Calendar 

• Every Wednesday 5PM Stonewall Youth Support Group
• Every Thursday M-Powerment Core Group Meeting 6PM-8PM
• August 6th: Rainbow Journal Olympia Contributors Coffee Clutch, 11:00 am – 12 Noon, Mud Bay Coffee House
• August 14th PFLAG Olympia will host their annual potluck picnic at Priest Point Park in Shelter #2 from 1-5 p.m.

Looking Back At Jim Crow Mississippi
By Alec Clayton

I was recently honored to be included on a panel discussion about the conviction of Edgar Ray Killen for the killing of three civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1964. On the panel with me ...more

The State Human Rights Commission
& the Mississippi Civil Rights Legacy
by Reiko Callner
Chair of the Washington Human Rights Commission
July 26, 2005

(Ms. Callner’s speech was part of a program entitled, “The Mississippi Civil Rights Legacy” held on July 26th, along with a presentation by Rita Bender, a veteran of the Civil Rights Movement and the widow of Michael Schwerner, one three civil rights workers murdered by the Klan.)

The Human Rights Commission was created by the State of Washington in 1949 to attempt to prevent and eliminate discrimination because, in the words of the statute:

“Discrimination threatens not only the rights and proper privileges of its inhabitants but menaces the institutions and foundation of a free democratic state.” ...more

  A View From       
The Past 

Homosexuals in the Bible, Part I
by Patrick M. Chapman, PhD

In the past few months we've examined the biblical passages most often used to condemn homosexuals. We've seen that only one of the passages (Romans 1:24-27) appears relevant to a discussion of general homosexuality because the others solely discuss specific behaviors, including gang rape, pederasty or temple prostitution. However, Romans 1 is based on assumptions that are incorrect ...more

Kids with Four Legs
by Anna Schlecht

For obvious reasons, the glbt community has fewer kids per capita than mainstream society. However, there is no corresponding lack of desire to be a parent. In a completely unscientific study of random glbt folks I happen to know, I’ve come to the following conclusions of the state of our families; they are quite furry. ...more

A few years ago, I had gone round after round with a friend, followed by a round of truths with my mother, and then an intense workout trying to forgo thinking about what we talked about. I slumped beside my dad’s sedan and slid to the ground and closed my eyes. My dog – who I hadn’t seen because she was off doing the doggy discovery trekking thing – silently padded over looked at me eye to eye and lay down in my lap. ...more

Cool Beans. The Starbucks Monologues.
By Daniel W. (Kana) Shephard

Did you know that “a laugh (ha, ha, ha) is the wisest, easiest answer to all that’s queer?” So, says Stubbs in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. I don’t know but “queer” and “dick” in the same context makes me take a second look.

Why Melville for this column? ...more

Read It. Write It Up. Book Critiques.
By Daniel W. (Kana) Shephard

Who inspires you to read? My father has been a pivotal part in growing my own literary sense. When I was an adolescent, he introduced me to Clive Cussler. A few years back he suggested I read a JD Robb book. At other times he would point to a book to emphasize a talking point. When we, as kids, didn’t know a word or its meaning, he’d tell us to go look it up and come back and talk to him about it; still as adults he tries that technique. We’d go off in a grumble but still end up looking it up in the dictionary and explode with wonder as to the varied meanings.

Going through and consolidating years of family history as we clean out garages and storage units, you get the opportunity to see what inspired him to read. ...more

Is the Potter a Prince or Simply a Man?
Book and Release Party Review by Daniel W. Kana Shephard

If you haven’t read the book, heard the hype, or know the tale, do not read further. Pique your interest? Then, read on. ...more

Identities Revealed: Head, Heart, Voice
by Daniel W. (Kana) Shephard

This monthly column will feature issue analysis from three perspectives: a review (the head), reflection (heart), and reaction (voice). This will not be a Disneyesque meandering towards an inevitable happy ending, but a way to illuminate issues of identity.

“Stop and Smell the Sweet Peas”

I like cologne; at times, though, I need something more than artificial flavors and pheromone-enhanced tools of the trade. ...more

Investment Tips; You Get What You Pay For”
By Anna Schlecht

As gay America takes a long sober look at all the Pride Day trinkets and rainbow souvenirs they carted home during the gay month of June, it’s a good time to ask, “how does our community spend its money?” According to several recent studies and articles, we don’t spend enough on glbt causes.

In a recent washingtonblade.com editorial titled, “Put up or Shut up ...more

Last Month's Issue of Rainbow Journal Olympia