VALENTINE PANEL EXPLORES
GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF SEX
                RICHMOND, VA=96The Valentine Museum=92s =93=91Illegitimate=92 Un
ions,=94=
 at 6 p.m. on
Thursday, June 27, brings together national activist Urvashi Vaid, Virginia
ACLU executive director Kent Willis and John Howard of Emory University to
consider the little-known history of regulated sexuality, from interracial
marriage bans to custody rulings against lesbian mothers.
        =93Family values,=94 gay marriage, and the government=92s role in the li
ves=
 of
Americans are hot topics during this election year.  The history of these
topics in the South spans both legal and social aspects of relationships.
In this program, experts will provide an overview of current events in light
of Southern history and national civil rights issues.
        The sixth discussion in the Controversy/History series examining how
history illuminates contemporary issues, this forum is free and open to the
public.  On the fourth Thursday of each month, the museum=92s galleries=
 remain
open beyond the usual 5 p.m. closing time, so guests who attend these free
evening programs may also tour the museum before the forum begins.
Controversy/History will resume September 25, moving to fourth Wednesdays.
        Vaid, author of Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay & Lesbian
Liberation, is a graduate of Vassar College and Northeastern University
School of Law.  From 1986 to 1992 she served as public information director
and executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.  In 1994,
Time magazine named her as one of =93Fifty for the Future=94 in its list of
America=92s most promising leaders under forty.
        Hampton native Willis, a William and Mary graduate, directs the state=92
s
most frequent, aggressive and successful advocate of free expression.  The
ACLU has actively promoted the rights of prisoners, group homes for the
disabled, and most notably, has represented lesbian mother Sharon Bottoms in
her custody battle.  The Virginia chapter also brought to the Supreme Court
in 1967 the Loving case which eliminated legal barriers to interracial=
 marriage.
        Howard, who will complete his Ph.D. in American Studies at Emory next ye
ar,
is the editor of the forthcoming Carryin=92 On: An Anthology of Southern
Lesbian and Gay History.  He also holds masters degrees in American Studies
and Management from the University of Alabama and the University of
Mississippi, respectively, and graduated from the University of Virginia.
He is director of faculty recruitment and development for The National
Faculty in Atlanta.
=96more=96

        The Controversy/History series is supported by a grant from the National
Endowment for the Humanities, in conjunction with the exhibition Creating
History:  The Valentine Family and Museum. =20
        The Valentine, the Museum of the Life and History of Richmond, operates
from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and Sunday from noon until 5 p.m.
at 1015 E. Clay St. in Richmond=92s historic Court End neighborhood. =20
        For more information, call (804) 649-0711.
#  #  #

Farar Elliott
Director of Public Programs
Valentine Museum
1015 East Clay Street
Richmond, Virginia  23219
804/649-0711, extension 317
[log in to unmask]

[log in to unmask]