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Atlanta Police Chief Richard J. Pennington |
Here comes
the chief
On
Thursday, February 20, AEN will be honored to have as its speaker,
the chief of police for the City of Atlanta, Richard J. Pennington.
Chief
Pennington was appointed as Atlanta's 22nd chief of police by
Mayor Shirley Franklin and was confirmed by the Atlanta City Council
in July 2002.
Currently,
he is assessing the state of the department and is in the process
of meeting with employees, citizens, public and private entities,
and other stakeholders to develop a comprehensive plan for the
future of the Atlanta Police Department. Part of that effort has
included the appointment of Sgt. Connie Locke as the Atlanta Police
Department's liaison to the LGBT community. Sgt. Locke will introduce
Chief Pennington when he speaks to AEN on February 20.
Chief
Pennington served in the United States Air Force in Vietnam and
was honorably discharged to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. He
graduated with a bachelors degree in criminal justice from American
University and received a masters degree from the University of
the District of Columbia. He is also a graduate of the F.B.I.
National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, the George Washington
University Executive Development Program, the F.B.I. National
Executive Institute, and the Senior Executives Program at Harvard
University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Chief
Pennington has been in active law enforcement for more than thirty
years, starting his career with the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan
Police Department in 1968. After serving many years in various
capacities, including as the LGBT liaison for the Metro Police,
he became superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department.
While in New Orleans he focused on reducing crime and reforming
corruption in the police department.
The doors
open at the Sheraton Colony Square Hotel at 5:45 p.m. with the
program beginning at 6:45 p.m.
Web site:
http://www.atlantapd.org/
 Message
board
AEN is pleased
to launch our message board. The message board allows members
to share and distribute the resumes, post job openings, and read
AEN announcements. Go
to the message board »
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Howard
Dean addresses a standing-room only crowd at AEN's January
meeting.
Photo by Donna Shortridge.
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State of
the union
In a first for
AEN, a declared candidate of a major party for President of the
United States served as January's speaker.
After serving
six terms as Vermont's governor, Howard Dean last year became
the first candidate to enter the race for the 2004 Democratic
presidential nomination. He has been described as a "liberal
John McCain" and dreams of reaching the White House with
the same kind of determination that sent Jimmy Carter to the Oval
Office in 1976.
Well-known in
the LGBT community since 2000 for signing into law the first broad
legal recognition for gay couples in the country, former Gov.
Dean expounded on his backing of Vermont's civil unions bill and
his universal health care proposal during his speech to AEN. He
also aggressively criticized President Bush for comments he made
recently affirmative action.
Bush repeatedly
used the term "quotas" on January 15 to describe the
University of Michigan's admission policy. The university awards
extra points to black, hispanic and native American applicants
for undergraduate and law admissions. "The president has
done more damage to minority communities than any president has
done since before desegregation," Dean said.
Gov. Dean answered
many questions surrounding his candidacy, including questions
on hate crimes legislation and the Employment Non-Discrimination
Act. "Of course I'm going to support them," he said.
"After civil unions legislation those bills are a given."
He repeatedly said that his stance on civil unions had to do with
civil rights and equal protection under the law, scoffing at the
conservative notion of "special rights." "I think
it will take me very far in the gay and minority communities,"
Gov. Dean told AEN. "And it should take me far among all
Americans who believe in human rights. If they see that you'll
stand up for one group then they know you'll stand up for all
groups."
Web site:
http://www.deanforamerica.com
 A
matter of Pride
AEN is looking
for volunteers to act on our Pride Committee. Atlanta's Pride
Festival is June 27-29 this year and we're looking for creative
and energetic individuals to truly make AEN stand out from the
crowd. Contact Dana Owings-Brown at danaowings@aen.org
to participate.
Web site:
http://www.atlantapride.org/
Building
Bridges: A Change of Gender
By Shelley Emerson
The
November AEN Building Bridges session focused on Transgendered
people in our community. Many members of the Transgendered community
attended the meeting as well as AEN members. To begin the meeting,
the MSNBC News video documentary "A Change of Gender"
was presented. The documented the transition of a transsexual,
Heather, from being a male to being a female. The documentary
originally aired on MSNBC in 2000.
The
video showed the social, psychological and medical processes Heather
went through to achieve her goal. Interviews with her former wife,
her friends, her family and her co-workers revealed the reactions
of shock and disbelief evolving into acceptance and love over
time, not by all, but by many. Overwhelmed by the pressures she
felt during the sex change process, she dissolved her medical
practice in Pennsylvania and reopened it in Texas to get a fresh
start. Heather and her wife divorced when she made her decision
to have a sex change.
Heather
was under the care of a psychologist for several years who helped
her diagnose and confirm the validity of her Gender questioning
and recommended her to the medical physician for Sex Reassignment
Surgery (SRS). Her issues of fear, acceptance, loneliness, isolation,
surgery and financial security were explored with her psychologist.
Heather's
transsexual support group played a large role in helping her to
survive her ordeal. Heather was placed on a regimen of estrogen
hormones over a period of years to begin the process of changing
her physical body. She underwent innumerable painful electrolysis
sessions in order to rid herself of unwanted hair -- and especially
her beard. She was required to live full time as a woman for at
least a year.
Heather
underwent SRS under the care of one of the noted surgeons who
specialize in this procedure. He described, briefly, how the external
penile tissue would be transformed into an internal vagina during
the surgical procedure. The surgeon discussed his experience with
his transsexual patients and noted how much he respected each
person's courage to endure their chosen path.
After
the conclusion of the film, I discussed a few points in the film,
including the fact that the MSNBC narrator kept referring to Heather
as "he" throughout the film. To most transsexuals, this
would be very insulting. The point of the film was to show how
an individual was born in the wrong body and, therefore, always
considered herself a woman. Thus, the narrator should have referred
to the person as "she" throughout the video.
Heather
stated that she did not considered herself to be a courageous
person for what she had accomplished because "she did not
have any choice." I differed saying that to her "there
are always choices, including the one Heather did not speak of
- the alternative of suicide. This is something many transsexual
individuals have to deal with and should not be minimized - it
is courageous to chose to live and to meet the daunting challenges
presented by being transsexual."
The
audience was then split into four groups, comprised of AEN members
and a panel of transgendered individuals for each group. Each
panel member briefly described his or her background and experience
as a transgendered individual. AEN members then asked questions
about the transgender experience. Such questions as: When was
the first time you recall having questioned your gender? Most
panel members responded: "All my life." Did your sexual
preference change when you transitioned? There was some variation
in the panel member's response, but the majority said: "No
- Gender and Sex are completely different issues."
The
discussions broadened the horizons of those who attended. The
challenges faced by transgendered persons will be reflected in
the workplace and society. Part of the Building Bridges effort
at AEN is to break down barriers within the LGBT community so
that we may forward as a cohesive whole. Programs such as "A
Change of Gender" hopefully serve that goal.
Return to
sender
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an effort to reduce our impact on the environment, we're offering
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Upcoming
Speakers
 'The
Commercial Closet'
March 20
Michael
Wilke offers insight on gay marketing
Web site: 'The Commercial
Closet'
Announcements
|
>
In This Issue
•
Here comes the chief
• State of the union
• Building Bridges: A Change of Gender
>
Next Meeting
Thursday,
February 20
Richard Pennington
Atlanta Police Chief
Sheraton Colony Square
Doors open 5:45 p.m.
Program begins 6:45 p.m.
>
Luncheons
Reservations
»
>
Tuesday, Feb. 25
Allen Jones
Houlihan's
11:55 a.m.
>
Friday, Feb. 28
David Payne, Ronald Moore
Mi Spia
11:45 a.m.
>
Thursday, March 6
Jamie Ensley
Cowtippers
Noon
>
Weds., March 12
Allen Jones
Houlihan's
11:55 a.m.
>
Tuesday, March 25
Allen Jones
Houlihan's
11:55 a.m.
>
Thursday, March 27
Bonnie Barton
Violette's
11:45 a.m.
AEN's
mission is to:
•
Promote business contacts and friendships through networking;
•
Advocate equality for lesbians, gays, bi-sexuals, and transgenders;
•
Promote diversity in the business community;
•
Foster leadership in business, government and the arts.
Board
Members
David
Payne
President
Bonnie
Barton
Vice President
Jamie
Ensley
Treasurer
Ann McAllister
Secretary
Margie
Archer
Drew
Barton
Don George
Patrick
Greco
Joe Guthridge
Sandy Hoke
Steve Koval
Carl Lange
Dana Brown-Owings
Newsletter
Editor
Jason Cecil
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