' The Johns Hopkins Gazette: March 26, 2001
March 26, 2001
VOL. 30, NO. 27

  

SpeakOUT' Series Brings Queer Rights Activists to JHU

Johns Hopkins Gazette Online Edition

This year's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Awareness Days program at Johns Hopkins hopes to set a new standard for inspiring members of the public and spurring them to activism, awareness and action, according to its student organizers. The month-long series, titled SpeakOUT, brings to Baltimore individuals in the forefront of the queer rights movement including transgender activist Leslie Feinberg and Danny Roberts of MTV's The Real World.

SpeakOUT is organized by the Johns Hopkins University Diverse Sexuality and Gender Alliance, an undergraduate group. All events will take place on the Homewood campus. For event information, contact DSAGA at 410-516-4088 or dsaga@jhu.edu. Following is a schedule of events, which are free and open to the public.

Schedule of Events

Wednesday, March 28
8 p.m., Great Hall, Levering Union

Leslie Feinberg, author of the 1994 Lamba Literary Award- winning book Stone Butch Blues, Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to RuPaul and Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue, will speak about her work as an activist for transgender rights and as a trade unionist, anti-racist and socialist who fights for the rights of women and oppressed nations.

Saturday, March 31
1 to 3 p.m., Garrett Room, Eisenhower Library

"Gendertopia, a Gender Revolution in America." Genderqueer youth and allies from YouthPride in Atlanta, Ga., will lead a discussion covering current trends in queer identity politics and the growing numbers of queer youth who identify themselves as transgendered or genderqueer.

Monday, April 2
8 p.m., Garrett Room, Eisenhower Library

Dan Savage, nationally syndicated columnist of "Savage Love" and author of the books Savage Love and The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant, will offer his irreverent views on sex, parenting and gay culture.

Wednesday, April 4
7 p.m., Donovan Room, 110 Gilman Hall

Along with their counterparts across the nation, Hopkins students will observe the National Day of Silence in honor of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and individuals from other minority groups who have been silenced by oppression.

Wednesday, April 4
8 p.m., Donovan Room, 110 Gilman Hall

The story of three openly gay and lesbian workers is chronicled in the documentary Out At Work. After a showing of the film, which follows the struggle of Nat Keitt to obtain domestic partner benefits, Keitt will discuss his experience.

Thursday, April 5
8 p.m., Garrett Room, Eisenhower Library

Alison Bechdel, whose comic strip "Dykes to Watch Out For" has become a cultural institution, is the evening's speaker. The recipient of four Lambda Literary Awards, Bechdel has been featured in Ms., Slate, The Village Voice, Out and The Advocate.

Friday, April 6
10 p.m., E-level, Levering Union

DSAGA's annual poetry reading, with complimentary coffee. Open mic to follow.

Monday, April 9
8 p.m., Glass Pavilion, Levering Union

Controversial gay icon Danny Roberts, whose relationship with a closeted military officer was followed on MTV's The Real World, will discuss his experience as a media darling.

Wednesday, April 11
8 p.m., Donovan Room, 110 Gilman Hall

James Dale, who had a 12-year history with the Boy Scouts and was dismissed after coming out, challenged the Scouts' definition of being morally straight and took his battle to the Supreme Court. Dale will speak about his groundbreaking battle against discrimination.

Thursday, April 12
8 p.m., Garrett Room, Eisenhower Library

Joo-Hyun Kang is the executive director of the Audre Lorde Project, the nation's only Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit and Transgender People of Color center for community organizing. Kang will deliver a talk on the connection between racial and economic justice and LGBT rights.

Friday, April 13
10 p.m., E-Level, Levering Hall

The Drag Show and Dance, a DSAGA tradition, will feature well-known drag queens and kings as well as Hopkins students. Prizes will be awarded to the best performers.

Monday, April 16
8 p.m., Donovan Room, 110 Gilman Hall

A representative from Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere, known as COLAGE, will lead a discussion about growing up with lesbian or gay parents. The discussion will be followed by a screening of Our House, a movie that profiles children from various backgrounds growing up in LGBT families.

Tuesday, April 17
8 p.m., Garrett Room, Eisenhower Library

Staceyann Chin, a Chinese-Jamaican lesbian poet who was the winner of the 1999 People of Color Slam and the runner-up in the 1999 Outright Poetry Slam, will read from and discuss her work.

Wednesday, April 18
7 p.m., Donovan Room, 110 Gilman Hall

The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me. A showing of the film followed by a talk by David Drake, its star and director.

Monday, April 23
8 p.m., Garrett Room, Eisenhower Library

James Morse, the judge who signed the historic piece of legislation legalizing civil unions between gays in Vermont, will lead a discussion.

Wednesday, April 25
9 p.m., Garrett Room, Eisenhower Library

Margarita Lopez will discuss her experiences as the first openly lesbian Puerto Rican elected to public office. Her work to develop low-income housing on Manhattan's Lower East Side was documented in a PBS film, The Broken Mind.
 


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