M E D I A   R E L E A S E


For Immediate Release

January 24, 2002

GAY ORGANIZATIONS, MERCHANTS, ELECTED OFFICIALS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ANNOUNCE ANTI-HATE INITIATIVE IN WAKE OF HARLEM SHOOTING

New York - In the wake of the apparent bias-motivated January 11 shooting of a gay man in Harlem, several gay and AIDS organizations, area merchants, community organizations and elected officials today announced plans for an ongoing public service campaign to address hate-motivated violence in the Harlem area.

"Harlem has always been a diverse community with an important and vibrant lesbian and gay population," said Bill Peters, executive director of Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD), a service organization, which moved its offices to Harlem from the West Village last year. "We are keenly aware that most of this community not only accepts, but revels in our diversity and the lesbian and gay legacy that has been an important part of it," concluded Peters.

"We have a history of community organizing and raising visibility around issues of violence at the grassroots level across the city that we've developed over the last 22 years that I think will be highly effective when implemented in this broader-based way," said Richard Haymes, executive director of the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (AVP). "We've organized in Harlem over the past few years in response to other anti-gay incidents, and we are excited about pooling our resources and energy in a proactive way with so many others invested in the safety of this community to help prevent anti-gay attacks from happening," said Haymes.

Organizers described the campaign as a long-term, coordinated public service initiative to raise the visibility of bias-related violence. Participants in the initiative include: service providers, local merchants, elected officials, as well as community and neighborhood groups. It is anticipated that the initiative will be multi-faceted and include public service announcements, which will be posted in offices and community centers in the Harlem area, as well as ongoing programming in and around the community.

Organizers were keenly aware that assistance from community leaders and the city will be critical to the success of the campaign. "We can start the ball rolling on this," said Peters. "But for this initiative to have the level of impact we need to affect real change, we need not only the city and state's blessing, but their resources as well."