Every summer, Gay and Lesbian communities nationwide celebrate Gay Pride, usually in commemoration of the infamous Stonewall riots of ’69 in New York.

By, Gay Lib didn’t grow out of those riots. That’s a myth.

Rather, the now world-wide movement was launched by gay

journalism in the San Francisco Bay Area months earlier.

Unfortunately, even our current, national gay journalism organizations, like the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, ignore that connection.

Stonewall was simply a large street fight between Gays – including drag queens and high school students from New Jersey – and the police. It had no planned civil rights connection.

Three months earlier, however, the Committee for Homosexual Freedom (CHF) was launched to fight for gay civil rights in San Francisco; and more specifically, employment rights.

Today, we have the Unruh Civil Rights Act in California (Civil Code §51) which forbids discrimination by any business on the basis of sexual orientation. But, back in ’69, that law didn’t exist.

So, risking everything in their lives, a band of young gay man formed the CHF after co-founder Gale Whittington was fired from the States Steamship Lines in San Francisco’s famous financial district for being Gay.

At the time, I was a reporter/editor/producer for ABC/KGO Radio in San Francisco by day and covered the Gay Community for the Berkeley Barb, an underground newspaper, by night.

That weekly coverage exposed the hell of living in the closeted, gay world and urged homosexuals to join the civil rights revolution led by the black community. Gay Lib grew out of the black civil rights movement.

Indeed, the Black Panther Party was one of the earliest supporters of gay militants.

That coverage launched Gay Lib – before Stonewall.

Unfortunately, gay history books and our current gay journalism organizations (e.g., NLGJA) ignore the connection between gay journalism and the launch of Gay Lib.

“Diversity is like a flower in that every petal is different, yet contributing to something beautiful.”

That statement is on a large sign on a chain-link fence surrounding an elementary school in San Diego. It caught my eye for its wisdom.

However, in each cultural or ethnic group usually identified with diversity (people of color and Gays), there are a wide range of differences to which editors and reporters need to be sensitive.

For example, whenever a major court decision comes down involving gay rights, San Diego TV stations typically send numerous crews to the local Gay Center to get reaction. The director of that center is a lesbian.  Does she speak for all the Gay Community? No!

Editors and reporters need to be aware that there are some strong undercurrents of opposition by gay men (particularly middle age and seniors) against the increasingly persuasive power exercised by lesbians in many communities, such as in San Diego.

Also, in the Gay Community, there is everything from leather to lace and a wide range of customs in between.  Leather boys often do not agree, or like, the drag queens or transgendered, although all are usually lumped together in that community.

To cover the Gay community, an editor needs to cover that wide range of customs from leather to lace. They also need to realize that Gays can also be people of color.

Diversity among Latinos

When covering immigration stories, editors and reporters often will think of the “illegal aliens” as being all Mexicans, largely because they are crossing the Mexican border with the United States.

But, while all Mexicans are Latinos, not all Latinos are Mexicans. Many of those immigrants are from Ecuador, Guatemala or South American countries.

Semantics is extremely important with diversity issues. For example, to refer to Gays as homosexuals today is similar to calling African-Americans as Negroes.  It just isn’t done.

Similarly, many Chicanos prefer to be called Chicano or Latino, and not Hispanic, which they consider to be a white word.

The phrase “illegal aliens” is a no-no, also.  It de-humanizes the Latinos to which it refers. The phrase editors and reporters ought to use instead is “undocumented immigrants.”

California’s republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenger is urging Latino immigrants who want to learn English to avoid the Spanish media. Now, California’s Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles), who grew up in San Diego and Tijuana, is supporting the governor in his advice to immigrants.

Both are wrong!  Very wrong.

San Diego county has a wealth of Spanish media in both print and broadcast media. They cover local, national and international news. They play a valuable role in keeping Spanish-speaking immigrants aware of the world around them.

Imagine if you – as an English-speaking American – were suddenly living in Moscow, and just slowly learning Russian.  Your Russian vocabulary is limited.  Reading the local Russian media is extremely difficult, at best. So, to keep abreast of world events, you turn to the English media available in Moscow.

That doesn’t mean that you stop learning Russian.

But, it does mean that you are learning about the events of the world around you.

Having spent years as a firefighter in Tijuana, Mexico; I personally know the importance of keeping up with the news even as I was taking courses in Spanish.

I strongly believe the Spanish media, particularly in California, plays a crucial role in keeping Latino immigrants well informed while they simultaneously learn English in classes.

Watching network coverage of the pending immigration legislation in congress is disturbing. It’s heavily biased AGAINST immigrants.

Over and over we see images of young Latinos scaling the fence that separates our border with Mexico. In other words, we see alleged crimes – illegal entry – being committed.  We don’t see the undocumented workers being a vital part of our economy.

The legislation focuses largely on immigrants already in this country, people who work hard every day to make our country’s economy strong.

Numerous studies have been made that our nation’s economy would be literally crippled if – for just one day – every undocumented immigrant refused to go to work. Buses wouldn’t be driven. Taxis would be scarce. Salads in restaurants would have no lettuce, etc., etc., etc.

Also, I watch interviews of anti-immigration citizens complaining that these “illegals” get free medical care, education, etc.  However, several university studies have shown that undocumented workers pay far more in taxes – on food gas, etc. – than they receive in benefits.

Semantics is important in news coverage.

The networks refer to these as “illegal aliens,” a phrase used most frequently by the anti-immigrant forces.  The more preferred – and more objective – term would be “undocumented immigrants.”

When you realize that most of those in jail in our major cities are ethnic minorities and Gays, reporters doing investigative stories on those cases may need some help with access to the courts.

Many states – but not all – provide electronic access to their court records, making research on a story easier from your newsroom.

“Each state, and quite often each county within each state, has different systems and policies with regards to electronic access to court records,” according to the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press in its current Spring 2007 issue of The News Media and The Law.

In the vast majority of states, their Supreme Court and lower appellate courts, put their opinions online. Electronic access to appellate briefs, however, is somewhat limited, though it is available online in California. At the trial court level, case information is less likely to be available online.

The current issue of The News Media and The Law has a survey with detailed information for each state, including who you can contact to get information online. The guide was compiled by McCormick Tribune Legal Fellow Catherine Spratt and was funded by the McCormick Tribune Foundation.

My work as a journalist began in 1947. It was 22 years later that I helped launch the worldwide Gay-Lib movement, 3 months before Stonewall. I got fired by ABCD-KGO in San Francisco as a result.  Yet, the world is changing, particularly among young people.

I hang out in a military bar in San Diego. Once, a homophobic civilian came in and caused trouble.  My military friends grabbed the man, carried him to the front door and literally threw him out.

“Leo, we like you. You’re safe here. We will protect you,” said a 22-year old straight Marine later.

Yet, on the board of the San Diego SPJ Chapter, I rarely mention my two connections to the diversity community: being Gay or my Latino connections (member also, California Chicano News Media Assn.).

That’s largely because the guys in the military bar are in the low 20s. My fellow board members are much older, and not as open to my sexual orientation or my Latino background.
Most editors are older, and I implore them to listen to the youth of our country and their attitudes to the diversity community.

Does your newsroom have a gay reporter, or Latino, Asian-American or black journalist?  If not, ask yourself why not.

Diversity can make your newsroom stronger. Try it!

From a diversity standpoint, the coverage of the problems facing the Palestinians seems biased against them.

President Bush has repeatedly said he wants to bring “democracy” to the Middle East, but only a democracy that supports his view of politics there.

When the Palestinians, in a free and open election, chose Hamas over the Fatah-led candidates, Mr. Bush didn’t like that and opposed the results. In other words, he supports democratic elections as long as the results are what he wants.

And, news coverage tends to support the president.

How is it that the United States and Israel can decide who is to govern the Palestinians. Today, June 21st, the New York Times News Service and AP reported that both agreed to declare President Mahmoud Abbas “the president of all Palestinians.”

Isn’t that dictatorial, and the opposite of a democracy?

And, isn’t the mainstream media feeding into it?

In San Diego, we have a one-issue congressman who is running for the Republican nomination for president.  Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter doesn’t have a chance, but loves the attention he’s getting as a candidate.

His one issue is his fight against those “evildoers,” the undocumented immigrants whom he calls “Illegal Aliens,” as if they came from outer space. The mainstream media does the same, frequently, in San Diego.

He ignores the fact that our American economy would self-destruct if all those Mexicans and other “illegal’s” were to suddenly return to their native countries (an impossibility) or stop working for one day.

He also ignores the fact that several university studies have been completed that show that undocumented immigrants pay far more in taxes (sales, gasoline, etc.) than receive in benefits (education, medical) from the government.

But, his campaign is built on hate, and hate is very popular and powerful in a political campaign, especially with the far right.

Yet, the mainstream media never challenges him on these issues. After all, Duncan Hunter provides sound bites for TV news.

The Civil Rights Enforcement Section of the California Department of Justice (DofJ) in Sacramento is investigating the very popular CraigsList of San Francisco for alleged discrimination against Gays – a story not covered by the mainstream media.

The state’s Justice Department is headed by Attorney General Edmund G. Brown, Jr., long a strong supporter of gay rights.

CraigsList operates a huge website that covers everything from part-time job listings to erotic services. It covers most major cities in the U.S. and is in numerous foreign countries.

Over the past 8 months, whenever a part-time job offering was posted that included the word “Gay,” the ad was pulled because CraigsList was receiving complaints from homophobics.

A complaint was filed with the DofJ alleging violations of the state’s Unruh Civil rights Act (Civil Code §51) which bars discrimination by any business based on sexual orientation.

That complaint was forwarded to the DofJ’s Office of Civil Rights Enforcement Section.

“This section uses complaints to develop information about patterns or practices of discrimination that might indicate the need for formal investigation or law enforcement action by our office,” wrote M. Vega of the DofJ’s Public Inquiry Unit to the complainant.

“Once a pattern is discovered, what originated as a private dispute may become a matter of broad public interest and thus warrant the Attorney General’s intervention under state and federal civil rights laws,” Vega’s letter added.

San Diego’s only daily newspaper, the San Diego Union Tribune, “has an ongoing commitment to diversity of its news staff and in its coverage,” says Editor Karin Winner.

The U-T’s staff includes leaders of all four professional journalism organizations involving diversity. Each year, the U-T sends representatives of these groups to their national conventions.

Asian-Americans

For its 25th anniversary last June, members of the Asian-American Journalists Association went to Hawaii where their members have long been part of that state’s culture, government and history.

Among the guest speakers in Hawaii were Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s Medical Correspondent and Lisa Ling, Special Correspondent for the Oprah Winfrey Show and the National Geographic Channel.

At the U-T, Features Design Editor Michael James Rocha is a member of the AAJA governing board. Don Chareunsy, editor of the U-T’s Night & Day section, Passages section and Street editor is the AAJA’s local president.

African-Americans

Members of the San Diego Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists attended the NABJ’s 31st annual convention in Indianapolis last August.

Special guests were New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, poet Nikki Giovanni and civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton.

At the U-T, Features Copy Editor Jerry McCormick is a founding president of the San Diego NABJ chapter.

Gays

Members of the San Diego chapter of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association attended their annual convention in Miami Beach last year. The chapter is gearing up to host the NLGJA’s 2007 annual convention in San Diego in August.

Among those active is the U-T’s Metro Photo Editor David Poller who is also a NLGJA national board member.

Latinos

There are two professional organizations for Latino journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the California Chicano News Media Association, both of which allow non-Latinos to become a member (including this diversity blogger).

Among those on the U-T’s staff involved include Hiram Soto, current vice president of the San Diego chapter of the CCNMA and Jennifer Vigil, Metro staff writer and former secretary of the local chapter of the CCNMA.