Creating Change conference
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Circle Cinema presents The
Walker >>
Diversity Book Club >>
Transitions: Tom Lantos >>
Hedwig and the Angry Inch >>
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In this OkEq eNews
Thanks to TRO for Underwriting Creating Change
Conference
Through the generosity of the Tulsa Reaches Out Project, four OkEq staff and board members
attended the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's National Conference on
LGBT
Equality: Creating Change in Detroit, February 5-10. Many thanks to TRO and the Tulsa Community Foundation for the generous gift that made this
possible.
Board Member Kris Wilmes Honored with Diversity Award
Oklahomans
for Equality is proud to announce that OkEq's Second Vice-President Kristopher
Wilmes was just awarded U.S. Cellular's national award for Inclusion
Council Leader of the Year. Kris is a wonderful example to our
community to be so visibly out in his personal and professional life.
OkEq Weekend Workday
Saturday, February 23, 10am-2pm, Equality Center
Grab your toolbelt and head over to the Equality Center! We're working our way down the
punchlist and could use all hands on deck. If you haven't been a part of the renovations, now's a great time to join the crew and become one of
hundreds of people who have made the home of Oklahomans for Equality a reality.
Study seeks status of lesbian, bisexual and transgender Tulsa
women
Tuesday, February 26, 5:30-6:30pm, Conference
Room
Dr. Lara Foley and students Emily Maach and Melody Charles of the University of Tulsa Sociology
Department are conducting focus groups with a variety of groups of women in Tulsa. This "Status of Women in Tulsa" project is an effort to assess the
needs of women in our city. The research will be presented to the Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women this spring, as the end goal is to help
improve Tulsa's various communities and institutions to serve women better. Please join this important study to represent and improve the status of
women in our community.
OkEq Anniversary Weekend
February 15-19, Equality Center
Celebrating the first anniversary of the opening of the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center with a
flurry of events that are sure to make you wild! For the full slate of events including GayBingo and Wild Hearts Ball, visit our website.
"The Argument for Sexual Freedom: Rejecting Privacy And
Equality"
Thursday, February 14, 5pm, TU Collins Hall, Heritage Room
The TU Political Science Department welcomes Sonu Bedi, Assistant Professor, Dartmouth College Department of Government.
Dr. Bedi previously delivered this lecture at the Sager Symposium: the Norming and Transforming of Queer Activism. He explains:
In conceptualizing the argument for sexual freedom, activists and scholars
invariably invoke the language of rights--usually the
right to privacy or the right to equality. I argue that this is not the best way to secure such freedom. The conventional language of "rights"
proves
problematic jeopardizing the very values it seeks to realize. Instead, we should simply constrain the reasons or rationales on which the state can
act
and repudiate "morals legislation." Doing so renders rights obsolete.
Dr. Bedi holds an A.B. from Brown, a J.D. from Harvard, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale.
Circle
Cinema presents The Walker
Opens Friday, February 15, Circle Cinema, 12 S. Louis Ave
A contemporary mystery set in Washington, D.C., The Walker centers around Carter Page (Woody Harrelson), a well-heeled and popular socialite
who serves as
confidant, companion, and card partner to some of the capitol's leading ladies. For more information on the film, download the flier.
Diversity Book Club: Identical
Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited
Thursday, February 14, 6:30pm, Nancy & Joe McDonald Rainbow Library
Calling All Book Lovers! February's book is Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited by Elyse Schein and Paula
Bernstein. For
complete information on the reading schedule, visit our website.
"Exploring Balance": a Yoga Workshop by Stephen Saunders Saturday, February 23, 3-5:30pm
Stephen Saunders leads the first-ever yoga workshop at the Equality Center, focusing on reducing
tension, anxiety and stress, and replacing them with
positive feelings of ease and grace.
This workshop is open to individuals with all levels of experience. Registration is $40, deadline is Monday, February 18. For more
information or to register, download
the
flier.
Also check out our beginner's yoga class below!
"Heroes and the Boogie Man: Celebrating Life Beyond Sexual Abuse"
Friday, April 18, University of Phoenix Tulsa Campus, 10810 East 45th
Street
Heroes and the Boogie Man, is a powerful workshop designed and facilitated by Carlos Michael
with one intended purpose--to demonstrate that it is possible to celebrate life beyond sexual abuse. For information on fees and enrollment, download the flier.
Passed: Congressman Tom Lantos
From the National Center for Transgender
Equality:
Washington, DC -- Today NCTE mourns the passing of Congressman Tom
Lantos (D-CA). On March 1, 2000, Rep. Lantos introduced a resolution,
"expressing the concern of Congress regarding human rights violations
against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and trangendered [sic]
individuals around the world." This resolution is thought to be the
first explicitly pro-transgender action ever proposed in the U.S.
Congress.
The resolution he introduced would have condemned, "all violations of
internationally recognized human rights norms based on the real or
perceived sexual orientation or gender identity of an individual."
The only survivor of the Nazi Holocaust ever elected to the U.S.
Congress, Rep. Lantos was a strong supporter of human rights for all
people. He was a co-sponsor in 2007 of both the federal hate crimes
bill that passed the House of Representatives and of the unified and
inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 2015) that was
eventually abandoned this fall.
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of this brave leader.
| At the Equality Center: Weekly
Activities |
HOPE HIV Testing
Monday - Thursday: 6-8pm, Saturday: 4-7pm, Health Testing Center
Free, anonymous HIV testing with results in 20 minutes for MSM (men who have sex with men) and high-risk individuals. Also available by
appointment by emailing AmeriCorps member Blakely Adams.
L Word Tuesdays
Tuesdays, 7pm, Sue Welch Hall
Excited about the new season of The L Word? So are we! Join us each Tuesday for the latest episode.
Gender
Outreach
Wednesdays, 7:30pm, Conference
Room
A support and social group for transgender
individuals.
Center Cinema:
Hedwig and the Angry
Inch
Fridays, 7pm, Sue
Welch Hall
This week's film is Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Center Cinema takes place each Friday at 7pm and is free and open to the public. For a
complete listing of films, visit our website.
Tulsa Unity
String Orchestra Rehearsal
Thursdays, 6pm, Wellness Center
The Tulsa Unity String Orchestra, an all-volunteer ensemble, practices in the wellness center and performs at OkEq and area events.
For more information contact conductor Adrian Rogers at
(918) 813-2470.
Faith in
Crisis
Second and fourth Saturdays, 3-4:30pm, Conference Room
A support group for those experiencing religious/spiritual crises related to sexual orientation and identity, Faith in Crisis provides a safe,
confidential environment for sharing questions and concerns, supporting others, learning from others' experiences, and collaboratively exploring
religious/spiritual crises and ways to manage, cope, grow and heal from such experiences. For more information on the group and its facilitators, visit our website.
Game Night @ the Center
Saturdays, 6:30pm, Sue Welch Hall
New game each week. No need to RSVP, just drop in!
Beginner's Yoga
Mondays, 6pm, Wellness Center
Center Yourself with OkEq's beginner's yoga class, instructed by certified yoga teacher Janet Parachin. Cost is $10 per session or $50 for
six sessions, paid in advance. Students are advised to please bring a yoga mat.
Tulsa Pride 2008 Planning
Mondays, 7pm, Event Center
The Pride Committee meets each week to plan what promises to be the best Tulsa Pride event in history. We need your voice and energy on the
Pride Committee! To volunteer your time, join us at our weekly planning meetings or email pride@okeq.org. For more, visit the official
Pride 2008 website.
Inside Out ACA
Mondays, 7pm
The Inside Out group of ACA, Adult Children of Alcoholics, is a twelve-step, twelve tradition program of men and women who grew up in
alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional homes.
| At the Equality Center: Ongoing
Programs and
Resources |
Equality Center Gallery: Oils and
fine drawings by Jessica Newman
February's exhibit spotlights young artist Jessica Newman, whose work is themed around the human body and uses pencil, watercolors, oil paints, and
charcoal.
Nancy & Joe McDonald Rainbow Library
Our lending library has thousands of LGBT-related books in dozens of genres, including fiction and
non-fiction, as well as many free magazines like
the Advocate, Gay Parents and the Ozark Star.
Logo Network
We feature the Logo Network, the first and only 24-hour LGBT television channel, on the big screen in Sue Welch Hall. For programming information,
visit the LOGO website.
David Bohnett
CyberCenter
Nine high-speed-internet-connected computers and a network printer available to the public. The Equality Center also provides free wireless
internet!
Relay Videophone for the
Deaf
The Equality Center is fortunate to feature a broadband video relay service for the deaf in the David Bohnett CyberCenter. Ours is the only
publicly-accessible videophone available after 5pm in the city of Tulsa. For more information on the phone, visit our website.
Volunteer for OkEq!
Oklahomans for Equality is always looking for smart, dedicated, energetic volunteers to
help run
the Equality Center, facilitate programs, and assist and support other OkEq operations. If you have a special skill or would like to donate some time
to OkEq, check out our website.
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