Hot off the presses. Lynne Bowman, executive director of Equality Ohio, forwarded this to me (and Wolfie) to put out regarding the Cincinnati NAACP's Appointment of archconservative, anti-gay activist Chris Finney as the Chair of Legal Redress:
Equality Ohio is very concerned about the decision of the Cincinnati NAACP Chapter to appoint Chris Finney as chair of Legal Redress. The national NAACP is supportive of full inclusion and protection of all people, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and locally President Smitherman was himself supportive of the repeal of Article XII. It is very odd that an organization with civil rights at its core would appoint a person who has demonstrated opposition to equal protection for all people. While homophobia has an adverse affect on LGBT people in general, it has an even more serious impact on LGBT African-Americans, exacerbating existing issues of under-employment, HIV/AIDS, and access to appropriate healthcare. We hope that in the 17 years since he wrote the charter amendment effectively exiling LGBT people of all colors from full citizenship and protections in Cincinnati , Mr. Finney has learned not just the value of LGBT people but that of all people and families in Cincinnati . We know that leadership of the local LGBT equality organization, Equality Cincinnati, has reached out to Chapter President Smitherman to discuss the current situation and as the state organization, we look forward to learning more about Mr. Finney’s current positions on equality issues related to the need for full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents of Cincinnati.
If you haven't been keeping up, here, check out this post which, I think, gives the most information without you having to jump around a whole lot (and the ensuing controversy). Or check out the original Beacon post.
And, with that, I'm done blogging for the morning. :-)
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