On September 11, 1997, the San Antonio, Texas City Council eliminated city arts funding for the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Under pressure from Christian right-wing groups, the City Council reduced the allocations of other city-funded arts organizations by 15%, while Esperanza lost all of its scheduled city funding. This decision was made without any public discussion by the City Council, and despite the prior funding approval. The Center was targeted by religious right-wing organizations as a threat to "family values" because of its advocacy for "the gay and lesbian community," and specifically for producing San Antonio's annual gay and lesbian film festival.

Mayor Howard Peak claimed on behalf of other Council members that the funding was cut to increase spending on "basic services" such as street repairs, sidewalk construction and fire protection. He also reportedly admitted to the New York Times that the Esperanza Center was singled out because it "seem[s] to go way beyond what people want their money spent on."

The Esperanza Center combines cultural arts programming with social justice advocacy for racial and gender equality, peace in Central America and Mexico, lesbian and gay rights, labor, youth, immigrant and low-income communities. Esperanza has reportedly been under escalating religious right-wing anti-homosexual campaigns for the past four years, as well as racist and xenophobic attacks by conservative gay men. It is reported that since 1994, this group of gay men have consistently lobbied the city government to completely de-fund Esperanza for among other things, "using public money to promote multiculturalism."

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission is outraged by the politically motivated City Council vote to reverse the decision to fund Esperanza. This decision is contrary to a recent ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit which held that: "Even when the government is funding speech, it may not distinguish between basis of the speaker's viewpoint or otherwise aim at suppression of dangerous ideas.... Government funding of the arts... must be viewpoint neutral." The San Antonio City Council's de-funding of Esperanza in response to anti-homosexual right-wing pressure not only disregards this ruling, but clearly violates United States Constitutional protections which guarantee free speech and equal protection under the law.

San Antonio activists request that you send letters to the San Antonio City Council, asking them to restore Esperanza's funding, emphasizing that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered citizens from all ethnic backgrounds and of all national origins are also tax-payers and are fully entitled to public funds.

Please send copies of your letters to the San Antonio Express-News and Esperanza.

Mayor Howard D. Peak
City of San Antonio City Council

PO Box 839966
San Antonio, TX 78283-3966
fax: 210.207-4077
e-mail: hpeak@ci.sat.tx.us

San Antonio Department of Art & Cultural Affairs

222 East Houston, Suite 500
San Antonio, TX 78205
fax: 210-228-0263
e-mail: eduardod@ci.sat.tx.us

Managing Editor
San Antonio Express-News

PO Box 2171
San Antonio, TX 78297-2171
fax: 210.225.8351
e-mail: letters@express-news.net

Esperanza Center

922 San Pedro
San Antonio, TX 78212
tel: 210-228-0201
fax: 210-228-0000
e-mail: jensim@tddc.net