ROBIN:
Alright, we have reached an agreement verbally between our attorneys and we
are just waiting and hoping that by the time I leave for Asia tomorrow that
we can sign it and do some kind of mutual press release so actually you are
right on top of the story and the first one to know it.
KAREN:
Why are you leaving the march?
ROBIN:
Why am I leaving the march, well it's actually um, you know Karen it's been
two years the first time I conceived of it was two years ago next week at
the NGLTF conference and I've worked very hard on this for the past two
years and the board of directors and I have some creative and conceptual
differences and so I am leaving I think it's not gotten comfortable between
us but I'm not leaving with any bad feelings and I certainly hope that the
march carries on.
KAREN:
(can you give me details of the settlement?)
ROBIN:
Ah, we settled actually, I was I took myself off of salary because we were
getting tight on money and so they are catching up on my fee, the fee to
Robin Tyler Productions, and then it's a very small small amount and some of
the office equipment that we've bought so it's not an enormous kind of a
settlement. And also part of the agreement is a mutual press release and
part of the is also and has been since we've been in negations not to say
bad things about each other or the march and I certainly have not I think
the march has gone from being extremely controversial to having enormous
support, we've received 30,000 or so ballots - platform ballots from people
who are voting under Genny Foat who was the associate producer & the field
operations director we have 4,000 volunteers, AOL has come on as $250,000
sponsor the Advocate has come on as a sponsor and is printing 300,000
programs, and they are giving us free ads, we have free ads in curve
magazine, in our world and alternative family, the Advocate deal alone is
worth $425,000 so I there was enormous support for the march and there is
enormous support for the march. I know that we were negotiating with AOL to
be one of the sponsors in addition to United Airlines and Bell Atlantic and
so I am hoping that the new directors can carry on and we were very close to
closing those deals and close those deals which would help the march
enormously financially.
KAREN:
??
ROBIN:
The board of directors wanted to appoint an executive director. And the
contract that Robin Tyler Productions had meant that I was responsible, I
was responsible for raising the money, booking the performers, booking civil
rights leaders and so forth and doing media and the contract clearly stated
that to change anything in the contract, it would have to be mutual, they
went ahead and hired uh appointed an executive director and took away the
responsibilities of the overseeing of booking the performers and so forth
and so on and in a way the board wanted to control who was on the stage,
everybody who was on the stage and I think that that's fine, I have booked
the I have booked the performers booking civil rights leaders and so forth
for the last couple of marches and so this was really not in my contract I
was supposed to do it. I certainly expected us to mutually agree on many speakers.
So in a way, I mean I don't know how to put it, it was just that they felt that they wanted to have more direct control over if not all control of the content and I felt that as executive producer that I would do what I did at the last two marches which was be able to book people um there was also in the new directive they didn't want me to speak to the media give interviews and so forth and I couldn't live with that. I'm not at all angry, I think that people. . . this is a movement and even thought I gave birth to the idea and I have worked very hard on it and as well my staff has worked very hard on it. I don't feel upset at all, I think if people want to run with the ball and attempt to do it, great go ahead and do it, I believe in principle over personality and that we need a march on Washington.
This is the same month that this is happening that I'm not going to be the executive producer congress didn't add us to the hate crimes the glbt community to the hate crimes bill we still can't get into the military.
Barnery Frank doesn't want us to march on Washington, he has spoken everywhere against it, leave it to me we don't need a march leave it to me and yet Barney Frank was the co author of don't ask don't tell, it's interesting, I've said this to a lot of the press and they won't print it, they say oh well Barney Frank supported the bill but they don't say that he was the co author of this bill. It would be as if Jessee Jackson coauthored a bill, if Jessee was elected, that it's ok to be in the military as long as you paint your face white, and African Americans would be up in arms, and yet Barney Frank co authored a bill that says gays and lesbians have to paint their face straight and that's called a compromise on civil rights so if you look at the government, the federal government, why should we have to compromise on civil rights no one else does. So Barney Frank whos WAY outspoken about this march thing saying leave it to me we have to send a clear message that we are not going to compromise.
I think, I'm not an assimiliationsist, (patronizing) You know what an assimiliations is?
I am not an assimiliationist, I don't believe the democratic party right or wrong no and matter what. I really admire Bill Bradley coming out saying we should be attached to the 1964 civil rights act. I know that Barney once again said, no we shouldn't and what we need is more visibility.
And so I think we are at a turning point in history. Two things are happening simultaneously, one is that for the first time the gay and lesbian community.
For the very first time we know that we are 6-7% of the vote
94% of the people who were balloted for who sent in the ballots for what they want to see on stage 94% vote.
We are the second largest group of minority voters and I believe that we will be the swing vote in the next election and I believe we have a tremendous change to influence the presidency and the congress and to finally show up in Washington for the first time, because '93 was after an election and in '87 they weren't listening to us and we can show up for the first time and say we don't care how many dinners you come to we don't care how you pat us on the head and tell us how wonderful we are, we want our civil rights and I would rather be respected than liked and I think that this community has gotten to a point where it is so grateful or members of the community certainly some organizations for the privileges bestowed upon them by some politicians that for the fact that we are recognized that we've forgotten that our visibility has just made us an industry the fact is that we are a civil rights movement without one federal civil right and so we've got to go back to Washington and it's far more important far more important April 30, 2000 is far more important than if Robin Tyler is going to be the Executive producer of this march, it is. This movement isn't one person, it's not Elizabeth Birch or Kerry Lobel or it's not one person or one organization 86% of the people that responded to 3 different polls want to go to Washington, so I really hoping that the press is able take it off of me and that I'm leaving and take it off the board and stop viciously attacking or trying to make it more than it is and just concentrate on the fact that we don't have one federal civil right and the other thing that I think is really important is this is a really changing time, computers and the internet and what's happening is I believe one of our most important times in history, it is as important the invention of the automobile or the printing machine nothing will ever be the same because of the internet nothing will be the same because of the web and so I believe even organizing won't be the same frankly I think this will be the last march that we do on Washington because I think we be so well organized and be able to organize over the net and the web and so forth and so on that I think that marching will become obsolete.
What the web has done is bring democracy to our movement. Because everybody who claims they represent grassroots all of a sudden people from every community rural community so forth and so on people are able to represent themselves and so I think this will be the last march of it's type and it will certainly be the most influential because we have the most influence now if we don't miss this point in history.
KAREN:
HOW DO YOU FEEL
ROBIN:
I'll tell you how I feel, there is a saying in the 12 step program that
says, god grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the
courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.
The board is going on with this march, I am not, I accept it, I'm not angry,
I'm not upset I really hope that this community supports the march the
movement it's a time in history, how I personally feel, to tell you the
truth, I feel great, I'm exhausted from working on it for 2 years, I'm
exhausted from the struggle of getting it going and having to go through all
the fighting and the in fighting and the movement infighting over it so I'm
really happy Dianne and I are going to leaving tomorrow for Nepal on a tour
a woman's tour that we're taking over there to Nepal, India, and Thailand
and I can't wait to go and I really feel, I would say if I were upset but
the truth is that in a way I feel relieved the struggle to do it has been
taken out of my hands and I don't mean by the board, I mean by some other
source, some greater power. uh there is a reason for it and I accept it, I
don't struggle with it, you know Gandhi said something, the way to win is
not to fight. If I'm going to fight, let it be the system that's oppressing
us and certainly not each other, so I hope everyone watching this supports
the march on Washington, I certainly do, and I hope they go to Washington
because this is just a pivotal time in our history.
Karen Oakham gay tv news for gaywired news dot com