By Sr. Correspondent, Antoine Craigwell

(New York, NY) - When Maxim Thorne, in the opening of the acceptance speech on behalf of Julian Bond, said that on Tuesday, Oct 13 the legendary civil rights leader and leader of the NAACP had suffered a mild stroke while on his way to his teaching assignment at the University of Virginia, an audible gasp rippled through the 200 guests gathered for the In The Life Media (ITLM) Season Premier Gala annual fund raiser at the Rubin Gallery on Oct 15.


 

 
Emmy Award-winning Actress Patricia Clarkson receives the "Producing Change Award" presented by filmmaker Ira Sachs. Photo by Ocean Morisset

 

Along with being a fund raising opportunity, the ITLM gala was also an occasion to honor two people considered champions and advocates of equality for and of LGBT issues, Bond, who was presented with the 2009 Pioneer Award and Emmy Award-winning actress Patricia Clarkson, who received the 2009 Producing Change Award. Added to the awards and fund raising, it was an occasion, to showcase the accomplishments of the public access television program in the previous season and year, and to highlight one of the main issues in its new season appearing in the October episode - a focus on the homelessness of many of the city's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth.

According to an In The Life staffer, it was surprising in these lean times that the contributions that evening exceeded expectations by bringing in more than the $100,000 goal that had been set. In other words, the staffer said, the gala was a resounding success, the funds, which would be used to get the message out by telling the true story of the lives of many people.

 
Maxim Thorne, senior vice-president of development and communication of the NAACP accepting In The Life Media's 2009 Pioneer Award on behalf of Julian Bond. Photo by Ocean Morisset
As senior vice president, and chief development and communications officer with the NAACP, Thorne extolled Bond when he said he could hardly overstate Bond's significance in today's America, and as the Pulitzer-winning author, Taylor Branch, suggested that Bond is one of the founders of our modern democracy.

"Tonight we honor Julian Bond for his commitment to equality - a firm commitment to full equality for all marginalized people, including: lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons, and recognize his leadership in championing why in this country's long journey to accomplishing civil rights for all, LGBT people too must have a seat close to the front. He has been an outspoken critic of bigotry in the church and opposes the view, shared by some, that comparisons between the African-American movement for civil rights and the movement for gay and lesbian rights diminishes the historic Black struggle in this country," said Thorne.

 
Scott Miller, director of Communications, In the Life Media speaks with guest in front of artwork at the Rubin Museum of Art. Photo by Ocean Morisset

Bond wanted Thorne, who was representing him, to say that Black people of all people should not oppose equality, and that is what gay marriage is about. People of good will should not oppose equality, "We have some real and serious problems in this country - same-sex marriage is not one of them," said Thorne, who then asked, "since when did we believe trust, loyalty and love are bad things? Why are some people tied into knots about some people tying the knot? Why are they so uncivil over something as civil as marriage?"

As the evening awards program progressed, ITLM Executive Director Michelle Kristel said that as the organization kicks off its 18th season, "You can count on In The Life to continue telling the stories you just won't see anywhere else," and as part of their new direction, ITLM is moving beyond television to produce issue-based content for distribution across the full spectrum of media outlets, including social networks, video sharing and blogs. As a media production company, ITLM is partnering with organizations such as Lambda Legal and Equality Federation to produce content to educate doctors and volunteers.

"Media content that leverages the important work of our movement, and content that not only educates, but motivates viewers to take action and get involved. The need for this kind of content is enormous and immediate," she said.

 
Actress Patricia Clarkson and Michelle Kristel, executive director, In the Life Media. Photo by Ocean Morisset

ITLM, Kristel said, is producing content with a real eye to how it could be used by other LGBT organizations as a catalyst and to spark some kind of activism.
"People need to realize we're at war here with people who want to keep us as second class citizens," Kristel said.

She added that even though the LGBT community has made progress since the events of the Stonewall Riots, members remain second-class citizens.

"Legally married, but single in the eyes of our government; allowed to serve our country so long as we don't tell our most essential truth, in some states, prohibited from adopting children, and in most, without protection from job and housing discrimination," said Kristel.

Warming to her theme of the influence of those opposed to LGBT issues, Kristel said that it is not surprising that members of the LGBT community are still fighting for their safety and dignity, especially when considering that opponents are using the media to spread fear and misinformation, and convincing the base that gay rights are special rights. Pointing to a well resourced media machine similar to the campaign using as an analogy Gathering Storm, the video which equates marriage equality with ominous weather, Kristel spoke about the National Organization for Marriage that spent $1.5 million on the campaign, which is what ITLM has as its annual operating budget.

 
Michelle Francis, gala co-chair, addresses the guests while fellow gala co-chair David Beitzel looks on. Photo by Ocean Morisset

"In 2008 Focus on the Family spent more than $28 million on broadcast and Internet programming, and in the most staggering example of how out-gunned we are, consider that last year, the combined revenues of the 54 LGBT organizations tracked by the Movement Advancement Project was $289 million, while one organization, the Christian Broadcasting Network had revenues of $682 million," she said.

Noted film director Ira Sachs, introduced Clarkson who said in her acceptance speech that too many people are settling, but that being denied the right to marry is painful.
"Hope is a call to action, not a substitute," she said.

Clarkson said she recently encountered a young man on the street with whom she spoke for a while and when he was about to walk away, she felt a strong maternal urge come over her to be protective of him, to fight to protect him. To the audience she called out, "Mr. President, we are waiting for you to join us In The Life."

Keeping to the message on the numbers of homeless LGBT youth in the city, Kristel said that as an aspect of the October's episode, examining the socio-economic margins of people living in shelters, she sent a copy of the video to Mayor Michael Bloomberg for him to see the plight of the city's citizens.


 

 
Cocktail hour at the In the life 2009 Season Premier Gala. Photo by Ocean Morisset