Where is the right place to put your energies on behalf of the LGBT civil rights movement? The only right place is where you feel in your heart and mind affords the best use of your talents. The only wrong place is to do absolutely nothing and sit on the sidelines while history is being made by LGBT community. That indeed would be a tragedy for us and for you.
There are so many options an individual, straight or gay, can put their time and resources toward. Some might chose the political path, others the grassroots and others work within the legal system. They all are needed and appropriate places for one's time. However we choose to participate we should always have foremost in our minds - "Is this good for the community or am I doing this to please others?" or "How has this worked in the past and can I learn from history?" and finally, "Will the gift of my talent be used effectively and wisely?"
Please don't waste your time telling others what they have to do. If you disagree with their approach, move on and find the correct place for yourself. If you can't find anything that you believe is effective, then create and innovate something new. Don't wait for others to lead exactly as you want them to lead. Step to the front on your own and see how others respond. If they are attracted to your leadership then grow wisely and if they aren't, take another look at how you are proceeding. It is really that simple.
There are places where all of us are needed and if you are comfortable with them, join in and help make them successful. Let me share just a few and please feel free to add any other in the comments section at the end.
National Equality March: Native American tribes knew the importance of huge gatherings to create a sense of community and empowerment. Many of our LGBT young have never had such an opportunity to join with others in a powerful show of force to the nation. Our last really effective march was in 1993 and a young person who was 16 then would be 32 now. That means tens of thousands of our fellow LGBT citizens have never had that experience. In addition, our brothers and sisters from the hinterlands don't have the luxury of huge gay pride parades every year like those living in larger cities. I have to ask any person who was the 1993 march if they didn't leave that event more committed, determined and excited about seeking our freedom? It had a profound personal effect on me for years. In addition, it is time to ask our straight brothers and sisters to walk by our side as blacks and whites marched together in the 1963 March on Washington. Let this nation see this shining, powerful, determined civil rights movement that won't rest until we have full equality and freedom!
Legislation: At the national, state and local level there is crucial legislation that affects our path in either a positive or negative way. Sometimes it is to pass bills at the national level such as ENDA, the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the repeal of "DOMA". There are several national organizations that are working hard on these efforts. At all levels of government, we are continuing to battle the establishment of a system of Apartheid with new oppressive laws that separate us from the rest of America. These must be defeated. If you are organizing your Congressional district for the march then be sure to keep all the names and the organizations in place so you can put pressure on key elected officials who need enlightenment. Remember, this is not a huge task. It can't take more than ten minutes to compose an email and send it to all your elected officials. Take another ten minutes and do a mass email to your personal list asking them to join you in contacting their representatives. The radical right is so good at this process and it is time for us to be even better than them.
The Courts: There is no question that major advancements have been made through the court system. We have many important cases before the courts now. The Bois/Olsen effort is just one example of a major exciting case. If you are lawyer, offer your services. If you see blatant discrimination in your hometown or county put a group together and go to court to demand justice. As we win these cases, some local communities are going to be resistant to the change; take them to court to enforce the courts decision.
Civil Disobedience: The time has come for us to consider this option. Going to jail is serious business and you often don't even find support in the community for it. Some can even lose their jobs from participating and the resulting incarceration. However, civil disobedience is a very effective strategy if used correctly - and non-violently. ACT-UP in the 1980's forced America to come to terms with its silence and inaction in the face of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. That being said, undirected civil disobedience is ineffective. You must know what your target is (marriage license bureaus would be good), what message you want left with the public and how you want them to feel afterwards. Just expressing rage is not effective and actually can show that we are powerless. Do your homework and understand what going to jail means and have a great support system outside. Have a follow-up plan as one time actions are quickly forgotten. Just remember that Boy Scout motto when it comes to civil disobedience, "Be Prepared".
The Arts: This is often an overlooked area and it is critical to our success. We saw in the AIDS crisis great creativity in art, stage, film, song and literature. Many classics such as the films "Philadelphia" and "Long Time Companion" came from that time. Stage productions such as "Angels in America," "As Is," and "Normal Heart" changed millions of minds. Artists painted of the suffering and heroism. Songs were written. Poetry was read. Books like "And the Band Played On" and "On Becoming a Man" left people speechless and wanting to know more. It is time for our arts community to surface in a major way again to support this epic civil rights moment. Just look at the impact that the stage play "Next Fall" is having in New York. Our friends in the arts community must create, donate and educate. We need music to sing as a tribe. No movement never has succeeded with out music to unite us. Artists should come together with their own energies and form collectives with each other to get the job done.
Remember Maine! With all the resources at our disposal, it would be a great waste for us not to send them to the State of Maine to defeat an attempt to repeal the marriage equality legislation in November. The most important thing to do is to donate money and to donate it now. Let's not wait until the last minute to give. Give it now. Just consider this: The election in Maine is three months away. What if 100,000 of us make a commitment to give $10 a month for those three months? That would give them an amazing three million dollars by election day which is a lot of money in Maine! If somehow you could afford $20 a month ($5 a week!) it would mean six million dollars. That is one tank of gas over the next three months! How exciting it would be if the blogger community, straight and LGBT do a campaign to "Remember Maine" and attempt to reach that goal. Don't wait to be invited to the ball, donate now without being asked. Just click here.
There are so many opportunities to participate. Join the debate in California on how to repeal Proposition 8. Hook up with the efforts in New York to get through this silly legislature a marriage equality bill this fall. Be tough. No longer tolerate weak politicians who want us to wait and delay our freedom for their political convenience. Insist on full equality now however you chose to express it. Insist that our national organizations be much tougher and less accommodating. Don't tolerate anyone's suggestions of less than full equality or steps that clearly separate us from the rest of society and expand the Apartheid of the LGBT community in America. Value your words as well as your actions. Sometimes the words you chose have great power. No need to speak out in angry tones - if you need to raise your voice to be heard maybe your message is not that powerful. Remember, we are not here to emulate our oppressors; we are here to not only liberate ourselves into total freedom about also to liberate our oppressors from free the burdens of distrust,anger and fear.
I ask you to just remember one thing: You are part of a noble, amazing and powerful group of people who has courageously risen to every challenge. You come out of a great history redolent with justified honor and pride. Your talents and gifts not only have value but they are desperately needed by America. At times, our journey has been harsh and filled with great sadness. But in the end, it is a story that will be told by all future generations. A story of bravery, courage, honor and victory that will enable others in the future to be inspired - just as we have been over these last decades.
Thank You
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