Gay and Lesbian Organization of the Witwatersrand (GLOW)

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Summary

The Gay and Lesbian Organization of the Witwatersrand (GLOW) was formed in 1988 by a group of black gay and lesbian activists. The person elected to chair the organization was Simon Tseko Nkoli, wh...

The Gay and Lesbian Organization of the Witwatersrand (GLOW) was formed in 1988 by a group of black gay and lesbian activists. The person elected to chair the organization was Simon Tseko Nkoli, who had already gained political prominence as an ANC Activist and Delmas treason trialist. At the time GLOW was the only South African gay and lesbian organization with a predominately black membership. GLOW gained public attention by ensuring a gay and lesbian presence in the 1989 wave of political activism and demonstrations campaigning for democracy and the unbanning of the liberation movements. As part of the democratic movement and under Nkoli's leadership, GLOW condemned the homophobic defense of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. In 1990 GLOW was involved in organizing South Africa's first Gay and Lesbian Pride March in Johannesburg. GLOW campaigned for gay and lesbian rights in the media, including television and print, and tried to stimulate debate. GLOW insisted that liberation from homophobia could not be separated from the broader struggle for liberation in South Africa. In 1989 GLOW became a member of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA). GLOW was involved in the creation of a number of organizations. In 1990, the Township AIDS Project was launched in Soweto, partly by GLOW members, in response to the mounting HIV/ AIDS problem. GLOW members were also involved in the formation of the Hope and Unity Metropolitan Community Church (HUMCC) in 1994, in response to the need for a church grouping where gay and lesbian Christians could make their voices heard and could oppose the notion that homosexuality was un-Christian or immoral. GLOW was also involved in the formation of the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality (NCGLE) and worked closely with that organization.

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