurried down Oxford Street by police and they grabbed the keys of the sound truck at College St. Police tried to arrest the driver, Lance Gowland, but a group of lesbians pulled him back into the crowd. Someone shouted ‘To the Cross!’. The atmosphere was electric and we marched up William Street with arms linked and chanting ‘Stop Police Attacks on Gays, Women and Blacks’.

As we reached the El Alamein Fountain in Kings Cross, we started to disperse. But by then, hundreds of police had surrounded us, blocking off every exit and side street. Now numbering 2,000 people, marchers and Kings Cross locals fought back against the vicious police attack. Some protesters were seriously bashed, many were thrown bodily into police wagons and 53 were arrested and taken to Darlinghurst Police Station.

At the station, Peter Murphy was singled out and viciously bashed in a separate cell. The rest of the marchers gathered outside and started organising bail money and medical assistance. We sang the US Civil Rights anthem ‘We Shall Overcome’ and arrestees in the cells could hear us.

While police had previously arrested marchers at LGBTIQ demos since the early 1970s, the scale and violence of their actions that night was a watershed for our community.

Many groups and individuals and the Gay Solidarity Group coalition came together for a massive political and legal effort – the Drop the Charges campaign. With pro bono legal assistance from the Redfern Legal Centre and the Council for Civil Liberties, we fought the charges in court. With growing support from the Women’s movement, ALP branches, unions and students; we continued to demonstrate for the charges to be dropped. But the police continued to arrest us:

• 26 June – 300 protested outside the closed court in Liverpool St with 7 arrested

• 15 July – 2,000 take part in largest ever gay rights march with 14 arrests

• 27 August – 300 march down Oxford St from the 4th National Homosexual Conference with 104 arrests

• The total arrested in the June, July and August period was 178.

Most of the charges against those arrested were dropped. The NSW Summary Offences Act was repealed on 11 May 1979. It had given police very wide powers to arrest people and control public spaces.

The first Mardi Gras led to an upsurge of activism. Gay rights became a broader political issue. We were campaigning for our democratic right to protest. And we were campaigning against police powers – a big issue in NSW.

We were determined to continue this momentum and have a second Mardi Gras. It was opposed by some in the LGBTIQ community, including the newly established Sydney Star newspaper. Five thousand people took part in the second Gay Mardi Gras on a bitterly cold Saturday night of 30th June 1979 – and there were no arrests. Without the police attack on the first Mardi Gras, there may not have been a second one. The second Mardi Gras in 1979 was accompanied by a fair, film festival and street march.  

In these early Mardi Gras, we were publicly asserting our human rights and our democratic rights. From the start we were doing this with satire, with costumes and fabulousness, with camp humour and comment on social and political issues. All which have become hallmarks of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, particularly the Parade, is a public signal of solidarity with LGBTIQ people feeling the impact of homophobia, heterosexism and transphobia in their families, in their communities, schools, and workplaces. It is a beacon to LGBTIQ people everywhere:

• in rural and regional areas

• in areas of Western Sydney which voted against marriage equality

• and overseas where homosexuality is still criminalised, with the death penalty still on some statute books.

With topical, creative, satirical, and edgy visibilities in the Sydney Mardi Gras we continue to fight for the rights of all LGBTIQ people and people of diverse sexualities and genders.

At a time of world-wide climate, economic and health crisis, we are ruled by monsters – Trump, Xi Jinping, Modi, Putin, Duda, Bin Zayed, Netanyahu, Bolsonaro, Bin Salman, Duterte, Orban, Rouhani, Sisi, Buhari, BoJo and ScoMo. They are united around sexism, jingoism, racism, ecocide, profits, and eliminating democratic rights.

In the world of 2020, just as in 1978, our fate as queers depends on our ability to fight alongside others – in Sydney, in Australia, globally – for health, peace, freedom and equality.

---

Written by Diane Minnis and Ken Davis on behalf of First Mardi Gras Inc, a community association for 78ers. www.78ers.org.au

Newsletter - July 2020

View this email in your browser July 2020 In this July edition of the First Mardi Gras Inc. Newsletter, we have: Robert French updating us on Fifty Years of Visibility Info on the 10th annual Wear it Purple Day on Friday 28 August 2020 Robyn Kennedy’s report on the Oceania InterPride meeting Garrett Prestage on his Survey: Gay and Bisexual Men's behaviour during COVID My report on 78ers working with NSW Police. Diane Minnis The Annual General Meeting of First Mardi Gras Inc. will be held on Saturday 19 September and will be conducted by Zoom. Members will receive further information and a link to the the meeting next month. By Robert French 78er and Committee Member of First Mardi Gras Inc.  Member Pride History Group On Saturday 19 September, an important milestone in Australian social history will be reached. Fifty years ago, on the 19 September 1970, an article, Couples, appeared in the magazine section of The Australian. In the article, Janet Hawley interviewed John Ware, his partner Michael Cass and Christabel Poll. They talked about the formation of Sydney’s Campaign Against Moral Persecution, or CAMP Inc., the first openly homosexual support and activist organisation in Australia. Australia's first "coming out" in the media was Francesca Curtis's television appearance on Channel 9's Melbourne-based current affairs program, The Bailey File, in May 1970. However, it was John and Christabel's appearance in Couples that led to the establishment of a series of CAMP groups across Australia and the impetus for a broader homosexual rights movement. Rather than being just the anniversary of one organisation, however, the article is now viewed as the symbolic start of the gay and lesbian movement, and the beginning of 50 years of LGBTQ visibility and achievement across Australia. The Daughters of Bilitis, now known as the Australasian Lesbian Movement (ALM), was formed in Melbourne in 1969. At first ALM was a closed lesbian support and political rights group. On 6 October 1970, ALM’s Phyllis Papps and Francesca Curtis were interviewed on ABC-TV This Day Tonight. This interview, and Francesca’s earlier appearance on The Bailey File, was based on how the women came to terms with being a lesbian and the public image of lesbians. Before this, there were really no publicly self-declared homosexuals or homosexual organisations, though there were, necessarily closeted, social groups. Within twelve months, there were CAMP groups in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, and eventually in Canberra (all in a loose federation). Campus groups, independent of CAMP, were established at Sydney University and the University of NSW; and a gay liberation sub-group that had formed within CAMP broke away in January 1972 to form Sydney Gay Liberation. And again, similar liberation groups then formed in other capitals. We helped change perceptions within the community at large about what it means to be homosexual, and more specifically within the medical profession. We demanded equality, got anti-discrimination legislation passed and eventually we achieved homosexual law reform. We fought and overcame the scourge of HIV/AIDS and – many decades later – we gained marriage equality. Thus, these are Fifty Years of Visibility, of gains that are worth celebrating, as are the pioneers who first helped achieve them. Here is an update on events planned so far to mark Fifty Years of Visibility.   1. The State Library Exhibition, now called Being Seen, Being Heard: early gay and lesbian activism: is progressing very well. The library recently gave the Advisory Committee a glimpse of some of the proposed graphics and I think they look splendid. The exhibition will run from late November 2020 until 25 April 2021. Instead of doing a SPARK (ACON Youth Group) History Walk next year, I will book a time at the exhibition where I can talk beforehand then lead a walk around the exhibits doing background interpretation. There will be a restriction of 20 people at a time in the exhibition.   2. HomoHist 2020Conference: It is looking increasingly unlikely that this can go ahead even in February 2021. Maybe this can be held by April and before the State Library Exhibition closes.   3. Fifty Years of Visibility: I’ve been trying to drum up interest in the 19 September anniversary of the Couples article in the Australian announcing the formation of CAMP Inc. Letters/Press Releases have gone to: The Australian Magazine, The Good Weekend Magazine, David Marr at The Guardian Australia, Patrick Abboud at SBS and to the SSO. Either CAMP goes GOLD or the Pride History Group may be planning an event for the day, dependent on the COVID-19 situation. Otherwise the anniversary could be marked in another way. Maybe we could claim it as Gay and Lesbian 50 Pride Day!   4. Fifty Years of Visibility theme for Mardi Gras: I have written to the Mardi Gras CEO proposing that the theme for the Parade and Festival next year is Fifty Years of Visibility.   5. Why Did She Have To Tell The World?: This documentary tells the story of the Australasian Lesbian Movement’s Phyllis Papps and Francesca Curtis, the first lesbian couple to come out on Australian television almost fifty years ago. ABC TV is planning to screen this film in February 2021. The Executive Producer is Sue Maslin and Abbie Pobjoy is the Director. The film has support from the ABC, The Post Lounge, Film Art Media and The Weir Anderson Foundation. But they need some help to raise an additional $6,000 to enable them to finish this film in a strong way. Film teaser: https://vimeo.com/394095815 Fundraising Campaign: https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/why-did-she-have-to-tell-the-world/. Wear it Purple Day – Friday 28 August 2020   Wear it Purple was founded in 2010 after several rainbow young people took their own lives following bullying, harassment and lack of acceptance of their sexuality or gender identity. Since 2010, Wear it Purple has developed into an international movement. New generations of rainbow young people continue to be dedicated to promoting this annual expression of support and acceptance. Everybody has the right to be proud of who we are. So join us this year, on August 30th to celebrate Wear it Purple Day. Be part of a movement that has the potential to save thousands of lives. Be part of this change. https://www.wearitpurple.org/ By Robyn Kennedy 78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Member InterPride Interim Region 20 representative Co-Chair InterPride Human Rights and Diversity Committee Co-Chair InterPride Strategic Planning Committee robyn.kennedy@interpride.org Thank you to the Pride organisations in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific that joined InterPride last year to support Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras’ bid to host WorldPride 2023. Your support was invaluable in bringing WorldPride to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. InterPride is the world’s largest association of Pride organisations with 550 members from 86 countries. InterPride, in association with the European Pride Organisers Association, was responsible for producing Global Pride 2020, held on 27th June 2020. Global Pride attracted over 1500 content submissions from Pride organisations around the world and was viewed by over 57 million people from 86 countries. To build on the momentum created by Global Pride, I organised an interactive webinar on 22 July to bring together InterPride member organisations from Oceania – InterPride Region 20. The meeting was attended by 22 participants from 18 Pride organisations across Australia and New Zealand. Current InterPride members from Oceania include Prides from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga and Tuvalu. Our region currently has one acting representative (myself) but a formal appointment process will be undertaken to ensure our region has a recognised voice in InterPride. All regions are entitled to two representatives (or three if the number of regional members exceeds 50). Oceania is currently entitled to two representatives. We are also reaching out to Pacific Island Prides to encourage them to be active in Oceania InterPride and to ensure that we effectively represent all Prides in our Region. Global Pride grants Applications for grants utilising donations to Global Pride are now open. Grants are available to: Pride organisations that are in financial distress due to COVID-19 - grants up to $US1,000 Organisations/groups/Pride organisations to support projects that empower LGBTQI+ communities or Pride events in underserved communities or regions - grants up to $US1,000 Pride organisations with specific work that promotes change to end generations of inequities, racism, injustice, and systemic oppression - grants up to $US10,000. There are three rolling application deadlines: August 15th 2020, September 15th 2020, and October 15th 2020. More information is available at: https://www.globalpride2020.org/apply/ Survey: Gay and Bisexual Men's behaviour during COVID   By Garrett Prestage 78er and Associate Professor HIV Epidemiology and Prevention Program | Kirby Institute | Faculty of Medicine | UNSW e: grprestage@kirby.unsw.edu.au | w: kirby.unsw.edu.au NSW Health has provided the Kirby Institute with funds to support the reorientation of the Flux study in response to an urgent need to closely monitor changes in Australian gay and bisexual men’s behaviours during the pandemic and how it might affect our capacity to understand trends in HIV and other STIs over coming months and years. The COVID-19 Diary has been filled in each week by the men in Flux for a few weeks now, and is now open for new participants. The COVID-19 Diary is a weekly 5-minute diary monitoring changes in gay men’s behaviours during the pandemic. The study will: Measure the extent of and identify factors for the impact of COVID-19 on sexual, drug using, and health-seeking behaviours and social connectedness among gay and bisexual men. Assess the impact of COVID-19 on trends in HIV and other STIs among gay and bisexual men. Address issues such as isolation, support, mental health and resilience, income loss, and access to health services. For every weekly diary completed, participants will go into a raffle for that week's prizes. We need your help to promote and recruit for the study, across all jurisdictions (not just NSW). Could you assist to ensure that eligible gay and bisexual men in Australia are informed about the study. Link to website: https://www.hepp.org.au Link to Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HEPPResearch Link to join directly: https://redcap.med.unsw.edu.au/surveys/?s=XXM34TPLDP You can help us by promoting the COVID-19 Diary through social media. To assist with recruitment, below are some text suggestions to accompany social media posts: Can successes in HIV survive after COVID-19? Are gay and bi men at risk again? Join now to help our community response to COVID-19 and HIV. Help our community response to COVID-19 and HIV. We need gay and bisexual men to tell us how COVID-19 has impacted their lives. Join now and help our response to COVID-19. Kirby Institute UNSW needs your help! We need gay and bisexual men to tell us how COVID-19 has impacted their lives. Join now and help our response to COVID-19. For further information about the COVID-19 Diary, please feel free to contact us at heppadmin@kirby.unsw.edu.au or mhammoud@kirby.unsw.edu.au. Your assistance will be much appreciated. 78ers working with NSW Police By Diane Minnis 78er and Secretary of First Mardi Gras Inc.  At the Police apology to 78ers in August 2018, Sue Fletcher suggested that the police and our community could work together to implement a safe schools type program. Commissioner Fuller took up Sue’s challenge to improve LGBTIQ education in schools. A small group of 78ers – Sue Fletcher, Peter Murphy, Wanda Kluke and myself – have worked with Police for 18 months or so. We have had some input to Anti-Bullying sessions delivered in schools by Police Youth Officers and helped develop a short film. Now entitled Standing Together, the film includes interviews with 78ers about Police actions in 1978. Police officers are interviewed about the apology and tackling homophobia in NSWPF and LGBTIQ youth support organisations, including 2010 and Wear it Purple, speak about their work with young people. Standing Together will be used in school sessions delivered by Police Youth Officers, in the training of Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officers and shown to all new Police recruits. NSW Police aim to launch Standing Together on Wear it Purple day, Friday 28 August 2020, in a selection of schools. The Police HR Command is organising an internal event to launch the film and stream it across NSWPF. The City of Sydney and Police are planning a community focussed event to screen Standing Together and host a Q&A Panel afterwards, COVID rules permitting. Above left: Sue Fletcher and right: Ken Davis with interviewer Izzy Calero in ‘Standing Together’ Police LGBTIQ Stakeholder Forum Last August long-standing Corporate Sponsor LGBTI, Assistant Commissioner Tony Crandell, moved to another role and Assistant Commissioner Gelina Talbot took over as Corporate Sponsor LGBTI. 78ers working on the schools programs have now been included in meetings of the Central Metropolitan Region LGBTIQ Stakeholder Forum. At the July meeting, issues of Police actions towards trans people were raised. Following our Joint Statement on the Black Lives Matter demo, we along with First Nations Rainbow reps, requested a meeting with Assistant Commissioner Talbot to raise issue regarding Police actions at the protest. DM Positive ageing   With age, the risk factor for many diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, osteoporosis and some cancers increase. It is possible to take active steps now to ensure, as much as possible, that you can maintain your physical and emotional health and wellbeing. You can request a copy of the Garvan Institute’s Positive ageing guide at: https://www.garvan.org.au/research/guides/positive-ageing

Download the July 2020 newsletter in PDF, or read below.

Pride in Protest: A History of Queer Liberation and the Left featuring Ken Davis

Out in Perth: Q&A: 78er asks Julia Gillard why she didn’t support marriage equality

Watch the entire episode of ABC’s Q&A with Julia Gillard by clicking here

Statement on Black Lives Matter protests

First Nations people and 78ers looked on with disgust at the police behaviour following the first Black Lives Matter rally in Sydney, earlier this month.
After a legal, approved rally proceeded without incident, police forced a crowd at Central Station into the narrow suburban concourse on Eddy Avenue and surrounded them. The crowd was not allowed (or even ordered) to disperse.
Instead these people were forced in upon themselves with no regard for the social distancing that the police claimed to be upholding. The result was panic and outraged resistance – exactly the response that the police had intended to provoke.
Police then used violence and pepper spray on innocent people and some officers even laughed.
This long standing NSW police tactic is one 78ers remember well – when protesters were trapped, bashed and arrested in Kings Cross by police on 24 June 1978. It wasn’t right then, and it isn’t right now.
78ers have now received an apology from the Police Commissioner for the behaviour of NSW Police in 1978. But the NSW Police have demonstrated that they have not changed.
First Nations people were there rallying in protest, as we have many times before, calling for justice, calling for freedom, demanding that the police and justice systems stop killing us.
First Nations people experience individual and systemic racism, discrimination and injustice throughout our lands. We endure over-policing of our communities and suffer from the disproportionate incarceration rates of our people. We witness the ongoing destruction of our sacred and cultural sites. We grieve the more than 400 deaths in custody since the Royal Commission. We have not seen justice for these crimes against our people.
Despite so many of our people at the rally being personally impacted by these injustices, the Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney proceeded without incident. People committed to social distancing and other infection control measures.
Our communities were passionate but peaceful. The police were not.
The NSW Police Force’s actions added trauma and further injustice to a day where our communities were exercising their human right to protest against the lethal racism we face.
As LGBTQI First Nations people, we know the compounding of discrimination puts us at further risk from police. The fear for our communities, our loved ones and us in relation to the police and justice system’s discrimination and violence is real, ongoing and current.
Those protesters at Central Station deserve an apology. First Nations people deserve apologies and need urgent systemic change to stop the targeting of their communities by police and the justice system and to stop deaths in custody.
First Nations Rainbow and First Mardi Gras Inc. stand together to say that Black Lives Matter!
The slogan of the 78ers – STOP POLICE ATTACKS! ON GAYS, WOMEN AND BLACKS! – is still relevant today and just as urgent.

First Nations Rainbow & First Mardi Gras Inc.

Joy 94.9: Global Pride 2020

Around the world about 500 pride parades and LGBTI festivals have already been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tonight we hear about how our communities around the world are coming together to create a 24hr global event online which will feature celebrities, politicians, Australian royalty and many grassroots stories from local pride communities.

Robyn Kennedy, knows Pride. She was part of the first Sydney Mardi Gras – a party and protest in 1978. She is coordinating the Asia-Pacific component of Global Pride. Listen to Robyn’s segment on the Joy Media website by clicking here.

SGLMG chats with 78ers on 42nd anniversary of first Mardi Gras parade

78ers Diane Minnis and Lance Mumby had a (physically distanced) chat with Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras CEO Albert Kruger on the 42nd anniversary of the first Mardi Gras parade.

Watch their discussion below or by clicking here to go to the SGLMG YouTube page.

Newsletter - June 2020

View this email in your browser June 2020 As we approach the 24 June anniversary of the first Mardi Gras in 1978, we are in unprecedented times. We are constrained from all but small gatherings, disgusted by police brutality both here and overseas and see an extraordinary upsurge in Black Lives Matter protests around the world. With hundreds of Pride marches and events cancelled, the 24-hour, online Global Pride 2020 on 27 June will be the world's biggest Pride celebration. In this edition of the First Mardi Gras Inc. Newsletter, we have: our joint statement with First Nations Rainbow Ken Davis on The new pandemic Robyn Kennedy on Global Pride 2020 and its Black Lives Matter focus Robert French with updates to Fifty fabulous years of LGBTIQ visibility and achievement events notice of a Regional and Rural Outreach meeting from SGLMG 78ers Committee members Helen Golan and Sallie Colechin sad news of the death of leading Egyptian activist Sarah Hegazi. Diane Minnis Joint Statement on Black Lives Matter protests   First Nations people and 78ers looked on with disgust at the police behaviour following the first Black Lives Matter rally in Sydney, earlier this month. After a legal, approved rally proceeded without incident, police forced a crowd at Central Station into the narrow suburban concourse on Eddy Avenue and surrounded them. The crowd was not allowed (or even ordered) to disperse.  Instead these people were forced in upon themselves with no regard for the social distancing that the police claimed to be upholding. The result was panic and outraged resistance – exactly the response that the police had intended to provoke.  Police then used violence and pepper spray on innocent people and some officers even laughed. This long standing NSW police tactic is one 78ers remember well – when protesters were trapped, bashed and arrested in Kings Cross by police on 24 June 1978. It wasn’t right then, and it isn’t right now. 78ers have now received an apology from the Police Commissioner for the behaviour of NSW Police in 1978. But the NSW Police have demonstrated that they have not changed. First Nations people were there rallying in protest, as we have many times before, calling for justice, calling for freedom, demanding that the police and justice systems stop killing us.  First Nations people experience individual and systemic racism, discrimination and injustice throughout our lands. We endure over-policing of our communities and suffer from the disproportionate incarceration rates of our people. We witness the ongoing destruction of our sacred and cultural sites. We grieve the more than 400 deaths in custody since the Royal Commission. We have not seen justice for these crimes against our people. Despite so many of our people at the rally being personally impacted by these injustices, the Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney proceeded without incident. People committed to social distancing and other infection control measures. Our communities were passionate but peaceful. The police were not. The NSW Police Force’s actions added trauma and further injustice to a day where our communities were exercising their human right to protest against the lethal racism we face. As LGBTQI First Nations people, we know the compounding of discrimination puts us at further risk from police. The fear for our communities, our loved ones and us in relation to the police and justice system’s discrimination and violence is real, ongoing and current. Those protesters at Central Station deserve an apology. First Nations people deserve apologies and need urgent systemic change to stop the targeting of their communities by police and the justice system and to stop deaths in custody. First Nations Rainbow and First Mardi Gras Inc. stand together to say that Black Lives Matter! The slogan of the 78ers – STOP POLICE ATTACKS! ON GAYS, WOMEN AND BLACKS! – is still relevant today and just as urgent.   First Nations Rainbow                                First Mardi Gras Inc. admin@firstnationsrainbow.org.au               info@78ers.org.au Membership renewals Thank you to all those who have responded to our renewal drive for First Mardi Gras Inc. membership and to those who have updated their contact details. Many have moved to distant locations. Our ‘diaspora’ is spreading far across the country and overseas. We would like to maintain strong contact with all 78ers so that we can properly represent your interests when working with Mardi Gras and other organisations. One of our members, Ross Smith, was recently in hospital for more than 2 months. Anyone who knows Ross might like to contact him, though he has no email address at present. The Committee send their best wishes to Ross for his full and speedy recovery. Barry Charles - Membership Coordinator Congratulations to Frank Howarth AM Congratulations to FMG Inc. member Frank Howarth who was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Frank told us: I've always been someone who thrives on change and doing my little bit to make the world a better place. This was what motivated my participation in the 78 Mardi Gras, and drives my work in the arts, museums and galleries sector. I'm extremely chuffed to have received the AM in recognition of that work. Creativity is at the heart of the cultural sector, and interestingly, the most creative people I know are in the LGBTI community. And I could not have done this without the support of my partner Peter McCarthy! Frank Howarth (left), Peter McCarthy (right)   The new pandemic Jakub and David (@jakubidawid) wandered the tri-city towns of Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot on a mission to remove the stigma of homosexuality after 30 LGBTQ-free zones were declared around Poland in August 2019. Photo courtesy of Sydney Star Observer. The day after our 43rd Mardi Gras parade, Australia saw its first COVID-19 fatality. Within a brief period, travel and work and schools and social life closed down. COVID-19 is a global emergency riding the top of the waves of the climate crisis, and the existing economic and geo-political crisis. Most 78ers are particularly vulnerable because of age and health status, so the imposed and self-directed isolation has been intense. For those of us living with HIV, COVID-19 poses particular issues; see 78er, Ross Duffin’s article: https://napwha.org.au/positive/covid-19-vaccines-treatments-and-people-with-hiv. For most of us the sudden change has been very profound: not going to work, not seeing friends or family, not being able to access face-to-face services, not going to restaurants, films, concerts, sports, funerals or demonstrations. Our meetings have gone online. For those of us cohabiting, lockdown might have caused increased interpersonal tensions, for those living alone, unprecedented social isolation may be a bleak experience. Mainstream guidance on social distancing was silent about personal intimacies with people who are not your cohabitants or monogamous partners. Initially LGBTIQ and HIV community organisations were reticent to talk explicitly about casual sex and drugs in this pandemic. Gay businesses, sex on premises venues and sex work closed and even the apps wound down. The economic impacts on our 78ers’ generation/s are as yet uncalculated: loss of working incomes, superannuation, assets, entitlements, services or security. Some sectors, such as hospitality and the arts are devastated. On the other hand, the wealth of the super-rich has massively increased in 2020. With migration, labour and student migration, partner and refugee applications frozen, the situation of LGBTIQ non-residents is critical, either in Australia or overseas. COVID-19 reawakens our collective trauma and grief of the four decade long AIDS pandemic, which kills 800,000 globally each year, despite treatments. Comparisons with HIV require caution. HIV is transmissible but not contagious (and therefore more easily prevented through behaviour change), has a potentially very long period of infectivity, has higher fatality rates over much longer timescale, but is now treatable. Unfortunately our friend Trump “mis-spoke” about having an HIV vaccine already. Fortunately for us, apart from some fringe Christian extremists, this is an epidemic not being blamed on sexuality and gender identity minorities. But there are lessons for this pandemic from AIDS about community and mass mobilisation. There is a need to build on the victories about keeping the intellectual property of the virus, testing, treatments and vaccines freely available internationally in public ownership, so that Big Pharma cannot profiteer and restrict access to those who can pay. COVID-19 highlights health access inequalities and reinforces the need for public health to be in public control. The Coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated racism and xenophobia in Australia and globally, eliciting strong fightbacks. On a deeper global level, the pandemic comes at a time of receding democratic space, a world controlled by science-denying, religious, ultra-nationalist, demagogic monsters – Trump, BoJo, Bolsonaro, Modi, Xi Jinping, Erdogan, Duterte, Sisi, Netanyahu, Orban, Bin Zayed, Duda, Bin Salman…. and our own Pentecostal Scomo. This reactionary and authoritarian climate poses existential threats to the freedom of LGBTIQ people and communities in many countries. Think of what is happening in the legislative agenda right now in USA, Poland, Indonesia and Hungary. We must gear up our international solidarity activism, much like we did at the time of the first Mardi Gras in 1978. In the northern hemisphere, the annual LGBTIQ freedom/pride season around the Stonewall anniversary in late June or early July has gone virtual. Global Pride 2020 is online, and focussing in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. See the following article for our engagement with Global Pride. Despite COVID-19 restrictions, and spurred by anti-police and anti-racism mobilisations, several alternative Queer Pride demonstrations are planned, or have been held, for example in Hollywood, Denver and Brooklyn. This is addition to visible queer participation in Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Australia, Europe and the Americas. Ken Davis Global Pride 2020 – Black Lives Matter The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Pride organisations worldwide with hundreds of marches and events cancelled or postponed. On Saturday 27 June, Pride organisations from across the world will celebrate Global Pride 2020. #BlackLivesMatter will be the central focus of Global Pride. Global Pride leaders have said they will amplify black voices, acknowledging the international response to the death of George Floyd and the unprecedented demand for racial justice by working with founders of the Black Lives Matter movement.  Co-Chair of the Global Pride organising committee, Natalie Thompson, said: “As a Black woman in the LGBTQIA+ community, I feel we must confront the systemic racism and violence facing my Black brothers, sisters and non-binary siblings, in the larger culture and within the LGBQIA+ community. I could not think of a larger platform than Global Pride to do this. “I am proud to work beside so many diverse colleagues from around the world. Our community knows well that we must confront hate and prejudice head-on. We have been watching an epidemic of violence against trans people of colour – mostly women – in the past decade and this larger discussion must be inclusive and all encompassing. All Black Lives Matter.” Global Pride is a 24-hour stream of music, performances, speeches and messages of support, hosted by Todrick Hall on his YouTube channel on 27 June, as well as on iHeartRadio’s YouTube channel and on the Global Pride website. Key speakers include former US Vice President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Icelandic President Guðni Jóhannesson, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, UN Independent Expert on Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity Victor Madrigal Borloz, and European Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli. Artists including Adam Lambert, Kesha, Rita Ora, The Village People, Mel C, Leann Rimes, Pussy Riot, Calum Scott, Natasha Bedingfield, Bebe Rexha, Stephen Fry, Leslie Jorden, Russell Tovey and Mary Lambert have joined the already-impressive line-up. More than 500 Pride organisations submitted more than 1,000 pieces of content for Global Pride, and the volunteer production team are now editing the content to pull the 24 hour stream together. Global Pride is supported by partners YouTube and We Are Social, and media partners DIVA, Q.Media and Time Out. Executive Producer for Global Pride, Michelle Meow, said: "Fifty years ago, grassroots organizations came together to plan the first Gay Liberation Day that changed the world, incuding the Daughters of Bilitis, Gay Liberation Front, Mattachine Society and Lavender Menace. The production of Global Pride has been planned in the same grassroots manner, but with a 21st century technological twist. LGBTQIA+ people from around the world will come together virtually during this crisis of racial injustice and a pandemic.” I am the Global Pride Producer for three times zones – covering East Asia, South East Asia and Western Australia. We are bringing previously unheard Pride voices from Asia, including Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, onto the global stage. We have content from every continent – even from Antarctica! For an Australian perspective on Black Lives Matter, we have First Nations contributors including First Nations Rainbow and Aboriginal deaf gay artist Daniel McDonald. We hope you're as excited as us for what is shaping up to be the world's biggest Pride celebration! Robyn Kennedy Fifty fabulous years of LGBTIQ visibility and achievement Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the postponement of several events planned to celebrate our 50th Years of LGBTIQ Visibility and Achievement. The HomoHist Conference due for November now can’t go ahead, though it may be reprogrammed for February. The Friendship as a Way of Life exhibition at the UNSW Galleries in Paddington, running from 8 May to 21 November, is currently a virtual exhibition only. However, it is hoped to have the Gallery opened for visitors shortly, and the proposed history walk(s) of the Taylor Square area will still go ahead. Meanwhile checkout Mother Inferior’s exorcism. The good news is that the Being Seen and Heard: early gay and lesbian activism exhibition will open in late November and go through to 25 April 2021. The State Library will mount the exhibition in a larger gallery than was first planned. And, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is being approached with the proposal that the theme of next year’s parade, even if only virtual, reflect the beginnings of Visibility and Achievement. To pay homage to the early pioneers who founded CAMP Inc., the Daughters of Bilitis, the two early and independent, University Campus groups, and Sydney Gay Liberation. Robert French unswgalleries Exorcism for Healing the World by Mother Inferior of The Sisters of The Order of Perpetual Indulgence Sydney. Instagram video by @unswgalleries: https://www.instagram.com/tv/B_6LxeOA0hJ/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet Regional and Rural Outreach by SGLMG 78ers Committee Dear 78ers This is Helen Golan and Sallie Colechin from the 78ers Committee of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Many older 78ers say they would like to be more connected to our communities, so we thought we would run a Zoom meeting to talk specifically about what support might be available especially in rural/regional areas. If you are a 78er over 60 and live in a rural or regional area, join us on Zoom at 2pm on Saturday 11 July 2020. We will hear from Russ Gluyas from ACON's LOVE Project - Living Older Visibly and Engaged - and social work academic, Virginia Mansel Lees. And there will be plenty of time for discussion. Email us on helengollan@yahoo.com.au OR salliecolechin@icloud.com. If you are interested in participating and we will send you a link to join the meeting. Cheers Helen and Sallie on behalf of the elected SGLMG 78ers Committee Photo Manning River, Wingham. Copyright Sallie Colechin Mourning a leading Egyptian activist – Vale Sarah Hegazi Sarah Hegazy’s death is a terrible blow to Arab and Muslim lesbian and gay activists in Australia, particularly for those who knew her personally, and for networks of queer activists across Africa and West Asia. It is a globally significant loss for the LGBTIQ freedom movement. Sarah was found dead in her home in Toronto on 13 June. Sarah took her own life at age 30, leaving a letter that reads: “To my sisters and brothers – I tried to find redemption and failed, forgive me. To my friends – the experience was harsh and I am too weak to resist it, forgive me. To the world – you were cruel to a great extent, but I forgive.” Sarah was a revolutionary socialist, feminist and queer activist. Sarah was transformed during the 2011 people’s revolution that overthrew Mubarak: “I never felt so alive as during the revolution”. She was dismissed from her job because of her opposition to the Western supported dictator, Sisi, who she described in an article in January as “the most oppressive and violent dictator in our modern history”. She exuberantly carried a rainbow flag at a concert in Cairo in September 2017 by Lebanese band Mashrou’ Leyla, whose lead singer, Hamed Sinno, is gay. After the concert Sarah and 74 men were arrested for promoting sexual deviancy in a major crackdown against lesbian and gay rights. She was imprisoned and tortured for three months. She was trying to survive PTSD after she went into exile in Canada in 2018. Hamed Sinno tweeted: irwahik alhuriat, “your soul is free”, but Sarah’s friends are distressed at the wave of denunciations in Arabic on social media, blaming her death on her politics, lack of religion, and lesbianism. Sarah’s death underlines the urgency of solidarity with activists in countries facing deepening repression, and the specific needs of queer asylum seekers. Our condolences to her friends and comrades. Thowra mustamira Sarah rafeqa, the revolution will continue. Ken Davis Graffiti in Amman, Jordan - now removed. OutStanding Short Story Competition The OutStanding LGBTQIA+ short story competition 2020 has officially begun. The theme for this year is ‘Reconnection’. For Competition Rules and Entry Form, go to: https://outstandingstories.net/entry-details/ Entries close at 11.59pm Tuesday 1 September and winners will be announced on Sunday 27 September.

Queer Stories: David Abello – Demented in the Palace of Dreams

Newsletter - April 2020

View this email in your browser April 2020 Message from Co-Chairs The Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically changed our personal lives – and has similarly impacted the organisational life of First Mardi Gras Inc. Social distancing rules have halted our general meetings and regular forums. So we are trying to find different ways to maintain our connections and communications with you, by producing our newsletter more frequently and posting news and interesting links on our Facebook pages and website https://www.78ers.org.au/. Our Committee will be meeting regularly by video chat and will continue to consider issues of interest and importance to 78ers. We are also looking to provide support to people who need it and identify 78ers who are able to provide practical help or phone/video chat support. You can also continue to contact us through our email address info@78ers.org.au and we’ll respond promptly. So...until the crisis stabilises, stay safe and well. We look forward to seeing you in-person on the other side! Betty Hounslow and Ken Davis Daylesford and Wagga – Saturday 7 & 14 March 2020 Helen Gollan and the 78ers banner led the Daylesford ChillOut Festival Parade with the assistance of the Trentham Youth Group. The Wagga Wagga Mardi Gras Parade was cancelled at short notice but Helen, Barry Charles and Karl Zlotkovski travelled to Wagga with the 78ers banner and attended some smaller events along with other 78ers. Hay Mardi Gras in late March was cancelled as was Newcastle Pride, planned for August. Central Coast Twist, Tamworth Pride and the Broken Heel Festival are yet to announce whether they will be going ahead later this year. Photo above left: Helen Gollan and the Trentham Youth Group at Daylesford ChillOut Festival. Photo above right, from left: Karl Zlotkovski, Helen Gollan and Barry Charles in Wagga. Providing support to our community In this time of Covid-19 and social distancing, many in our community are finding it tough. It will be a difficult few months ahead for many and with age and health related risk factors involved, we need to develop ways of staying connected. We are looking to provide support to people who need it and identify 78ers who are able to provide practical help or phone/video chat support. Here are some suggested protocols for collecting and delivering goods in these times: https://wiki.queercare.network/index.php?title=Category:Protocol. The National LGBTI Health alliance page https://lgbtihealth.org.au/ has Covid-19 and health support information including on the QLife counselling and referral service for LGBTI people. Let us know if you need: some practical help going to medical appointments, picking up shopping or medicines the support of a regular phone or video chat. Let us know if you could provide support via regular phone or video chat to 78ers. Please respond to info@78ers.org.au if you need some support or would be interested in helping out people in our community. Anne Morphett Fifty Fabulous Years! Early 70s activism. Photo Phillip Potter   This year we reach the fiftieth anniversary of visibility in the history of LGBTI people in Australia. In 1970 and 1971, with the public announcements of the formation of the Australian Lesbian Movement and the Campaign Against Moral Persecution, homosexual visibility became a reality here. Before then, there were no openly homosexual organisations, only closeted social groups. This is what makes the formation of the ALM and CAMP Inc. truly significant. Because of the bravery of our sisters and brothers back then, especially those in CAMP Inc., who first publically put their head above the parapet, all else flowed. We helped change perceptions within the community and the medical profession about what it means to be homosexual and we demanded equality. We achieved anti-discrimination legislation and homosexual law reform, fought and overcame the scourge of HIV, won relationship recognition in the immigration and refugee system, and – eventually – gained marriage equality. First Mardi Gras Inc., the Pride History Group and CAMP Goes Gold had planned a series of celebrations and events but the Corona virus will impact these plans. We are still hoping to gather on 19 September, the 50th anniversary of the formation of CAMP Inc. The State Library of NSW intends to hold an exhibition Seen and Heard: the early years of gay achievement, though there may be some social distancing limits. Unfortunately, the history conference, planned for November at UTS, will be postponed, though smaller local forums may be possible. We will keep you in touch with further developments with these events. Robert French   Keep up your First Mardi Gras Inc. membership For some First Mardi Gras Inc. members, it will soon be time to renew your membership. Our fees are modest – $10 a year or $5 a year concession – but they help maintain our incorporated community association as a representative, consultative and sustainable organisation for 78ers. Your fees contribute to the cost of running our website and email system and for hire of venues when we are again able to meet and host forums and events. With over 180 members (including 17 Associate Members), we want to continue to celebrate our history, inspire our community and fight for the future. We want to continue to: Keep in touch with each other, particularly during the Covid-19 epidemic Advocate for appropriate support and services for our ageing community Support community campaigns, including against the Religious Discrimination Act Provide a strong voice for 78ers on the elected SGLMG 78ers Committee. If you would like to renew your membership, look out in May for an email and membership form. If you would like to join First Mardi Gras Inc. or have a partner or friend who are interested in joining as an Associate Member, email us at info@78ers.org.au. Barry Charles - Membership Coordinator European Pride Organisers Association First Mardi Gras Inc. has joined the European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA) as an associate member. EPOA is the network of European Pride organisations that promotes Pride as a celebration and a vital human rights movement. We have a strong interest in global LGBTQI human rights and are keen to support campaigns such as those against regressive policies in Eastern Europe. We will be participating in the EPOA Online Global Pride celebration in June. Watch this space for links to events and displays! Garry Wotherspoon’s new book   This month, First Mardi Gras Inc. member Garry Wotherspoon’s new book has been published. 'Through the Gay Looking Glass' is a fascinating history/biography of Clive Madigan. Garry is also the author of the bestselling 'Gay Sydney: A History.' Both books are available from The Bookshop, Darlinghurst. Vale Sandi Banks 15.7.1950 – 16.3.20020 Sandi Banks has passed away peacefully after a long and brave battle with cancer. Sandi and then partner Jo Eccleston, Ken Davis and I were very active in the Gay Solidarity Group and the Drop the Charges Campaign. Our friendship was forged in this fightback against the arrests in the first Mardi Gras. Sandi was a committed activist for many years. In recent years Sandi was also a stalwart spokesperson for 78ers, calling for and responding to a Police apology for the events of 1978. Sandi was also one of five proud founding members of First Mardi Gras Inc. Only two weeks before she died, Sandi and her partner Jean travelled from the south coast to be on the 78ers bus in the 2020 Mardi Gras Parade. Sandi was buried in the 78ers t-shirt she wore that night. On 27 March a small number of us were able to farewell Sandi in a lovely ceremony in front of rolling surf. Fabian Los Shaiavo participated by video, leading us in a poignant rendition of Thank you Lord for Gay Liberation. Sandi will be sadly missed by her many friends, including me, partner Jean and former partner and long standing friend Jo. Slip away, slip away like ripples on the sea You’ll never slip away from all our memories. Donations in memory of Sandi to the Cancer Council (for research purposes) would be appreciated. Diane Minnis   Left: Sandi Banks in the first Mardi Gras. Right: Sandi in 2018. Participation Grants FMG Inc. members can apply for small grants to assist with projects that reflect FMG Inc. objectives. Grants may be used to help with: Part travel costs Part conference registration fees Administrative costs (postage, photocopying) Purchase of materials and resources. For further details email us at info@78ers.org.au.

QNews: Vale Mardi Gras 78er Sandi Banks

Newsletter - March 2020

View this email in your browser March 2020 Mardi Gras Parade – Saturday 29 February 2020 There were about 100 excited 78ers, partners and guests in our Mardi Gras Parade 2020 78ers contingent. We carried the new 78ers The First Mardi Gras Australia banner (provided by Mardi Gras) and placards made by 78ers in the MG Workshop. The 78ers once again received a great reception from the estimated 300,000 spectators and we were able to enjoy the more spacious 78er areas at both the Parade Marshalling area and the new viewing area. The bus to Central after the Parade, however, is on the must improve list for next year! Thanks to the SGLMG elected 78ers Committee for organising the float and communicating with 78ers as well as passing on our concerns to Mardi Gras. Thanks to Sandra Gobbo for posting the photo collections to both our Facebook pages and our website https://www.78ers.org.au/. And many thanks to William Brougham for videoing the Mardi Gras Parade and our Lavender Menace forum and to Jeffrey Feng for his Parade photos of us. A big thank you to Meagan Lawson from COTA who marched with our contingent to photograph 78ers during the night. Photo Jeffrey Feng. Video of 78ers at Taylor Square William Brougham Daylesford, Wagga & Hay Mardi Gras – Saturday 7, 14 & 28 March 2020 Help carry this banner with other 78ers in the upcoming Daylesford ChillOut Festival and the Wagga Wagga and Hay Mardi Gras Parades. To join us, please contact Helen Gollan on 0427 042 810 (text only) or Barry Charles on 0404 241 308. 78ers also have plans to attend the Newcastle and Tamworth Prides and the Broken Heel Festival later in the year. A Lavender Menace? Forum – Saturday 15 February About 70 women and a number of men enjoyed the forum. Dr Sophie Robinson, Dr Sue Wills and Robyn Plaister spoke on the pivotal role of lesbians in early lesbian and gay movements.  Also marked was the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Australasian Lesbian Movement. Many fine contributions were made during the Q&A. The forum – hosted jointly by First Mardi Gras Inc. and Pride History Group – is the first in a series: 50 Fabulous Years of Liberation. Photo William Brougham. Video of Forum William Brougham Fair Day – Sunday 16 February 2020 At Fair Day, the 78ers tent was one of the coolest and breeziest places to visit. We had a steady stream of people asking about our history as well as 78ers visiting. A raffle was popular and raised funds for the pre-Parade social gathering for all 78ers. SGLMG 78ers Committee members Rae Giffen and Lance Mumby spoke from the main stage. 78er Peter de Waal also spoke on the 50th anniversary of the formation of CAMP Inc. – the Campaign Against Moral Persecution. Below: Rae Giffen and Lance Mumby speaking at Fair Day on behalf of 78ers. Photo Diane Minnis History Walks: Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 February  Robert French led two history walks during the 2020 Mardi Gras season: Saturday 22 February – 10th Anniversary ACON Spark Youth Group Walk, King’s Cross and Oxford Street. Sunday 23 February 2020 – 30th Anniversary Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Walk: The Colony of Sydney and its Gay History. Pictured above is the large crowd who attended the SPI Walk, where Robert was canonised as Saint Robert of the Rainbow Chronicles. Reunion42: Friday 28 February, Colombian Hotel First Mardi Gras Inc. again hosted our pre-Parade social gathering for 78ers, their partners and friends at the Columbian Hotel. We had a great roll-up with a lot of catching up with old friends and interest in the raffle and lucky door prize. 78ers also collected t-shirts again provided by SGLMG. Photo below William Brougham Mardi Gras Parade 2020 Photos Photo William Brougham. Video of whole Mardi Gras Parade William Brougham Two photos above Meagan Lawson. Photo below Gordana Drakulic  Photos below Meagan Lawson, except for photo of Robert with flag, Jeffrey Feng  Calendar of Events Saturday 7 March 2020 – Daylesford ChillOut Festival Parade Saturday 14 March 2020 – Wagga Wagga Mardi Gras Parade  Saturday 21 March 2020 - First Mardi Gras Inc. General Meeting, Macleay Room, Rex Centre, 58A Macleay St (entrance near Baroda St), Potts Point Saturday 28 March 2020 – Hay Mardi Gras Parade Participation Grants FMG Inc. members can apply for small grants to assist with projects that reflect FMG Inc. objectives. Grants may be used to help with: Part travel costs Part conference registration fees Administrative costs (postage, photocopying) Purchase of materials and resources. For further details email us at info@78ers.org.au.

Mardi Gras Shorts 2020

The 78ers are the valiant group of people who gathered at Taylor Square on a Saturday in June 1978 to march down Oxford Street at a time when homosexuality was still a criminal act. #78ers #whatmatters #mardigras2020 #sydneymardigras

Thanks to William Brougham for the video. Visit his YouTube channel for many more videos of the 78ers