Source: Daily Northwestern via UWire, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Gay Examiner
Evanston, Ill. -- "No dollars for hate!"
That's what protesters chanted as they marched up and down the street outside Century Theatres on Saturday night. Armed with pride flags, picket signs and banners, about 400 people came to protest a $9,999 donation that Cinemark CEO Alan Stock made to the Yes on 8 campaign, Daily Northwestern reports.
At one point, demonstrators chanted "The CEO must go" as they circled a sidewalk in front of the theater. [video clip at end of post]
"If you're going to target our community with hate, whether it's Prop. 8 or any other measure going forward, it's no longer going to be without consequences," said Andy Thayer, Weinberg, a Northwestern grad and the co-founder of Chicago's Gay Liberation Network. "We are going to hit you in the pocketbook just the way you hit us in terms of our rights."
The Gay Liberation Network began planning a response to Stock's donation on Nov. 15 during the Chicago rally against California's Proposition 8, a measure that banned same-sex marriage, the Daily Northwestern reports.
"This is a local protest that should keep the pot stirring until we have the next national day of protest," Thayer told Daily Northwestern.
Stock is a Texas resident and a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints.
Cinemark Theatres, an international corporation that includes Century Theatres and Cin�Arts, is the third-largest movie chain in the country. Managers of Evanston's theater said they could not comment on the protest, and calls to Cinemark corporate offices by Daily Northwestern were not returned.
The protest comes just as Milk lands in theaters. The film by Gus van Sant traces the life and death of California's first openly gay elected official (San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk) who was a leader of a successful 1978 campaign against an anti-gay initiative in California.
Focus Features, which is distributing Milk, intends to play the film in some Cinemark theaters, Los Angeles Times reports. But that has only encouraged online organizers to step up their efforts.
A website, called Anybody BUT Cinemark has been established to help movie-goers find theaters that aren't part of Cinemark's extensive network. A Facebook group set up to encourage a general boycott of Cinemark theaters has attracted about 2,200 members. Another group on Facebook, No Milk for Cinemark has attracted over 17,500 members who have pledged to watch the biography of Harvey Milk at a theater not owned by Cinemark.
Several volunteers at the Evanston protest made it a point to inform passersby about the exact amount Stock donated, according to Daily Northwestern.
"Instead of donating $10,000, he donated $9,999," Harold Washington College sophomore Eric McNally said, adding that he thought he knew the reason for donating that specific amount. "He did that so he'd be just shy of the line for the top [donors], so that way no one would find out about it, and no one would do what we're doing tonight."
Century Theatres notified Evanston police in advance of the protest, Evanston Police Chief Richard Eddington said.
"It's America; everybody can do this, so it's not a problem," Eddington said. "Other than making sure everybody can get by, it's not really a significant police issue."
So many people flooded the sidewalk that two groups formed at different ends of the street. Some protesters carried signs that said "Cost of Admission: Civil Rights" and "We Will Not Finance Our Own Oppression." Others blew whistles in between chants of "Hey, hey, ho, ho, the CEO has got to go" and "Gay, straight, black, white, marriage is a civil right", according to the Northwestern.
Bruce Cohen, one of the producers of Milk -- and a leader of the No on 8 campaign in Hollywood, suggests that everyone should proceed with caution, Los Angeles Times reports in a feature about several different suggested boycotts.
"You need to draw a very specific distinction between the cases where it's the actual owner of the company who put money into a cause. If it's an employee, it's a different discussion. That becomes a freedom of speech issue," he says. "People should personally always have the right to express their own opinions even if that means getting out their checkbook."
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Source: Hundreds protest theater CEO's support of Prop. 8 in Evanston | Daily Northwestern
Liberal Hollywood ponders next step in fight for same-sex marriage | Los Angeles Times
Protest Prop 8 Continues: Protest at Cinemark Theaters in Evanston today | Chicago Gay Examiner