Give thanks. Give Back.
Join us for our Annual Thanksgiving Party!
Saturday November 20 - 6pm to 10pm; Dinner served at 7pm
@ Anthony Lee’s Residence, Queens
There’s no doubt that this year has had its fair share of hurdles. But in the spirit of Thanksgiving, GAPIMNY wants to celebrate and be thankful for the great community of friends that we have today, with our annual Thanksgiving Party! Come celebrate the season with delicious home cooked meal by our perennial chef extraordinaire, Aaron Yap, good company, and entertaining activities. Doors open at 6pm and dinner will be served at 7pm.
This year in light of the recent string of publicity surrounding gay teen suicide, we’re asking that you consider rounding up your $15 cover to $20, so that we can pool our resources together for a gift to the Trevor Project, a suicide hotline for gay teens nationwide.
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What happened?
Starting in 2009, the weekly Friday night gay party, Rock It (originally at Amalia, now at Quo), has become notorious for turning away gay Asian and Pacific Islander (API) men. From our request of stories since August 2010, GAPIMNY has collected numerous, detailed stories that demonstrate a pattern of racial discrimination at Rock It. Although these instances were sporadic, they occurred often enough to raise many people’s attention and elicit strong reactions especially since there were clear cases of unequal treatment i.e. white patrons (same sized groups, arrival time, and dress) entering the club when gay API men were denied.
These experiences speak to greater social issues: assumptions that APIs don’t count or are dispensable; APIs don’t fight back; APIs don’t have or spend enough; APIs are undesirable/unattractive; gay APIs travel in groups and don’t socialize with others. This list goes on.
We also know that these incidents are neither new nor isolated to our community. For years, community activists in NYC have fought discrimination against all gay men of color, transgender individuals and women at popular gay bars/clubs.
We must build on this legacy and ensure that any discrimination based on race, gender and gender expression is stopped.
GAPIMNY mobilizes:
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Protect yourself when you go to a bar or club in NYC. Know that the community and the law are on your side. There are federal, state, and municipal civil rights laws prohibiting racially discriminatory behavior at these venues. And there’s a deep history of community and legal action against bars and clubs that discriminate based on race. Below are useful tips if you experience racial discrimination by bar or club staff.
1. Assert yourself. (Call out racist behavior and don’t be afraid to threaten legal action)
2. Take photos and videos. This is legally permissible.
3. If possible, request to speak with management and file a complaint.
4. Gather names of perpetrators (bartenders, bouncers, dancers, DJs, etc.).
5. Gather witnesses, esp. strangers (names, numbers, e-mail addresses).
6. If a non-API or non-person of color is allowed entry when you are denied, get his/her info and story (to demonstrate unequal treatment).
7. Record the location, date, and time of the incident.
8. Notify GAPIMNY (www.tinyurl.com/racismgayclubreport).
9. If you have an account with Yelp or another review site, we encourage you to write a review of your experience.
Our letter to FornabaioVoss:
Dear Tony Fornabaio and Brandon Voss:
Over the past year, the Gay Asian Pacific Islander Men of New York (GAPIMNY) has documented several cases of discrimination against gay Asian and Pacific Islander men by your door staff at the Friday night party Rockit at Quo and at its previous location Amalia.
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