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chapter six Getting Involved Gerardo and Orlando, both from Chicago, were involved in the creation of two small, distinct organizations: a volunteer-based organization of Latino gay men and an organization dedicated to providing HIV education and prevention services for Latino and black gay and bisexual men. Gerardo and Orlando are both in their forties; they worked in the same city with different groups of men. Although they took different paths, the circumstances that led them to the creation of those organizations are quite alike and remarkably similar to the ones that led me to the AIDS movement. In the late 1980s, when the AIDS epidemic and social movement were escalating, Gerardo was working in a social-services organization conducting programs related to substance abuse prevention. He was invited to attend a conference on Latino gay men in Chicago. There he found himself surrounded by Latinos, especially gay men, from major cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. He also saw many of his gay friends. Of this time, Gerardo says: All of us, who knew each other from different things, like the bars, were like “Oh my God, girl, how’you doing?” We were sitting outside and there were these guys from LA, from San Francisco, and two people from New York.They were talking about Chicago. When visitors asked about the Latino gay organizations in Chicago, Gerardo and his friends could name Latino organizations and groups, but no Latino and gay. “Actually, there isn’t a single one,” Gerardo would reply. The lack of Latino gay organizations bugged Gerardo for some time until he realized it represented an opportunity to form one. He knew a few other Latino gay men working in social services. They had attended the same conference. He himself had experience in nonprofit organizations and social services. He gathered his friends and launched the idea of the only organization for and by Latino gay men in the city: I kept thinking:“You know, I don’t know why there isn’t one.”“I know all these great gay Latino guys, we could put an organization together. It’s not that big of a deal. I worked in a not-for-profit, and I’m a director of programs. I know what it’s like. I know what it takes.” I started the organization along with three other friends of mine. We had brunch, and next thing we know, we were throwing out names and acronyms. Looking for a space to hold meetings, Gerardo and his friends approached what Gerardo calls a“white”gay organization, which agreed.They set up a series of forums for Latino gay men.They also developed bylaws and formed a board of directors.Within two years the group became well-known among gay communities in Chicago, in spite of the fact that it lacked external funding and a space of its own. In those two years, according to Gerardo, the group struggled to form its own identity and to remain independent. Some of the men who joined the organization were more interested in socializing and meeting potential boyfriends and sexual partners than in working on the social and political issues facing Latino gay men. In addition, established gay organizations wanted to co-opt the group: First we had the parasites, the guys that were like,“I want to get some Latinos.” Then, the white community, of course, was like,“Oh my God, a gay Latino group. We have to co-opt them right away.” I had a huge fight with men of all colors. We had bylaws and we had a mission statement. We had real board meetings and, of course, the guys are like [yawning], bored. But we needed that structure; because the thing that has made other groups fail was that they were too social. I really wanted it to be a safe space so that anyone who came would know this is legitimate, this is a real organization. I had gone to other groups like, Men of All Colors and those were really hunting grounds, especially for white men who were looking for men of color. And still the overall leadership was white men. The organization has remained independent, albeit with limited funding. In fact, it only obtained nonprofit status a few years ago. The organization has also maintained some distance from AIDS. Gerardo and other leaders have purposely rejected the temptation to get funding from AIDS sources, such as local and federal governments and...

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