"GLBTQ: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered and Questioning Educational Program" is a free, daylong event to be held Nov. 3, cosponsored by the York Diversity Forum and York High School's Civil Rights Team at the York Public Library. Anyone is welcome to attend all or part of the forum.
According to the event's organizers, their goal is to open a community dialogue that will lead to understanding and acceptance. The event will begin at 10 a.m. with a morning session led by Dr. Howard Solomon, a scholar-in-residence at the University of Southern Maine and prior administrator and Department of History chairman at Tufts University, where he created a course on "The Historical Construction of Sexuality." His talk will focus on those issues in Maine, including the murder of Charlie Howard, a young man who was thrown to his death into a Bangor waterway because he was gay.
Following a bring-your-own brown bag lunch, Solomon will hold a question-and-answer period focusing on information, prejudice and violence directed toward the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community from 1 to 3 p.m.
On both Nov. 2 and 3 at 7 p.m. at the library, York Readers' Theatre will present a one-hour staged reading of the Tony Award-winning play, "Take Me Out," in which a baseball superstar comes out of the closet and unintentionally wreaks havoc on his team.
York High School students will participate in the reading, which is being directed by local resident David Newman, and a discussion will follow.
For Julie Edminster, a former library trustee who was instrumental in assisting with the creation of an array of children's programs there, the decision to collaborate with the YDF on the forum prompted her to resign.
"Our board touts ‘free speech' but cannot listen to another point of view on the gay/transgender advocacy issue," she wrote in her resignation later. "This board is naive to believe the public will not be influenced by this particular program at voting time. The gay advocacy movement is a polarizing and sensitive topic for most people, including myself. ‘Collaboration' and ‘co-sponsorship' are wordplay semantics. I firmly believe that the library should not be an instrument to advocate or promote any political or social change movement."
York Diversity Forum President Carol Davis said, "The only agenda that the York Diversity Forum has is to educate and reduce prejudice," adding the group was formed several years ago as a result of specific instances of discrimination in town.
"Our understanding is that the program is intended to inform and encourage discussion, rather than advocate any particular point of view," explained Kevin Sweeney, president of the York Public Library Board of Trustees. "A copy and explanation of the library policy regarding sponsoring programs is available to anyone. Any citizen who has a question about the policy should feel free to contact the library directly."
The Diversity Forum's vision statement reads, "The York Diversity Forum envisions a community that is integrated and accepting - where everyone feels safe, welcome and at home." Its mission statement is, "The York Diversity Forum is a visible, peaceful, active voice and resource that promotes understanding, acceptance and respect for people of all races, cultures, religions, sexual orientations, ages and abilities." The York High School Civil Rights Team is part of a school-based effort to combat hate, violence, prejudice, harassment and bias and includes faculty advisors Jeff Barry and Sarah Straz, about 25 students and a community advisor, Milton Davis, M.D., Ph.D.
The Diversity Forum had hoped the library or another nonprofit would become a co-sponsor, Davis said, as that would have allowed the group to seek grant funds to defray expenses associated with the program, but decided when the process become more controversial than expected to instead raise the funds from private donations.
Edminster said support for the program in the form of publicizing the event gives the appearance that the library is endorsing it. She said other residents share her perspective but are not comfortable coming forward with their beliefs because they are afraid of the backlash.
York resident Kurt Hansbury said he hesitated in communicating his ideas publicly for that reason.
"No one in Maine should be afraid to say what they think or feel. It is outrageous to me that anyone does, regardless of their sexual orientation. Yet I still have some fear doing so now," he explained, adding later, "I just choose to disagree with the use of a publicly funded library to take sides on such a controversial issue."
The York Public Library's policy states that it "sponsors programs that are developed by the Board of Trustees and/or those acting on the Board's behalf - staff, committees and subcommittees. We welcome and make our facilities available for programs and events presented by others in the interest of promoting open discussion and free exchange of ideas. The library may collaborate with programs not developed by the library to the degree that they are educational and promote the library mission statement: ‘Engaging the community in the joy of learning.' Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the individuals and groups at the library do not necessarily reflect those of the library staff and Board of Trustees."
Edminster said that disclaimer is not enough.
"Of course our library should remain an open and inclusive community center for all walks of life, but it should remain politically neutral," she said, adding, "By collaborating, co-sponsoring or whatever you want to call it ... it is the perception that the library supports gay advocacy and gay marriage. People do not read disclaimers."
York Superintendent of Schools Dr. Henry Scipione, who serves on the Diversity Forum, said he views the GLBTQ event as "an opportunity to bring something forward to the community."
Like Davis, he said the Diversity Forum's goal is to open the lines of communication for understanding and not to advocate for any particular lifestyle.
"We have a responsibility to provide opportunities for our community to engage in open discussion," he said.
Edminster and Hansbury questioned who should decide whether an issue is political or educational in nature.
"Would they approve if someone wanted to hold a meeting supporting the War in Iraq? How about a meeting to support the Catholic Church? How about a Democratic or Republican fundraiser? What about a group to support the advancement of a specific ethnic group?" Hansbury questioned, adding later, "The library should be a venue for literary and educational events. If this were educational in nature it would not be so politically affiliated. This is a one-sided social statement with a political agenda."
Sweeney said the library sponsorship policy differentiates between programs sponsored by the library and those initiated by other groups
"The library board encourages the free exchange of ideas, respects diverse points of view and welcomes educational programs," he said, adding, "The library does not attempt to control or be responsible for the content of programs it does not initiate. It recognizes that the group bringing the program to the library is responsible for its content and execution."
Davis said the York Diversity Forum's agenda has never been a political one and the program is not being offered to promote any lifestyle over another.
"We are not members of any organization that proposes gay marriage," she said. "The Diversity Forum decided to go forth with this program because we felt that there are many members of the York community who are GLBT or have members of their family or friends who are GLBT who could benefit from this educational program to help them understand these issues. Again let me repeat that the York Diversity Forum is a visible, peaceful, active voice and resource that promotes understanding, acceptance and respect for people of all sexual orientations."
Both Edminster and Hansbury stressed that while they disagree with the library hosting this presentation, they are not homophobic and do not hate what they described as the "Gay and Lesbian Movement."
"It bothers me when violence or prejudice occurs for any reason," Hansbury said. "... My issue here is the strong push to use the York Public Library to influence the public on such a polarizing social/political issue."
Davis pointed out that the York Diversity Forum has collaborated on many emotionally-charged issues with the library in the past, ranging from ageism to racism to anti-Semitism.
York Public Library Director Robert Waldman said the goal of the library's policy is to encourage dialogue without endorsing any specific issue.
"The facilities are available for programs and events," Waldman said. "It's very important to allow all those points of view to be expressed with the opportunity for others to respond to them."
