LOOKING BACK ON 2007

As we reach the end of the year, I've been reviewing some of the events that have shaped this year in the LGBT community both state-wide and here in Western South Dakota. All in all, it has been a good year for the LGBT community in South Dakota.

Even though the facilities had been rented since July 2006, the doors to The Center West officially opened, fully funded, on January first of this year. It also marked the beginning of a state-wide collaboration on the services provided by the community centers to the LGBT community.

We have individuals trained to do HIV testing and prevention through our grant from the S.D Dept. of Health. We also received a grant from the Bush foundation to fund much of our work with LGBT youth and the safe schools project.

Through a grant from the Gill Foundation out of Colorado, The Centers have been able to provide much of the funding and leg work necessary to form the new state-wide political organization, Equality South Dakota and the Equality South Dakota Political Action Committee. These two organizations will provide the LGBT community with a political arm with which to work toward the goal of ending discrimination and harassment of LGBT people in South Dakota. This is a very important organization for the LGBT community. I urge the entire LGBT community and our supporters to support this new organization. The Centers look forward to working with EQSD on projects that help further our cause in South Dakota.

We had a very successful Pride Festival in July at the Whispering Pines Camp Ground. Everyone had a great time and lots of opportunities were available for learning about how to move forward with our mission and goal of serving and advancing the LGBT community.

September saw a successful AIDS walk that was attended by over 200 walkers and even more participants who helped but didn't walk. Music, Speakers, food and good times were the order of the day. Plus a lot of awareness was created about HIV and AIDS prevention and the needs of those who are living with aids in our community.

In addition to our programs that serve the youth and their families and schools The Center West also has played host to a new Narcotics Anonymous 12 step group, a Native American Two Spirit group and our HIV Positive group "Living Positive in the Hills" has been moving forward.

We have expanded our Pride store to include safe sex products as well as other items. The library has grown with lots donations of both new and old books as well as several collections from individuals in the community. Patti Martinson, our #1 volunteer without whom we would not be functioning as well as we are, has catalogued the library and helped us to get some organization to our facilities.

Ann and Maggie have been invaluable in helping to build and maintain our shelves and physical space. Many people have donated furniture, computers, appliances and other items to help us to move forward.

While not affiliated with centers, Patti Maher has been organizing dances for the LGBT community monthly. Also, the Gay Men's social group has continued to grow with more people getting involved and attending the monthly socials. We thank Ken Erickson for organizing the Men's Socials and Patti for providing the monthly dances.

As we move forward into the new year we will be placing our main focus on expanding our services to the LGBT youth and their families in the Black Hills and surrounding area. We have plans to create an area wide Gay Straight Alliance that would encompass all the schools and colleges in the area as well as those who of that age group but may not be attending classes.

I want to thank everyone who has helped, volunteered, donated time and money and resources and helped us to grow. We hope that we can continue to count on your support in the new year as we continue to grow and expand our services to the LGBT community.

We are in the process of setting up a new web site and have been redoing our My Space and Face Book sites. We will be getting everyone hooked up with those sites very soon.

I personally am looking forward to working with everyone during the new year. Thank you everyone for everything.

Mike Coats, Director

The Center West

PS. I'm sure I've forgotten some things. This old brain does that. If you know of things that should be included, please leave a comment. Thanks!

Bob Ellis and responses to his letter in the Rapid City Weekly

Bob Ellis recently added his usual homophobic, politically motivated two cents to the discussion about the "Laramie Project" being produced by the Central High School Drama Department.

A letter appeared this week in the Rapid City Weekly in response to Ellis's diatribe.

I sent in a letter right away in response to Ellis misrepresentation of those studies. I was told it would be in today's Weekly News. However, it was not in this edition so i am including it in this post. You can read it in full below:

Bob Ellis, letter 12/13/07 quotes studies claiming gays have higher health risks than heterosexuals. Outside of distorting a CDC study he doesn’t give any sources. That’s because the authors of those studies have publicly demanded fundamentalist groups like Ellis’ stop distorting, misrepresenting and claiming conclusions not supported by the studies. (http://www.truthwinsout.org/.)
Veracity, credibility, scientific fact and reality never seem to get in the way of what Ellis wishes to believe. .

Last year Ellis campaigned to prevent gay couples from entering into and protecting long term relationships. Now he’s falsely chastising the gay community for not having long term committed relationships. Hypocrisy?
Virginia Law Professor Kim Forde-Mazrui cites statistics indicating that “states that predominantly go Republican have higher rates of divorce, teen pregnancy and out-of-wedlock births.” Should we keep Republicans away from children and schools?
Ellis should focus on helping individuals prevent high risk individual behaviors and not denigrate whole groups for the problems of some.

The Laramie Project is about confronting hatred and intolerance and ending the resulting violence. Ellis and fundamentalists oppose the Laramie Project and Hate Crimes Legislation because they don’t want to be held accountable for the violence resulting from the hate and intolerance they advocate.

Michael M. Coats, Director
The Center West

Beware of the Pat on the Back

Unfortunately, when someone gives you a pat on the back, it is very important to be aware of what they hold in their other hand!

Quotes from Candidates

“Unless Moses comes down with two stone tablets from Brokeback Mountain to tell us something different, we need to keep that understanding of marriage.”
– Mike Huckabee

“It’s the acts, it’s the various acts that people perform that are sinful”
– Rudolph Giuliani on homosexuality

“I don't want civil unions or gay marriage.”
– Mitt Romney

Born Again

I just recieved this from a friend and need to post it. It explains a lot.

From "Lanterns on the Levy," by William Alexander Percy, 1941 (Recollections of a Mississippi Delta Planter's Son):

"I asked a clergyman recently why it was that so many prominent church-goers were crooks in business and hypocrites in private life. He replied: "They have been born again." This clarified nothing for me and I told him as much. He explained sadly: "When they are born again, they are certain of salvation, and when you are certain of salvation you may do what you like." But I urged, horrified: "People don't really believe that!" "Hundreds of thousands of them," he rejoined, obviously as grieved as I. "The ethics of Jesus do not interest them when their rebirth guarantees them salvation."

Ryan White's Former Attorney's: "Huckabee is an idiot who doesn't read."

According to Ryan White's former attorney's in a letter to the editor in the Lafayette Journal Mike Huckabee is an idiot who does't read. Sounds like another George Bush to me. it scares the hell out of me that this idiot could be the Republican candidate for President of the United States.

After the mistake this country made in reelecting Bush, would they be stupid enough to vote for another idiot like Huckabee. I fear for my country!

Cafe' Latte is Great!

I don't know how many people have been to the Cafe' Latte Gourmet Coffee and Deli on Omaha St. in Rapid City. I have and I must say the food and the atmosphere are great. It is open until 6pm everyday. So if you are looking for a place for lunch or to meet friends or business contacts, the Cafe Latte' would certainly be a great place.

I am posting this because not only is this a great place to eat and meet friends, but Michelle, the owner, has been a great friend and ally to the LGBT community. She supplied all the food for this year's pride festival and even donated part of the proceeds back to The Center West. Every one at the Pride Festival was very impressed with the quality of the food and other items from Cafe' Latte. They certainly deserve the patronage of the entire LGBT community.

Some of us have had problems in the past with businesses that will discriminate and not value or even want our business. Therefore it is important and essential that we support those businesses that support us.

Cafe Latte' is located at 1301 W. Omaha #112. It is in the mall area just east of Office Depot. They were threatened with a boycott after some religious fanatics learned that they supported our festival. I don't know if it has had an impact. But, our community needs to make sure that it doesn't. Indeed we need to make it beneficial for bsinesses to support the LGBT community.

See you at Cafe' Latte!

Hucksters are dangerous to our health

As a rule I don't comment much on national politics. I know there are people better positioned than I to comment and keep everyone informed on these issues. However, with the rise of Mike Huckabee's presidential candidacy, I feel it is important that everyone be aware of the dangers this man poses to freedom and tolerance for everyone.

Huckabee is a Baptist Preacher who has made some pretty outrageous comments in the past about LGBT equality, Aids and religious freedom. I think it is important for everyone to read up and become informed about this man's views and his threat to the well being of the LGBT community. He has called for AIDS patients to be quarantined. He doesn't seem to know what that means. and he wants tlecture Ryan White's Mother on HIV and AIDS research

Therefore I recommend the following articles to everyone who has an open mind and wants to see this country remain a country that espouses freedom and equality for all.

He has called homosexuality a public health risk.

He doesn't like natural disasters to be called "an act of God." And he won't release copies of the sermons he has delivered. What is he afraid of?

Beware! this is a dangerous man.

Gay Bashing on the Pine Ridge Reservation

I am just getting word about a very severe gay bashing that has taken place on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The initial reports I am receiving indicate that a man was severely beaten and left to die in the country. He was hospitalized for several days.

Reports indicate that it was someone who is known to the LGBT community here in Rapid City, lived here in Rapid and in the past was a regular at TW's in Box Elder.

I am trying to get more information and permission to give more details about the incident. Will report more as I learn more.

Article in The Volante About showing of "The Bible Tells Me So."

A great article in the Volante, the campus newspaper at The University of South Dakota about the showing of the film "And The Bible Tells Me so." Would love to bring that film here.

Some Thoughts on School Bullies

The Rapid City Journal has had several articles about the problem of bullying in our schools. Kota Television did a story on Cyber Bullying last night as well. The LGBT community has too much first hand experience with this problem. All too often those who are or are perceived to be different are the ones targeted for bullying.

I have personally been involved in trying to resolve situations in which someone was being bullied in school because others thought they were gay. We attempted to get the attention of the school administration but did not have any positive results from those attempts. The problems only got worse.

One situation was several years ago at Central High School. A student was ridiculed by a staff member and forced to drop out. A more recent incident occurred at Southwest Middle School in which a student was continually singled out for harassment and physical abuse because some students decided he was gay. Attempts to get the school to resolve the situation resulted in the administration blaming the victim and refusing to get involved. They did everything wrong in trying to resolve the situation. The parents finally removed him from school and placed him in another school where he did well. The bullying stopped. Interestingly the same Principle was involved in both situations and is now at the center of this most recent incident as quoted in the above stories. When will this administration figure out the problem?

In the above incidents I cited, the students were fortunate to have parents who understood and accepted their kids. Those parents went to the aid of the kids and helped them to get through it. Without any help from the schools. Too many kids don't have that.

For too many kids if they are gay or are being accused of being gay, they would be afraid to ask their parents for help out of fear of losing the love of their families. Homophobia kills! They certainly don't want the school to call their parents. So they don't report it to the school authorities either. They just suffer and try to endure it. All too often the teachers and school staff look the other way for fear of retaliation by religious fanatics who think harassing gay people is a good thing.

The efforts by the staff at North Middle School and other schools in the area to protect kids and to stop the bullying is to be applauded and encouraged. Staff who are indifferent or are part of the problem should be disciplined and/or removed. All kids deserve to be in a safe environment where they can learn no matter who they are.

In conversations with school counsellors I have been told that in well over 60% of all suicide attempts with which they had dealt some issues of sexual orientation or gender identity were involved. Getting rid of the negative attitudes toward sexual orientation and gender identity would go a long way to resolving the problem. First we need to start with the school administration and staff.