By Melissa J. Brachfeld

Sentinel Staff Writer

GreenBeLT Pride, an organization for gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender citizens in the area, hosted its first membership meeting last Sunday afternoon.

Frank DeBernardo, a spokesman for the group and one of its founders, said the organization is almost a year old and is gaining support.

"GreenBeLT Pride began last May when I organized a meeting of GBLT folks in Greenbelt to plan a social event for June, [which is] Gay Pride month," he said. "The turnout was strong for both the organizational meeting and the social event. Since that time, we have had a number of social events, and have been attracting more and more interest with each event."

The agenda for the first meeting included the discussion of bylaws, a report on future projects and events and socializing. The group also elected their first board, which now consists of eight members.

DeBernardo said in addition to business and socialization, Patrick Wojahn, a board member of Equality Maryland, was the group's featured speaker. He noted that Wojahn was also part of the historic Maryland lawsuit granting marriage rights to same-sex couples and that the decision is currently under appeal.

DeBernardo said it is important to have an organization such as GreenBeLT Pride because it helps to dispel stereotypes about people who lead a non-traditional lifestyle.

"It is very important to have a group like this for a number of reasons: to help GBLT folks living in this area to learn about who the other gblt folks in the area are," he said. "One thing that distinguishes sexual minorities from other minorities is invisibility. There is no physical characteristic that distinguishes someone as a GBLT person, so it is difficult to recognize one another.

"Besides providing social opportunities with one another, it is important to have a group like this to help the heterosexual population learn more about who gblt people are and what issues they face. It is also important for GBLT people to band together so that they can help each other to work against subtle or overt prejudice. People need to organize if they want their human and civil rights protected."

Prince George's County has an active GBLT population, DeBernardo said, but that sometimes these individuals are not noticed or acknowledged.

"Prince George's County is not any more or any less friendly to GBLT people than anywhere else in the D.C. area," he said. "Lots of communities have GBLT populations that are emerging: Hyattsville, Mt. Rainier, Laurel, College Park and, of course, Greenbelt. I think that in the suburbs gay culture, people and ideas often do not get noticed because the emphasis is often on traditional families.

"So, GBLT people tend to fade into the background of people's consciousnesses. A group like GreenBeLT Pride will help to make the lives of gblt people more visible, and I think that visibility and dialogue will help to build tolerance and acceptance in many of the good-hearted people who live in Prince George's County."

Claire Williams, one of those elected to the new board, said she was pleased with the turnout of 25 people and that she felt the meeting went well. She said there will be a board meeting at the end of the month to sort out bylaws and other official business. The next general meeting will be held in mid-April.

Photo by Marketa Ebert