September 3, 2010 - Fairness group plans forum on Arizona immigration law - Courier-Journal
The Fairness Campaign has scheduled a “community conversation” Wednesday on reducing prejudice, focusing on Arizona’s controversial immigration law. The open forum will be at 6:30 p.m. at the Main Library’s Centennial Room, 301 York St. The session is titled the “A-Z’s of Prejudice” and continues the "People Not Profiles" campaign that the organization launched in late July with a march and street theater at 4th Street Live. Participants included a coalition of more than a dozen social-justice organizations opposing the Arizona immigration law. Read more...
September 1, 2010 - Fairness Campaign to Hold Community Conversation Regarding AZ Immigration Law - Lez Get Real
The Fairness Campaign’s Dismantling Racism Committee is hosting “A-Z’s of Prejudice.” The community conversation is especially focusing on the recently enacted discriminatory immigration law in Arizona and how that effects the LGBT community. It will be held on 8 September at 6:30pm in the Louisville Main Public Library’s Centennial Room. Admission to the conversation is free and open to the public. Read more...
August 26, 2010 - Why Does the Kentucky Farm Bureau Loathe Gay People? - Change.org
When you hear the words Kentucky Farm Bureau, what comes to mind? Agriculture, farming, and rural America, perhaps? Indeed, the Kentucky Farm Bureau has been around for generations, working with farmers in Kentucky to improve the quality of life and the economy, as well as offer insurance. With such a deep and historic focus on agriculture, it makes one wonder why the Kentucky Farm Bureau also has some disturbingly anti-gay and homophobic positions. For an organization supposedly dedicated to "serving as the voice of agriculture" in Kentucky, does it make much sense for them to weigh in on issues related to gay rights? Read more...
August 25, 2010 - Down on the Farm - LEO Weekly
The first car Hampton “Hoppy” Henton ever drove was a Chevrolet Biscayne. “It was an ugly thing,” recalls the 62-year-old Woodford County farmer, “but it ran.” The Hentons insured the Biscayne with Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance, the commonwealth’s largest property and casualty insurance provider, because, as Henton puts it, “The Farm Bureau is just something you’re born into. My father was a member, and I’m a former director at the state and county levels.” But the self-described “yellow dog Democrat,” whose 200-year-old family farm pre-dates the commonwealth, finds himself regularly chafing against the Farm Bureau’s conservative political stances, which he claims distract from the bureau’s true agenda, which increasingly favors big agribusiness over family farms like his own. Read more...
August 24, 2010 - Walk aims to fight sex discrimination - The Richmond Register
The Kentucky Fairness Alliance is hitting the streets to raise awareness and fight discrimination against sexual orientation and gender identity in jobs, housing and public places. Walk for Fairness is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Alumni Coliseum parking lot at Eastern Kentucky University. Registration begins at 10 a.m. “Our main focus is to get a statewide law to protect the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations,” said Travis Myles, of Louisville, who is the chair of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance. Read more...
August 13, 2010 - A cringe moment - Courier-Journal
President Obama and his policies are fair game for right-wing radio hosts — and anyone else. But Mandy Connell of 84WHAS upset a lot of people last week when she described the President, the son of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father, as a “young half-breed.” Chris Hartman, director of the city's Fairness Campaign, e-mail blasted an audio link of the show that included Ms. Connell, apparently aware of her faux pas, explaining, “I say half-breed not in a derogatory way. It was just the first thing I thought of.” Read more...
August 11, 2010 - Rational Nation - LEO Weekly
I’m all for committed relationships, but personally I’m just not the marrying type. When same-sex marriage is (eventually) legalized on the federal level, I don’t know that I will be running to City Hall in my wedding dress, or white tux, or whatever it is I might choose to wear. What I have a problem with is that some dude with a “God Hates Fags” sign has more rights than I do. That just doesn’t make any sense. Read more...
August 10, 2010 - Tweets could shed light on 'half-breed' comment - LEO Weekly
The uproar over 84 WHAS radio personality Mandy Connell calling President Barack Obama “a young half-breed man” has subsided, but it seems those racially insensitive comments may not have been the first the conservative host has used. A Twitter account that appears to belong to Connell contains attacks on Obama and possible racist language, including talk of wearing a white sheet. Read more...
August 6, 2010 - Mandy Connell apologizes for calling Obama, 'half-breed' - WHAS11.com
84WHAS Radio's Mandy Connell is apologizing for calling President Barack Obama a "half-breed" on her mid-morning show this week. Radio station management says it has accepted her apology for the slur and she will not be disciplined. The comment prompted a facebook driven protest by the Fairness Campaign. The Courier-Journal's Tom Loftus spoke to Connell and to the Fairness Campaign's Chris Hartman. Read more...
August 6, 2010 - WHAS Radio talk show host Mandy Connell apologizes for Obama remark - Courier-Journal
WHAS Radio talk show host Mandy Connell said Friday that she regrets and cannot explain how she came to use the phrase “half-breed” to describe President Barack Obama on the air Wednesday morning. “I was embarrassed and shocked that it came out of my mouth, and I sort of stumbled when I said it. I don’t know why I said that,” Connell said in a telephone interview. “It’s not a word I use on any occasion, ever.” Connell’s use of the term has prompted about 50 complaints to WHAS management, some of them asking that she be fired. Read more...
August 6, 2010 - Talk show host apologizes for remark about Obama - Lexington Herald-Leader
A radio talk show host in Louisville has apologized for calling President Barack Obama a "half-breed" on the air. Mandy Connell of WHAS apologized Thursday after making the comment Wednesday, saying "I was embarrassed for myself." The group "The Fairness Campaign" complained about the remark, and WHAS operations director Kelly Carls said Friday the station had received some calls about it. Read more...
August 4, 2010 - Jerry's kids - LEO Weekly
If Louisville voters have reasons to hesitate in supporting Republican mayoral candidate and Metro Councilman Hal Heiner, R-19, this November, his opposition to the Fairness ordinance could be chief among them. Following a decade of heated protests and high-profile discrimination incidents, the Louisville Board of Alderman passed a historic city bill prohibiting discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals in 1999. Read more...
August 4, 2010 - Papers, please? - LEO Weekly
Just after noon, as the lunchtime crowd at Fourth Street Live is beginning to swell, dozens of demonstrators — many of them clad in white T-shirts emblazoned with the word “immigration” — ask to see the citizenship papers of patrons and passers-by. “Can I see your papers, please?” they inquire. Their audience, mostly white business-types en route to the food court, answers with quizzical looks and furrowed brows. Most just shake their heads, wave their hands “no” and keep walking, never bothering to make eye contact with the faux Gestapo. Read more...
July 29, 2010 - Demonstrators opposed to Arizona law try to make a point in Louisville - Courier-Journal
Dozens of protesters denounced Arizona's pending immigration law outside federal offices in Louisville Thursday, then marched to the 4th Street Live district for "street theater" in which they confronted white passers-by with demands to see their citizenship papers. "Sorry to disturb your walk, but you look like you're running across the border," demonstrator Shelton McElroy said to one woman on a brisk exercise walk through the restaurant district. "You have glasses on — are you hiding something?" he said to another woman wearing sunglasses. Read more...
July 28, 2010 - Louisville Groups to Protest AZ Immigration Law - LezGetReal.com
Over a dozen Louisville social justice organizations will join cities across the nation to protest the unjust Arizona immigration law, SB1070, set to go into effect on Thursday, July 29, 2010. This event is in solidarity with people facing anti-immigrant attacks in Arizona, and is intended to continue building a community here in Kentucky to say “No to Hate” directed at anyone. Read more...
July 21, 2010 - Fairness Over Louisville - LEO Weekly
There’s something intriguing about partying on the roof of a tall building. The lights of the city mix with the sky’s flickering orbs and passing UPS planes to create an intoxicating atmosphere of mischief and delight. The Fairness Campaign will tap into this energy at the second annual “Fairness Over Louisville” fundraiser on Saturday, taking over the rooftop of the Frazier History Museum. Read more...
July 12, 2010 - MSNBC anchor to speak at 'Fairness Over Louisville' fundraiser - Courier-Journal
MSNBC political news anchor Contessa Brewer will speak at the second annual "Fairness Over Louisville" fundraiser on the roof of the Frazier International History Museum on July 24. Brewer, host of the program "Caught on Camera," is scheduled to speak on the need for a statewide anti-discrimination law. The event to benefit the Fairness Campaign will be held from 8 p.m. to midnight at the museum, 829 W. Main St. Read more...
June 30, 2010 - NAACP says race is a factor as council chooses Unseld replacement - Courier-Journal
After interviewing ten applicants who have applied to fill the seat vacated by the death of Metro Councilman George Unseld, the Louisville Metro Council is set to name a successor in a vote late Wednesday afternoon. Council members say they have been lobbied to consider various factors and applicants, including a hard press from the NAACP and CFAIR, the political action committee of the Fairness Campaign. Read more...
June 23, 2010 - Jerry's kids - LEO Weekly
With 20 applicants seeking to replace the late George Unseld, who died earlier this month after collapsing in his third floor office at City Hall, residents in the 6th District are anxious to hear from the councilman’s would-be successors. “I’m eager to hear their plan for Old Louisville. The neighborhood needs a lot of work,” says Ron Harris, vice-chairman of the Old Louisville Neighborhood Council. “And Councilman Unseld did a great deal for this community and for the California neighborhood as well.” Read more...
June 23, 2010 - Council weighs race vs. gay rights to choose Unseld replacement - Courier-Journal
Should a candidate's race or stance on gay rights determine who the Metro Council will select to replace the late George Unseld, who was black and who was a proponent of gay rights? The NAACP says the seat needs to be filled by an African-American. Yet, the Fairness Campaign is endorsing one of its co-founder's, Ken Herndon, who is white. Herndon narrowly lost to Unseld in the 2008 Democratic primary. Read more...
June 22, 2010 - CFAIR endorses Herndon for vacant council seat - LEO Weekly
The political action committee of the Fairness Campaign, C-FAIR, has endorsed former Metro Council candidate Ken Herndon for the appointment to fill the 6th District seat left vacant by the sudden death of George Unseld. “Given Councilman Unseld’s legacy of service to his district and commitment to civil rights, C-FAIR urges the Metro Council to appoint the candidate who best reflects George’s passionate devotion to his constituency and to social justice,” says Nick Wilkerson, the committee’s co-chair. “We believe that person is undeniably Ken Herndon.” Read more...
June 18, 2010 - Downtown Pride Parade includes call for statewide fairness - Courier-Journal
Chris Hartman readied his 50 volunteers at the head of the annual Pride Parade, taking moments to call instructions through a megaphone. Hartman, director of the Fairness Campaign, a Louisville group that promotes rights for gay and transgender people, and others marched in silent protest, calling for a statewide anti-discrimination law based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The volunteers wore costumes of white balloons and put duct tape over their mouths to symbolize their lost voice without such a law, as Hartman said has been done in similar displays across the country. Read more...
June 18, 2010 - KY Fairness Launches “NOH8 in Our State” Campaign - Lez Get Real
Led by Faith Leaders for Fairness, more than 50 Kentucky Fairness Campaign volunteers will silently march with their mouths duct taped shut and bearing the iconic “NOH8” face paint to call for passage of a statewide anti-discrimination Fairness law now in the annual Kentuckiana Pride Parade tonight, 8:15 p.m. from Preston and Market Streets to the Belvedere, 5th and Main. Read more...
June 16, 2010 - Recovery program seeks OK for new site - Courier-Journal
An agency that operates a faith-based, women's substance-abuse residential recovery program out of a three-story Victorian home on East Broadway in Phoenix Hill is applying for a permit to move the program to a larger site on Payne Street in Clifton, where it has already sparked a controversy. Teen Challenge of Kentucky is "going to cautiously proceed," Clayton Arp, the agency's state director, said last week. Teen Challenge serves women 18 and older at Priscilla's Place, 1151 E. Broadway. Read more...
June 16, 2010 - Pride and prejudice - LEO Weekly
When the Kentuckiana Pride Fest parade rolls down Main Street Friday night, you can be certain of two things — there will be rainbows, there will be smiles. KPF is celebrating 10 years of the Pride Festival this weekend, a milestone by any measure. But all was not always rainbows and drag queens — many members of the Louisville LGBT community remember the days when protests and bullhorns took the place of floats and glitter. And to truly take pride in how far we’ve come, it’s important to look at where we’ve been. Read more...
June 16, 2010 - Open and affirming - LEO Weekly
When the Rev. Ryan Kemp-Pappan began calling around to area churches in 2008 to solicit membership for the then-dormant group Faith Leaders for Fairness, the response was mixed. Clergy — at least the ones who returned his phone calls — said that while they supported gays, lesbians and transgender people showing up in the pews on Sunday, they couldn’t say so from the pulpit. “Some would say, ‘I support this, but I can’t openly say this in my community,’” says Kemp-Pappan, associate pastor at Douglass Boulevard Christian Church. “Their community is being more conservative.” Read more...
June 16, 2010 - Unwaivering Unseld - LEO Weekly
With the passing of George Unseld, Fairness has lost one of the most persistent, wise and genuine “friends in high places” we have ever had. George was never an elected official we had to “convince” of every human being’s right to equality. He never put his finger to the wind to see if supporting justice for LGBT people was the “smart” thing to do politically. What mattered to George was whether it was just. Read more...
June 16, 2010 - That was George - LEO Weekly
Whenever George Unseld was about to make a point in City Hall, the usually reticent lawmaker stood up slowly. Known to be reserved and introspective, the 6-foot-7, all-state center from the Newburg neighborhood understood that in politics, as with basketball, size does matter. “George certainly knew how to use his large stature and persona in a political way,” says state Rep. Reginald Meeks, D-Louisville, who served with Unseld on the Board of Aldermen. “I’ve seen him stand up and over people purposefully. And he knew how to use that effectively, but it was tactfully done.” Read more...
June 15, 2010 - Fairness Committment - Courier-Journal
Louisville's Fairness community has been struck a profound blow this month with the loss of two of our movement's pioneer leaders -- Rev. George Edwards and Councilman George Unseld -- who both fought selflessly for the rights of others. The volume of notes and messages the Fairness Campaign has received from supporters marking the significance of these two men's passing has been incredible, and for good reason. Read more...
June 8, 2010 - Edwards 'was a justice teacher'- Courier-Journal
With the passing of George Edwards, the peace and justice movement in Louisville has lost one of its most persistent, consistent, and fiercely love-motivated voices for a better world. I was six when I first heard George speak, at a gathering against the Vietnam War outside the old federal building on Broadway. And what a voice it was. For over half a century, when it came to war, exploitation, Occupation, discrimination, inequity -- each and every one of the various hypocrisies of U.S. democracy -- his booming bass of a preacher's voice was never silent. Read more...
June 7, 2010 - Lally hopes Tea Party, DADT will help unseat Yarmuth - LEO Weekly
After easily beating three other Republican challengers in the GOP primary, UPS pilot Todd Lally is set to challenge U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth for Kentucky’s 3rd congressional district seat. And despite being in a race that was largely under the radar, the political newcomer enters the contest with a noted boost from the Tea Party movement and a set of firm conservative principles to match. Read more...
June 1, 2010 - Blood Shortage Could Eliminate 27-Year-Old Ban - WLKY 32
Every year, there is a shortage of donated blood somewhere in the country, sometimes reaching a critical stage, and that's why a federal agency is looking at lifting a ban that prevents homosexual men from donating blood. For 27 years, gay men have been banned from donating blood. AIDS and the HIV virus first came under the microscope around 1983, but since that time, medical insight has changed, and some say the ban should, too. "It's time to lift this archaic ban," said Chris Hartman of the Louisville Fairness Campaign. Read more...
May 31, 2010 - FDA to reconsider ban on gay men donating blood - WHAS 11
Since 1983, there's been a ban on gay men donating blood. Some call the lifetime-deferral antiquated, while others say it's a health issue. But after 27 years in existence, the FDA is reviewing the ban. WHAS11’s Adrianna Hopkins was at the American Red Cross in downtown Louisville with the story. Read more...
May 26, 2010 - Where we have been, where we can go - LEO Weekly
Twenty years ago, the LGBT community in Louisville was planting seeds of political activism that have grown to make our city the gay-friendly home it is today. In 1990, gay rights activists persuaded the Louisville Board of Alderman to pass a hate crimes ordinance that included the category of sexual orientation. For the first time in Louisville, the law would protect gays and lesbians. That same year, The Letter, Louisville’s gay newspaper, began publication. It was first distributed in June 1990 at the “Pride Picinic,” which, at the time, was a fledgling LGBT festival held on the lawn of the Water Tower. The picnic has since grown into The Kentuckiana Pride Festival, the region’s only annual festival focused on celebrating the fact that the LGBT community plays an important role in the region’s social, cultural and economic landscape. Read more...
May 23, 2010 - Support ENDA anti-discrimination bill - Courier-Journal
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, (H.R. 3017) would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. This is hardly a radical notion since already 40 percent of the U.S. population is protected from such discrimination by virtue of laws in 12 states and over 100 localities. Over a million Kentuckians are protected through local ordinances in Covington, Lexington and Louisville, thanks to the combined efforts of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance, our allies (such as the Fairness Campaign) and fair-minded individuals. Read more...
May 19, 2010 - Guess who's coming to Clifton - LEO Weekly
When Michael O’Leary learned a faith-based drug and alcohol recovery group was looking to move its rehabilitation center for women into his Clifton neighborhood, he welcomed the idea. The 52-year-old grew up in the South End, but he and his partner moved into the diverse community more than a decade ago because it was so inclusive. Upon reviewing the group’s literature, however, O’Leary found, among other things, a questionnaire that raised the issue of sexual orientation. The material asked interested participants if they were wiling to recognize that being homosexual is sinful, end any lesbian relationships, and abandon being gay altogether. Read more...
April 12, 2010 - Dallas Official Visits, Learns About Police Chief - WLKY
A top city leader from Dallas was in Louisville to get feedback on Metro Police Chief Robert White. White is one of six finalists to be the next police chief in Dallas. His future here in Louisville is uncertain, in part, because the term of his current boss, Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson, will be over at the end of the year. Three of the candidates for the Dallas job are from within that police department. The other three, including White, are from other cities. Only WLKY News was there as Fairness Campaign director Chris Hartman greeted Dallas city manager Mary Suhm. Read more...
April 6, 2010 - Fairness Campaign endorses Tandy for Mayor - LEO Weekly
The political action committee of the Fairness Campaign, C-FAIR, has endorsed Metro Councilman David Tandy, D-4, for mayor of Louisville, along with several other candidates seeking public office in the upcoming May primary. The gay rights group’s endorsement process engaged the mayoral candidates in wide-ranging discussions of issues important to both the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, according to its press release. Read more...
March 4, 2010 - Kentucky should lead on fairness - The Winchester Sun
In January of 1966, with Gov. Edward T. Breathitt’s signing of a law Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., called “the strongest and most comprehensive civil rights bill passed by a southern state,” the Commonwealth of Kentucky became the first state in the south to adopt a Civil Rights Act with enforceable repercussions for acts of discrimination. Two years later, Kentucky was again first in the South, this time in the passage of a statewide fair housing law, which cemented our commonwealth’s legacy as the nation’s southern civil rights leader. Read more...
March 1, 2010 - Ky. should keep leading on fairness for all its citizens - Lexington Herald-Leader
In January 1966, with Gov. Edward T. Breathitt's signing of a law described by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., as "the strongest and most comprehensive civil rights bill passed by a southern state," Kentucky became the first state in the south to adopt a Civil Rights Act with enforceable repercussions for acts of discrimination. Two years later, Kentucky was again first in the south, this time in the passage of a statewide fair-housing law, which cemented our commonwealth's legacy as the nation's southern civil rights leader. Read more...
February 24, 2010 - Unlearning homophobia (Part 2) - LEO Weekly
My best friend growing up was an African-American boy named Bobby. He looked like all the members of Boys II Men rolled into one, with the mischievousness of Bobby Brown and a smile like Theo Huxtable. We got along well and went everywhere together. He taught me the moves to Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” video in my parents’ garage and taught me how to do the running man in my Hammer pants. Read more...
February 24, 2010 - Call to support two fairness bills in Kentucky legislature - Fox 41
Make it fair for all Kentucky residents -- that was the message during a rally in Kentucky's Capitol Rotunda Wednesday. As John Johnson of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights put it, "On this day my friends -- we call upon our lawmakers to recognize the dignity of human rights of all people in the Commonwealth, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans-sexual and transgender people, for they are all precious in God's sight." Read more...
February 24, 2010 - Gay rights advocates rally for anti-discrimination law - Lexington Herald-Leader
Cries in the Capitol Rotunda Wednesday called for an end to discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Kentuckians. A rally sponsored by the Kentucky Fairness Alliance filled the Rotunda and featured speeches from two officials with the state Commission on Human Rights and several state lawmakers. Read more...
February 24, 2010 - Gay rights advocates back statewide law - Courier-Journal
Businesses and landlords in Kentucky shouldn’t be allowed to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gay rights supporters said at a Capitol rally Wednesday. They acknowledge that they have a long way to go before passing legislation to achieve that goal. But Christopher Hartman, director of the Louisville Fairness Campaign, said the group is gaining supporters. Read more...
February 16, 2010 - Three decades of change in Louisville's gay and lesbian community - Courier-Journal
Louisville, 1981. No Humana Building. No Center for the Arts. No Waterfront Park. No Galleria (Fourth Street Live). No international airport. Appliance Park was still a major presence. UPS was not. The Watterson Expressway was still a four-lane nightmare. Jerry Abramson was still just one of 12 members of the board of aldermen. What was happening in Louisville's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community that year? Nothing. There were no annual festivals, no health organizations, no political activism. The community remained pretty much what it had always been: quiet, unobtrusive, sedate, closeted. Read more...
February 15, 2010 - Community Challenge | Promote Fairness, support HB 117 - Courier-Journal
In January of 1966, with Gov. Edward T. Breathitt's signing of a law Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., called “the strongest and most comprehensive civil rights bill passed by a Southern state,” the Commonwealth of Kentucky became the first state in the South to adopt a Civil Rights Act with enforceable repercussions for acts of discrimination. Two years later, Kentucky was again first in the South, this time in the passage of a statewide fair housing law, which cemented our commonwealth's legacy as the nation's southern civil rights leader. Read more...
February 14, 2010 - Love creates one story from 2 people sharing - Courier-Journal
One day last May, two well-dressed, middle-aged men from Louisville stood on an Iowa bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. They were not alone. Charles Raith's father was there as his best man, and Sam Dorr's daughter from his previous marriage stood up with him. Other family and friends filled out the wedding party, as the men prepared to exchange vows. Read more...
February 10, 2010 - Unlearning homophobia - LEO Weekly
Do you use birth control?
No.
Are you sexually active?
Yes.
(Pause)
So why don’t you use birth control?
Awkward! You’d think the gynecologist’s office would be a safe enough place to disclose the intricacies of my sexuality, but this situation proved to be more challenging than I expected. The doctor was basically a stranger, and I had no idea if she was cool with the gay. What if she disagreed with my “lifestyle” and refused to continue with our appointment? What if she saw homosexuality as a sickness? What if she tried to cure me? What if she kicked me out of her office while a crowd formed around me, holding torches and screaming, “Diagnosis lesbian!” Read more...
February 2, 2010 - How faith speaks to fairness - Courier-Journal
With the current court challenge to California's Proposition 8 forbidding same-sex marriages, religious views are again surfacing. Some are blessed with insight, some with only clamor, bias and stridency. It is critical that religion's positive voice be heard. Why? It appears that the California case could be headed to the United States Supreme Court. A definitive federal judgment upholding the legality of same-sex marriage would result in striking down state prohibitions including here in Kentucky. Now is the time to sort out what we really believe. Read more...
January 2010 - Fairness Director Reflects On First Year & 2010 Legislative Challenges - The Letter
Chris Hartman is just completing his first year of serving as the director of Louisville's Fairness Campaign. We recently interviewed him to ask about highlights of his first year on the job and to give us an idea of what to expect during the 2010 Kentucky legislative session. Read more...
January 27, 2010 - Alms for the poor? - LEO Weekly
The words “Women in Transition” — written in black marker across the glass door — have faded and are barely legible. Inside, the office is cluttered with used furniture, archaic computer monitors and worn cubicles. The building rumbles, and noticeably aging pipes poke through holes in the ceiling. Located in the basement of a senior community center in Old Louisville, the nonprofit economic justice group’s headquarters is decorated with pictures of iconic anti-poverty advocates. The modest space is adorned with dozens of poster boards listing handwritten phone numbers and PowerPoint lessons on everything from capitalism to state government. Read more...
January 27, 2010 - BU students join the fight for fairness - The Concord
On January 16th, several members of Bellarmine University's GLASS (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Society) attended a Fairness Summit hosted by the Kentucky Statewide Fairness Coalition in Frankfort, Kentucky. The Fairness Coalition is an alliance of five organizations based in Kentucky focused on protecting the rights of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered) citizens in the state. It is comprised of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, Fairness Campaign, Lexington Fairness, Kentucky Fairness Alliance Foundation, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky Foundation. Learn more...
January 19, 2010 - In all Fairness, Mayoral candidates invited to forum - WHAS11
Ten local "social justice organizations" are inviting Louisville mayoral candidates to answer questions specific to the groups' goals at a forum on February 2 at the Metro United Way. A release from the gay rights group The Fairness Campaign says each organization is non-partisan and that all candidates are invited, regardless of party affiliation. An earlier news release from the same group announced a $30,000 grant for the Kentucky Statewide Fairness Coalition. Read more...
January 18, 2010 - More forums set for Mayoral candidates - Courier-Journal
Two more forums for candidates for Louisville mayor have been scheduled, one sponsored by social-justice organizations and the other focusing on “the Future of the Arts in Louisville.” Ten social-justice groups are joining to sponsor a forum from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 2 at the Metro United Way Building at 334 E. Broadway. Admission is free. It's billed as “The People's Forum,” and the sponsoring groups are the ACLU of Kentucky; the Community Farm Alliance; the Fairness Campaign; the Hispanic/Latino Coalition; the Jefferson County chapter of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth; the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression; Kentucky Jobs with Justice; Making Connections Network; the Metro Housing Coalition; and Women in Transition. Read more...
January 6, 2010 - Keith Brooks, 25, Fairness Campaign board member, blogger - Courier-Journal
When Louisville native Keith Brooks moved home after graduating from the University of Kentucky, he looked for ways to continue the activism work he started with UK's Gay-Straight Alliance. Brooks found his voice with Louisville's Fairness Campaign and online as creator of a blog dedicated to GLBTQ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer) issues. Read more...
December 28, 2009 - Kurtz's political activities - Courier-Journal
As a lifelong Catholic and product of 16 years of solid Catholic education (St. Stephen Martyr, St. Xavier, Bellarmine), where I learned invaluable lessons about charity, compassion and justice, I am deeply saddened by Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz's recent political actions, tapping into the Louisville archdiocese's financial resources to help fund a secular political pursuit of inequality — in Maine, no less — while countless families in our own city are in need of food, shelter and health care. Read more...
November 12, 2009 - Green Party candidate to address Unity Dinner - Courier-Journal
The keynote speaker at the 12th annual Unity Dinner will be Cynthia McKinney, who served six terms as a Democratic congresswoman from Georgia and was the 2008 Green Party candidate for president of the United States. The theme of the dinner, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 21 at Masterson’s Conference Center on South Third Street, will be “Transforming Hope Into Reality: Organizing for Racial Justice and a Better World.” The dinner will be sponsored by the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. Read more...
November 10, 2009 - After Maine, the Battle Lines Over Gay Marriage Harden - Time
When America's Catholic bishops gather next week in Baltimore for a four-day conference, they will hear an update on the Catholic Church's ongoing fight to convince the country that marriage as an institution should never include gay couples, and they'll get a sneak peek at how that fight will be waged in the coming year. Videos aimed at priests and deacons are being produced in English and Spanish to give the pastors better tools to reach their parishioners, especially young people, whom the church fears need reminding about its basic teachings on marriage, love and sex. Indeed, the Catholic hierarchy in the U.S. is increasingly unapologetic about engaging in the debate over the issue. Read more...
October 22, 2009 - Hate Crime Bill Passes - LezGetReal.com
The Senate has passed and sent to President Obama for his signature, an expanded federal hate crimes law that would make it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. Democrats lawmakers and supporters have hailed the vote as the culmination of a years long effort to curb violent expressions of bias such as the murder in 1998 of Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student, for who the bill is named after. Read more...
October 21, 2009 - Ten years of Fairness - Leo Weekly
Diane Moten’s voice cracks and tears stream down her face as she recalls that cold January evening outside City Hall in 1999, as she waited to learn whether the Louisville Board of Alderman would pass the Fairness Ordinance. Almost eight years earlier, a co-worker at the daycare center where Moten worked asked why she never mentioned having a boyfriend. In response, Moten was unashamedly honest, saying she is a lesbian. In the coming days Moten began to notice co-workers staring and whispering. Three weeks later, she was fired — the daycare supervisor said Moten couldn’t be trusted around kids. Read more...
October 16, 2009 - 'Energy and enthusiasm'- Courier-Journal
I got the treat of joining just under 50 local folks on the Fairness Campaign-sponsored bus trip to the National Equality March in Washington last weekend. For me, it was a life-changing experience, so kudos to the FC, the generous donor who subsidized it, and especially Kyle Riggs' hard work for organizing the trip. Read more...
October 14, 2009 - Road trip for rights - Leo Weekly
At the intersection of 15th and H streets in Northwest Washington, D.C., rumbles of excitement aand anticipation fill the air. The massive crowd is dressed in an array of colorful garb, creating a fitting backdrop for today’s event. Louisville resident Chiquta Baker, 53, and her two children, Yana, 30, and Daniel, 22, stand with a group of fellow Kentuckians waiting for the National Equality March to begin. Read more...
October 12, 2009 - Thousands march for gay rights - Courier-Journal
Tens of thousands of gay rights supporters marched Sunday from the White House to the Capitol, demanding that President Barack Obama keep his promises to allow gays to serve openly in the military and work to end discrimination against gays. Rainbow flags and signs dotted the crowds filling Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House as people chanted, "Hey, Obama, let mama marry mama" and "We're out, we're proud, we won't back down." Read more...
October 9, 2009 - Fairness boycott gets national coverage - Leo Weekly
The Fairness Campaign’s call to boycott Woody’s Tavern over another alleged racial incident involving the bar’s owner, David Norton, was covered in The Advocate this week. The national news magazine is the oldest continuing LGBT publication in the country. Read more...
October 9, 2009 - Ten years of Fairness - Courier-Journal
Ten years have passed since the old Louisville Board of Aldermen passed the “Fairness” ordinance, which provides basic protections for citizens regardless of sexual orientation. Covington and Lexington now have such ordinances, too.And after the city and county merged in 2000, the Metro Council folded the law into the new statutory scheme, extending its protections to Jefferson County outside the old city limits. Read more...
October 9, 2009 - 'Marching for our rights' - Courier-Journal
This Sunday, tens of thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied individuals will descend on our nation's Capitol for the National Equality March to once more demand the fair and equal rights we all deserve, and the Fairness Campaign from Louisville will be right there with them. Read more...
October 8, 2009 - Equality marchers set plans - Courier-Journal
The Louisville Fairness Campaign’s “Equality Express” bus bound for the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., will leave Louisville at 8 p.m. cq Friday from the Mellwood Arts Center, 1860 Mellwood Ave. “Every seat on the bus is now filled,” said Chris Hartman, spokesperson for the Fairness Campaign. The group includes University of Louisville and Bellarmine University students, Fairness Campaign leaders and community supporters. The bus will stop in Lexington around 10 p.m. Friday to pick up some University of Kentucky students, Lexington Fairness leaders, and other supporters at Euclid and Rose streets before the all-night drive to Washington. Read more...
October 7, 2009 - Fairness protections don't apply to all - Courier-Journal
On Oct. 24, supporters of Fairness will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the passage of the Fairness Ordinance by the Board of Aldermen. This Ordinance protects all Louisvillians from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. Read more...
October 7, 2009 - Kentucky Gay Group Works to Shut Down Homophobic Bar Owner - Towleroad.com
The Louisville, Kentucky-based LGBT group Fairness Campaign is working to put a local bar out of business after its owner drove out customers using homophobic and racist slurs, WHAS reports: Read more...
October 6, 2009 - Fairness Campaign pushing for boycott of Woody's Tavern, says owner did it again - WHAS 11
After apologizing in August for racist and sexist comments made a year ago, the Louisville Fairness Campaign says a local bar owner, David Norton, has not learned his lesson. David Norton, owner of Woody’s Tavern, went public in August to apologize for comments made a year ago to University of Louisville students and a professor, saying “What came out of my mouth was pure filth.” Now, the Fairness Campaign is pushing for a boycott of his bar, Woody’s Tavern, because of more racist comments he allegedly made there last month. Read more...
October 5, 2009 - Fairness Campaign to boycott Woody’s Tavern - Leo Weekly
The Fairness Campaign is calling for a full boycott of Woody’s Tavern in response to another alleged racial incident involving the bar’s owner that took place last month. The LGBT rights organization is demanding that David Norton, who also owns Magnolia Bar & Grill in Old Louisville, sell Woody’s — a popular gay bar near U of L’s campus — and if he will not that its doors close. Read more...
October 1, 2009 - “Fairness X-travaganza” Celebrates 10 Years of Civil Rights in Louisville Saturday, October 24
Ten years ago this October, the Jefferson county Fiscal Court passed the first comprehensive anti-discrimination Fairness Ordinance, protecting all Louisvillians from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity. To mark that historic occasion in Louisville’s advancement, Fairness Campaign supporters are hosting a series of Fairness X-travaganza fundraising dinner parties across the city on Saturday, October 24, that will end in Fairness X-plosion, a community celebration and dance party held at The Monkey Wrench, 1025 Barret Avenue, from 10pm-2am. Read more...
September 9, 2009 - Fairness Campaign endorses National Equality March, October 10-11, 2009 - Queer Louisville
Fairness Campaign has endorsed the National Equality March, set to take place on October 11th, 2009 in Washington, D.C. The march, sparked by the long-time activist and Harvey Milk confidant Cleve Jones, is set to be one of the biggest events this year targeting gay and lesbian rights. Read more...
September, 2009 - Bar owner apologizes for remarks - The Letter
After several months of pressure from the Fairness Campaign and the community-at-large, Louisville bar owner David Norton publicly apologized on Saturday, August 15 for racist and sexist remarks he uttered during a heated exchange last year at Woody’s, a gay bar he operates in Old Louisville. Read more...
August 16, 2009 - Owner of Woody's Tavern finally apologizes to professor and students - WHAS 11
David Norton, Owner of Woody’s Tavern, says, “I had a realization that this was all my fault from the beginning. I own this place. These people are my guests, it was all my fault from the beginning and I sincerely apologize to each one of them who are here. ”It’s the apology Kaila Story and a group of students have been waiting to hear for over a year. For some, the moment was overwhelming, shedding tears as evidence of the pain that was caused. Read more...
July 20, 2009 - In Kentucky, It's All About Fairness (Campaign) - LezGetReal.com
There is a perception among many gays and lesbians that the national groups such as the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force are ineffective, especially when dealing with the situation on the ground, as it were. According to Queerty, only one person even rated the HRC. Now, Queerty admits that there may be some biases built into their methodology, but there is a bit of an issue when it comes to many of these big groups. Read more...
June 30, 2009 - Gay Progress in Louisville - Courier Journal
In reading the June 19 "Lunch With ... David Williams" interview in The Courier Journal, in which he described the "Sam Dorr case" as Louisville's "Stonewall," I was caught up by the fact that it had happened almost 30 years ago. Although it was "my" case, I rarely think about it now. That was a long time ago. Read more...
June 29, 2009 - Pursuing Fairness Across Kentucky - Courier-Journal
Just a decade ago, basic civil rights were denied individuals living in Jefferson County. Until 1999, someone could be legally fired from their job, denied housing or denied public accommodations if they were suspected of being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. If that seems shocking, know that for Kentuckians living immediately outside Louisville Metro, it is still a reality today. Read more...
June 28, 2009 - Vigil to Mark Stonewall Riots Anniversary - 89.3 WFPL
Louisville’s Fairness Campaign will hold a vigil tonight to mark the 40th anniversary of the New York Stonewall riots. Campaign director Chris Hartman says the uprising against a police raid at the city’s Stonewall Inn marked a defining moment in the struggle for gay rights. Read more...
June 27, 2009 - Rally Protests Gay Marriage Ruling - Courier-Journal
Tracie Meyer said she cried when she heard yesterday that the California Supreme Court had upheld that state's ban on gay marriage. "I feel guilty that I get to be married," said the 48-year-old Louisville resident, who held up a handmade sign reading "I love gay/civil rights" at a downtown rally protesting the court's decision last night. Read more...
March 11, 2009 - Consider the Kid - LEO Weekly
It is just about two hours into the annual Brown School talent show. Outside, unseasonably warm weather has slashed open the Louisville winter to the smells and gusts of springtime. And though it may be premature, the kids here — there are hundreds — bounce around with the glee that a sudden lifting of oppressive weather can bring. Sitting in wooden bleacher seats inside the auditorium of Brown’s downtown campus, Randy Johnson and Paul Campion are holding cameras. Their equipment is state-of-the-art in a modern-dad kind of way: Johnson’s video camera, which operates on flash memory, fits snugly into his palm; Campion has the still-shooter, a compact device whose viewfinder has impressive surface area. The men, who met in 1991 and have been together without interruption since, are stoic and nonchalant about what’s happening onstage. Read more...