Trio Honored for AIDS Work

Chill winds blowing across the courtyard of the Museum of Contemporary Art didn’t deter some 400 people from celebrating the 11th anniversary of National Gay Rights Advocates Saturday night.

They shivered underneath heat lamps as writer Susan Sontag, manager/producer Barry Krost and Ohio Gov. Richard Celeste were honored for their contributions to gay rights and awareness about AIDS.

All three honorees expressed gratitude for their recognition but pointed out that the struggle isn’t over, the battle hasn’t yet been won. “We are fighting a disease that is eating at the very heart and soul of this nation,” said Krost, who received the humanitarian award. “With NGRA we can and we will win.”

Lifetime Achievement

Celeste received the lifetime achievement award for his many contributions to gay rights, among them support of the AIDS Omnibus bill, which will provide $5 million for AIDS education and social services in Ohio, appointment of an openly gay man as Ohio State Health Consultant for AIDS, and signing of a 1983 executive order that made Ohio the first state to make discrimination based on sexual orientation illegal.

Celeste was unable to attended the party, but sent a video in his place, in which he stated: “Together we can all see that discrimination is removed from our midst.”

Fighting discrimination against gays and lesbians is the focus of NGRA, a nonprofit public interest law firm specializing in precedent-setting cases. Among the group’s programs are its anti-violence litigation project, AIDS civil rights cases and education programs.

Attorney Benjamin Schatz, director of NGRA’s AIDS Civil Rights Project, for example, is involved in several cases having to do with health insurance discrimination and discrimination based on positive HIV tests.

While he’s optimistic about setting precedents, Schatz acknowledged that for AIDS patients, fighting the good fight isn’t always easy.

‘Fighting for Their Lives’

“I think that litigation is difficult enough for anybody,” he said, “but especially for people with AIDS. It continues to be something very few people want to face. And understandably--they’re fighting for their lives. . . . It’s easy to focus on the lawyers doing the cases, but the people with AIDS and who have tested HIV positive--they’re the real heroes.”

There were heroes of various kinds at this benefit, people who have contributed in different ways to the cause of gay rights. Among the guests were NGRA’s executive director Jean O’Leary; Midge Costanza, NGRA board member and former special assistant to President Jimmy Carter (she also served as emcee); Dr. Mervyn Silverman, president and national spokesman for AmFAR (American Federation for AIDS Research); NGRA co-founder and event chairman Richard Rouilard; along with celebs Linda Gray, Donna Mills, JoBeth Williams, Jackie Collins, Andrea Marcovicci, Bruce Vilanch, Motown’s Suzanne de Passe and Elizabeth Montgomery. Guests mingled in MOCA’s courtyard, dining on roast beef sandwiches and tacos and listening to performance artist Tim Miller, who opened the program. Later the celebration continued with dancing and viewing of the museum’s Man Ray exhibition.

They cheered the honorees: Sontag, a lifetime achievement award winner who was lauded for her most recent book, “AIDS and Its Metaphors,” spoke of the gay community’s extraordinary strength and solidarity. Krost held his face in his hand while Foxworth and Montgomery (also his clients) praised him for his work with various AIDS organizations and gay rights causes.