/UCWE/ - In a blow to supporters of free speech everywhere, Provincetown community radio station WOMR (www.womr.org) has removed the Magic Morningstar Presents program from its roster. The decision was made without any input from either the community or the show's host, lesbian feminist activist Marj Conn.

Conn, who has a Ph.D. from Columbia University, is a long-time resident of Provincetown and an award-winning playwright and actor. She says she was notified of the decision by the station's Executive Director Bob Seay, one of the few paid employees, who told her the Programming Committee made the decision to remove her from her Thursday morning slot. "I was given no advance warning about my show, or any opportunity to protest," Conn says.

Her prime-time Thursday morning slot was given instead to a man who was one of the Programming Committee members who voted her out; he is also a member of the Board. Her replacement is considerably younger than the 64-year old veteran feminist as well.

Conn was presented with the "gift" of her removal on Christmas/Hanukah, just as she and her C.A.P.E. (www.connartists.org) theatre company partner, musician John Buckingham, were preparing to leave for their annual stay in New York City, where Conn has performed her work at the prestigious LaMama, ETC and other venues.

A founder of the Provincetown Fringe Festival (ptownfringe.org) who also brings her work to audiences around the country, Conn has a long history of activism dating back to her work for civil rights in 1960. As a professor at Marymount Manhattan College, she was teaching classes in feminism in the 1970's when she was removed from her position due to her politics. Conn and her supporters believe that politics is behind WOMR's move as well.

The author of Lost Lesbian Lives, a collection of three of her plays including "The Honeymoon Years of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok," Conn is a veteran community activist who supports a broad spectrum of progressive issues which she aired on her program. She focused on both local and national issues: a vegetarian, she has been active in greyhound rescue and brought the issue of banning dog racing to her program; a woman of size, she has hosted shows on size diversity empowerment numerous times. These are just two examples of her programming commitment to the causes she supports.

Magic Morningstar Presents, which aired online as well as locally, was in fact one of the few havens left for communities that have little access to mainstream media. Conn was never afraid to put her beliefs on display, like the monologue from the turkey's point of view she aired on a Thanksgiving Day show to the consternation of some listeners and the delight of others. Magic Morningstar Presents was an eclectic and informative mix of politics, art and popular culture, and earned a loyal and devoted following, both locally and online.

Conn's supporters are rallying to have the show reinstated. Letters of protest and support may be emailed.