DON’T NEED A WEATHERMAN: “It takes a lot of moral courage to step into
the
chilly political climate out there, filled with… hate mongering,
finger
pointing (trying to feed the kids turns out to be the cause of all the
country’s problems!)… So cold in Washington, the cherry blossoms
refuse to
come out. Conditions perfect for the abuse of power.”
So writes attorney Maryann Overath from the threadbare trenches of
the
Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP). Since their last fundraiser
went
belly up, Project staff has been doing a good bit of soul searching –
questioning their own PR skills, yes, but also this: Is Austin in the
mid-1990s
still willing to pay the price for civil rights?
Unlike for-profit law firms, the TCRP works in areas where justice
and fat
commissions rarely coincide: free speech, employment discrimination,
police
misconduct, disability rights, voting rights, education law, and
constitutional
issues. In fact, the Project is the only outfit in Texas that regularly
provides free legal representation to civil rights plaintiffs. Most
lawyers
would turn them down cold: There’s no percentage in their day in court.
Many of the cases have a Can’t Happen Here flavor, like the story
of Osee
Hubbell, who came to the Project after she was assaulted in her own
front yard
by a small-town sheriff’s deputy. She was not under arrest at the time
of the
incident, nor was she being held for questioning. The 6′, 225 lb.,
officer
claimed he beat the 5′, 100 lb. Hubbell in the face “for his own
protection.”
When Hubbell reported the incident to the sheriff’s office, the sheriff
refused
to take action or even write down her complaint. With the Project’s
help,
Hubbell is now fighting to force her local government to listen to, and
protect, its own citizens.
Reverend Maurice Walk-er turned to the Project, frustrated
after a
10-year fight to change Del Valle’s school board elections (though
minorities
constituted over half the district’s population, the expense of running
in an
at-large system had effectively locked browns and blacks out of the
process).
With the help of the Project, Walker finally pushed single-member
districts
over the top last year. As a result, six minorities now sit on the Del
Valle
school board, including an Hispanic president, vice-president, and
secretary.
But enough with the cuddly case histories. The TCRP has slated
another
fundraiser for next week – which means we’ve got a second chance to
prove that
we, as a city, do give a rat’s behind about what’s fair and what’s
not.
So write it down: Thursday, May 4, 6-10:30pm at La Zona Rosa. Your
$10
donation gets you music by The Damnations plus a roast of
Project
director Jim Harrington, who’ll come under major firepower from
Jim
Hightower, Garry Mauro, Sissy Farenthold, and Glen Maxey,
among
others.
And if you start to waffle, remember this: These guys are pulling
some damn
cold duty for all of us. They don’t get rich, they don’t get famous;
they do it
because they still believe. The question is, do we?
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? Finally got around to renting
Sleepless in
Seattle, Nora Ephron’s hit romantic comedy of a few years back.
Granted,
it’s a fantasy, but one scene seemed particularly off: Meg Ryan sits on
a bench
overlooking the darkened Baltimore waterfront. It’s night and she’s
alone in a
deserted urban landscape (nuts enough in itself), but is she even
looking over
her shoulder like any real-life female with half her Spaghettios would
be? No,
she’s relaxed, beaming, taking in the stars as if she had every right
to… as
if she were safe or something.
Which puts us in mind of Take Back the Night, happening
Friday, April
28, 6-10pm, at Shipe Park, 45th & Avenue G. Look for songs,
speeches, and
safety in numbers as women stay out after dark to rally against sexual
assault
(lousy weather sends the whole thing to Hyde Park Methodist Church).
If you’ve forgotten what it’s like to sit unafraid under the night
sky, here’s
your chance. It’s not Sleepless, but it’s a start.
YOUR DONKEY ON ACID: Just a reminder that Eeyore’s Birthday
Party is on
for this Saturday (April 29, 11am-dusk, in Pease Park). The annual
debauch
still boasts a healthy dose of psychedelia and barely-there costumes,
but
you’ll find tamer stuff, too, such as a special Pooh Corner for kids,
open
11am-3pm. The party’s free; concession sales benefit a slew of local
nonprofits, including the University Y and others.
VELVEETA LAS VEGAS, JR.: Break out the Ritz crackers, Agnes. The
world’s
cheesiest benefit is back and it’s oranger than ever.
Now on round two,Viva Las Vegas!hits the
Austin Music Hall this Saturday (April 29, 8pm-2am, 208 Nueces). Think
tawdry
as an art form: blackjack, craps, roulette, wheel of fortune, plus live
music,
live and silent auctions, and a repeat performance by Elvis.
Back, too, is the Love Me Tender Wedding Chapel, where couples take
non-binding vows delivered by the King himself before filing for a
quickie
annulment next door. (In the market for something legal? Call first and
they’ll
have a real JP standing by.)
Tickets are $5 in advance or $7 at the door, with proceeds earmarked
for
AIDS Services of Austin and the Capital Area AIDS Legal
Project. Call 406-6114 for yours.
CHARMED: On a more civilized note, the Austin Lesbian/Gay Political
Caucus presents its annual “Rights of Spring” Garden Party &
Reception (Sunday, April 30, 5-10pm at the Hancock Recreation
Center, 811
E. 41st). Expect food, wine, music, and auctioneering, plus schmoozing
with
sympathetic politicos. The event’s a fundraiser for the Lesbian/Gay
Rights
Lobby of Texas, which’ll preview its new “Focus ’96” program at the
party.
For details, call 474-0750.
UNHAND THOSE TOMATOES, YOU FASCIST SWINE: The Political Asylum
Project of
Austin holds its annual plant sale this Saturday (April 29,
8am-5pm, at
3804 Avenue H). Stock up on herbs and greenery for your garden at
prices that
beat the local nursery’s with a rubber hose. Proceeds will help
P.A.P.A.
provide legal aid to political refugees who’ve faced a lot worse.
A NOVEL APPROACH TO FUNDRAISING: Amy’s Ice Cream and Mangia Pizza are
throwing
a party to celebrate the opening of their new joined-at-the-hip digs
(Sunday,
April 30, noon-4pm, at 3500 Guadalupe). There’ll be free ice cream and
pizza
for all, though it’s also billed as benefit for Christopher House.
Why
not drop by and see how they get your money?
SHUT IT DOWN: Finally, a group called the Mayday Memorial
Coalition invites you to join Workers Against Wage Slavery, a march
and
general strike scheduled for Monday, May 1. The march leaves at 1:30pm
from the
corner of Comal & Cesar Chavez, and ends at 3pm with festive
insurrection
at Republic Square (Fourth & Guadalupe).
This article appears in April 28 • 1995 and April 28 • 1995 (Cover).