Occupy the Castro General Assembly

hey, let's see if HRC puts some bodies at the general assembly on december 17 at noon in milk plaza. nice of them to claim they support our goals, but we want proof HRC does give a damn about low-income gays. nice to get some belated attention from the advocate more than a week later. shows the story of occupy the castro/occupy HRC has legs.

Protesters Occupy HRC Store in S.F.
By Trudy Ring
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/12/12/Protesters_Occupy_HRC_Store_in_SF/

The Human Rights Campaign Action Center and Store in San Francisco’s Castro district was the site of a recent Occupy protest — but HRC officials say they share the movement’s concern about economic issues.

Protesters with Occupy the Castro marched through the neighborhood December 3, chanting, distributing literature, stopping to deliver a letter about economic injustice to a Citibank branch, and finally ending up at the HRC store, located in the building that once housed pioneering gay politician Harvey Milk’s camera shop.

Inside the store, they chanted, “HRC, don’t speak for me!” and “We’re a movement, not a market!” (See video below.) They also delivered a letter highlighting the high rate of poverty, homelessness, and unemployment among LGBT people, especially transgender people. It reads in part, “We call on the Human Rights Campaign to make affordable housing, living wage jobs, the maintenance of benefits, and healthcare for all priorities that it pushes on both the local and national level. Never has it been more critical for our national organizations to stand up for bread-and-butter issues that affect the 99% of us who struggle to make ends meet every day.”

One of the protesters, longtime activist Michael Petrelis, wrote on his blog that HRC is “riddled with Democratic gay 1 percenters,” has effected little change for ordinary working LGBT people, and “has sold out transgendered folks over employment and other protections.” The latter is a reference to the fact in 2007 the organization agreed to back federal antidiscrimination legislation that covered discrimination based on sexual orientation but not gender identity. The bill did not pass both house of Congress, and HRC has since supported only a transgender-inclusive version.

HRC spokesman Michael Cole-Schwartz responded to the protest with this statement to The Advocate: “We understand and share the concerns over the unmet needs of our community — particularly among those most vulnerable. Every day the Human Rights Campaign works to make better the lives of LGBT people and we will continue to work to erase discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Additionally, HRC mandates that all vendors of merchandise sold by the organization attest that they comply with a set of workplace standards including no forced or child labor, no harassment or abuse, and that proper health and safety standards are followed.”

For more info:
Michael Petrelis, 415-621-6267
Tommi Avicolli Mecca, 415-552-6031

Occupy the Castro to Remember Homeless Gay Man
Who Died on the Street, 12/17, Noon, Milk Plaza

San Francisco - On the third-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, Occupy the Castro will gather at Harvey Milk Plaza at noon tomorrow (Saturday, December 17) for its first general assembly.

The assembly will feature a moment of silence for Pedro Villamore, a gay man who died homeless on the streets of the Castro last week, and an open mic for participants.

Occupy the Castro recently participated in the early December Day of Action to stop evictions and foreclosures by staging protests in the Castro, including delivering an eviction notice to two banks and a resolution to Human Rights Campaign asking that the national gay group make housing, jobs and healthcare for all priorities on both the local and national levels.

In addition to giving everyone a chance to speak about whatever their concerns may be, there will also be a Comment Wall where folks should write their slogans, political messages, love notes or artwork.

Everyone is asked to bring their best ideas and most fabulous friends to the General Assembly prepared to say a few words at the mike and ready to mourn for our dead, and fight like hell and organize for we, the living.

Please join us!