The Letter September 2009

LETTER

VOLUME 20, ISSUE 9 •SEPTEMBER 2009

Bar Owner Apologizes For Remarks

by David Williams

After several months of pressurefrom the Fairness Campaign andthe community-at-large, Louisville bar owner David Norton publiclyapologized on Saturday, August 15 forracist and sexist remarks he utteredduring a heated exchange last year atWoody’s, a gay bar he operates in OldLouisville.“I would like to apologize for anyaction and/or verbiage that I usedon April 22, 2008,” Norton toldseveral dozen Fairness supportersin a prepared statement in the bar’sparking lot. “I do understand andadmit that things should have beenhandled differently and hope thatthis can be a learning experience forothers as it has been for me.” He latertold WHAS-TV that what came out of

his mouth was “lth.”

The controversy began in the springof 2008 when Dr. Kaila Story, anassistant professor for women’s andgender studies at the University of Louisville and an African-American,went to Woody’s with friends toplay pool. As she later told LEO, aLouisville alternative publication,Norton came in with two barkingdogs. Frightened, she jumped ona pool table, angering Norton. Anargument ensued during whichNorton used racial and sexist epithets.

Story and her friends eventually ed

the bar but Norton continued yellingat them in the street.For over a year, Norton denied theincident even took place and the localactivist community did little. But thecontroversy resurfaced last spring.In late 2008, local activists cameto the defense of a gay white couplewho were accosted with homophobicslurs by a McDonald’s employee.The American Civil Liberties Unionof Kentucky became involved and theissue was eventually resolved.That unnerved Brian Buford, director

of the Ofce for LGBT Services at the

University of Louisville and a friendof Dr. Story, who wondered why nosimilar campaign had been launched

on her behalf. On the rst anniversary

of the incident he wrote a letter toNorton. Newly-appointed Fairnessdirector Chris Hartman, also puzzled by the lack of action, posted Buford’sletter on the group’s Facebook page,prompting a letter writing campaign.

The controversy briey boiled over

in heated private e-mail exchangesamong this reporter, Hartman, andothers over the actual nature of the incident and how it could beresolved, but mounting pressure

nally convinced Norton to issue his

apology.“I believe the [Fairness] Campaignand community was more vocalabout this incident than ever… before,” Hartman told THE LETTERafterward in an e-mail, “and peoplepaid attention—including Norton.”“For me, this incident brought upmemories of all the times I've beenharassed, intimidated, or left out because of my identity as a gay man,”Buford tells THE LETTER. He feelsit particularly painful because theincident occurred at a gay bar.Norton is upbeat now. “I wouldlike to move forward with a positiveattitude and a positive feeling fromthis day forward,” he said in hisstatement.Dr. Story is also positive. “Ourcommunity is not removed from thesocial milieu of society,” she emailedThe Letter, “but as members of thiswondrous but oppressed community,we should always keep in mindthat the same way we are deniedcivil liberties and rights, we shouldalways seek to provide safe spacesfor members of our communityregardless of race and gender.”Woody’s is located at 208 EastBurnett between Brook and Floyd inOld Louisville. Established in 1928,it’s one of the oldest, continuouslyoperated taverns in the city but has

been a GLBT bar for only four years.

Anti-Racism Initiatives Inaugurated

As a result of the incident atWoody’s, local activists are launchingtwo new initiatives to counter racism

within the GLBT community and the

community at large.This month, the Fairness Campaignwill launch a series of forums called“Dismantling Racism” to be held the

rst Wednesday of each month at6:00 PM at its ofces, 2263 Frankfort

Avenue, in Louisville. For more

information, call (502) 893-0788 or go

to fairness@fairness.org.At the University of Louisville,

the Ofce for LGBT Services will be

Dr. Kaila Story, an assistant professorfor women’s and gender studies at theUniversity of Louisville

holding several events throughout theyear to engage students in meaningfuldiscussions about race. For moreinformation, contact Brian Buford at

the Ofce for LGBT Services at (502)

852-0696 or brian.buford@louisville.edu.

African-American Student GroupForms

A new student group, BlkOut, has been formed to provide support for

African-American LGBT students

at the University of Louisville,particularly those in the process of coming out. For more information,

contact Brian Buford at the Ofce forLGBT Services at (502) 852-0696 or

brian.buford@louisville.edu.

2 The LeTTer www.TheLeTTeronLine.com SePTemBer 2009

SePTemBer 2009 www.TheLeTTeronLine.com The LeTTer 3

Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays

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A lesbian couple is considering

ling assault charges against certain

members of a mayoral candidate’sMemphis church claiming they wereforcefully and unjustly removed fromSunday service.As a result of the incident, theTennessee Equality Project isquestioning the pastor’s stance on

GLBT civil rights and how it could

impact his candidacy for mayor.Yas Meen and Monique Stevens toldthe Tennessee Equality Project's (TEP) Jonathan Cole that a group of about 25men surrounded them inside the NewOlivet Baptist Church in Memphis onSunday, August 22, and physicallyforced them out of the building whilecalling them “bitches”, “Satanic” and“devil worshipers,” Cole wrote in the

Grand Divisions blog.

Meen, a retired school teacher, andStevens visited the church that day for

the rst time in order to learn more

about the Rev. Kenneth Whalum, Jr.who is running for Memphis mayorand serves on the Memphis CitySchool’s Board of Education. Meenhad considered supporting Whalum’scandidacy in the October 15 election.Whalum said the women wereremoved for being disruptive, notfor being lesbians — but they tell adifferent story.The women told Cole they arrivedafter the church service began and saton the front row. Soon, they beganto notice looks of disapproval frommembers of the congregation.During the service, Whalum askedthe congregation to participate in

expressions of “sanctied dance” at

which point people began to pray

while dancing or lying on the oor.

Unfamiliar with the style of worship,the couple remained in their seat.“From the front of the church, thetwo women alleged that Whalum said‘this is my house and everybody doeswhat I say. But two people won’t dowhat I say,’” the TEP blog states.The women remained seated andStevens extended her arm on the pew behind Meen.“[A] security guard asked us toleave because we were disturbing

God’s House,” Meen told TEP. “I

asked what had we done to disturb

God's House. He could not give me

an answer. He just said you two needto leave. He informed us that he hadcalled the police.”Not understanding what they haddone wrong, Meen told the guardthat they would stay and wait for thepolice to arrive. She said that’s when agroup of men gathered around themto force them out of the church as achurch photographer snapped photosdespite the couple’s requests for her tostop.“We begged them to stop takingpictures of us,” Meen said. “She

continued and when she nished,she blew us a kiss and said ‘God bless

you!’”The women claim they were taunted by children and had oil thrown on them by female congregants. Stevens said

her glasses were broken in the scufe

and that they both received scratchesand bruises from the altercation.Meen said the security guard couldnot provide a reason for their ejectionfrom the church until police arrivednearly an hour later in response to a911 hang-up call.“That’s when he told us, alongwith the police, that it was becauseMonique had extended her arm alongthe back of the pew seat right next to[me],” she told TEP.Whalum, however, told theCommercial Appeal that the womenwere “being disruptive, boisterousand speaking loud. They had to havesome kind of agenda to come in churchlike that.”“If I put every lesbian out of church,we’d be putting people out of churchall day long,” Whalum said.Cole, who serves as TEP ShelbyCounty Committee Chair and TEPBoard Secretary, said that the incidentmight warrant investigation as a hatecrime if the women decide to pursuea case against the people who gotphysical with them.“As this violent crime unfolded,Pastor Whalum said nothing and didnothing to intervene,” Cole wrote inthe blog. “As someone who wants to be the next mayor of Memphis, PastorWhalum has some explaining to do.”

Lesbian Couple Booted From MemphisChurch Service