Open Letter to GAPA membership about Badlands

As many of you may know, the Board of GAPA at our last meeting voted in favor of supporting the Castro For All's boycott of Badlands. Our decision was not done lightly and came after considered debate. Of the nine voting members of the Board, all were present for this vote. Six voted for supporting Castro for All and two voted against and one abstained. We realize that this decision has been controversial and would like to inform you, the members of GAPA, why we felt GAPA's Board should take a stand on this issue.

A report issued by San Francisco's Human Rights Commission on April 26, 2005 served as the primary motivating factor for our decision. The report, which can be viewed at http://www.andcastroforall.org/files/HRC_Badlands_Findings.pdf, found that Mr. Les Natali owner of Badlands:

1. Identified African-Americans to his employees as "non-Badlands customers;"
2. Discriminated against African-American customers and job applicants in violation of San Francisco Police Code Article 33; and
3. Discriminated against African American customers when they were required to provide multiple forms of identification, discouraged from entering, and denied entry for carrying bags, and removed from the bar on false charges of violating bar policy in violation of San Francisco Police Code Article 33.

We believe the Commission provided a professional, balanced and conscientious effort to carry out its official duty to investigate and mediate the allegations against Badlands. As discussed in the report, the Commission provided Mr. Natali three months to enter into mediation with And Castro for All, an opportunity which he did not take. Additionally, where allegations could not be corroborated or supporting evidence was insufficient, the Commission did not substantiate every claim against Mr. Natali and Badlands.

While many of our friends, members and supporters may never have personally suffered racial discrimination at Badlands, we were presented with these official findings and a call to action. We in the gay Asian-American community are sadly all too familiar with the burden of discriminatory practices such as these. After all, it was efforts to end such discriminatory practices as the three card ID policies against Asian patrons of gay bars in San Francisco that provided the momentum for the eventual founding of GAPA. Mindful of our history and in solidarity with those who experienced discrimination at Badlands, we as a Board felt compelled to lend our support to the cause of racial justice for all.

We realize that Gapa members represent many viewpoints both in support and against the Badlands boycott. While the Gapa board chose to support the boycott and educate our members about it, the final decision to support the boycott rests with the individual members. We encourage you to contact us if you feel strongly about our decision. We will always strive to maintain GAPA's proud tradition of a democratic process of addressing social, political and cultural issues facing our community.
Last update 06/24/2005
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