Where Have All the Homies
Gone?
Controversial "Homies" dolls are pulled
from Los Angeles area markets.
At the urging of Southern California law
enforcers, many Los Angeles area markets have now pulled a controversial
doll from their gumball vending machines.
The 1-3/4 inch dolls in question are called
"Homies," and come dressed in white T-shirts, bandannas,
knit caps, and baggy pants-a type of attire police say is popular
with many stereotypical gang members.
Created by 39-year-old Northern California
graphic artist David Gonzalez, the dolls have been around for
several years, but only recently became more visible when they
started appearing in gumball machines earlier this year.
Once Los Angeles Police Department officers
and prosecutors saw the figurines, they claimed that they were
clearly designed to be gang members, and that they glamorized
that violent culture. Because of this, they urged that the Homies
be removed from stores.
Gonzalez disagrees, telling a reporter,
"I keep my Homie characters violence-free and drug-free.
I don't push gangs."
Community reaction seems to be mixed with
some feeling that the dolls are nothing more than silly, harmless,
or nostalgic portrayals of characters that have existed for decades.
On the other hand, Helen Hernandez, president
and founder of the Imagen Foundation, which honors groups that
portray Latinos in a positive light in film, television and advertising,
said, "They are negative images. They perpetuate stereotypes."
What do you think? Are Homies perpetuating
a negative stereotype or are they simply a harmless form of art?
Email us your thoughts at qvworldwide@aol.com.
By the way, if you are interested in getting
a complete set of Homies (their names are Eight Ball, Droopy,
Smiley, Sapo, Mr. Raza, and Big Loco), we've found several available
on the internet through the E-bay trading site located at: www.ebay.com
 Latino Book
New anthology provides a fabulous showcase
for talented Latino writers.
Want to read some great new Latino
fiction? Well, try checking out a new book called "Bésame
Mucho" from Painted Leaf Press. This anthology of short
stories is an important book in that it is much needed by both
the QV and Latino communities as a way of showcasing our emerging
creativity.
Edited by Jaime Manrique with Jesse Dorris,
this book features short stories by writers such as Emanuel Xavier, Guillermo Reyes, Lawrence
La Fountain-Stokes, Rigoberto Gonzalez, Robert Vasquez-Pacheco,
Erasmo Guerra, Jaime Cortez, Al Lujan, and many more.
If you want to support our Latino community,
and at the same time, read a great book with some great writers,
then be sure to get "Besame Mucho" at your local bookstore
or order it online.
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March Into the New Millennium
Organizers
ready themselves for the Millennium March.
Latinos! Get ready to join a large
QV movement and be a part of history in the making! Leaders
of the QV, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) movement
are busy energizing, mobilizing, and organizing what may well
be the largest GLBT march on Washington in U.S. history.
|
The Millennium March on Washington (MMOW),
will be held on April 30, 2000, with the aim of promoting equal
rights for all QV, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals.
Organizers say the Millennium March is, "committed to building
the most diverse GLBT organization in the country in order to
design and implement our community's most inclusive national
march ever." Through an unwavering commitment to diversity
and inclusion, the Millennium March will both inspire and empower
all GLBT individuals to work together to prepare our movement
for the next millennium and challenge our entire nation to join
our campaign for equality." If you're interested in participating
in the Millennium March on Washington for Equality, or if you'd
like additional information about the march, please visit their
website at www.mmow.org
or call 202-296-9454.
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