Thoughts of a second class citizen

The passing of Proposition 8 in California has not really had that great of affect on me until the last couple of days. I guess I was still walking on air due to the elections and did not let it sink in that once again gay people are being classified as second class citizens. I can’t understand why the promise of unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness guaranteed in the Declaration of Independence does not include gay citizens of the United States.

Martin Luther King Jr. talked about his dream that his children would one day live in a nation where they would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I too have a dream that my children would one day live in a nation where people would not be judged by their sexual orientation but by the content of their character.

I am planning on attending the March and rally this Saturday in protest of Prop 8 and want to take my children with me. This of course, is going to mean that I have to explain to my daughter why we are marching. She is almost 5 now and I am sure she will be able to understand the basics of it enough. I have put this conversation off for as long as I could but since we just had a discussion around the historical importance of Barak Obama’s election this seems like an appropriate time to broach this subject. It saddens me. I love my kids more than I ever imagined and I just want to spare them the hate that exists in this world. I also know that the realization that her family is different in a way that some people feel is wrong is going to make her sad too.

Of course a major reason that Prop 8 passed in California is due to religion and the belief that being gay is against God and a choice. This past year had brought so much healing in my heart, a reconciliation of sorts for me with my beliefs. Because of the intolerance in the church I gave up all beliefs in God and am just now (more than 15 years later) able to accept that I do still have faith in a Creator, and this just brings me back to a place of frustration. Why is so much hatred and intolerance spread in Christ’s name? I have several friends that are Christians and they are tolerant, loving individuals, concerned with social justice and the same problems in the world that Christ himself was concerned with; poverty, hatred, intolerance and injustice. They keep me safe from returning to that place where I judged all Christians by the acts of those whose message is so polluted with hate and intolerance.

I just want the same rights and privileges as everyone else…nothing more but nothing less!!!

Hope and Joy !

I decided to wait to post to my personal blog until something really momentous happened.

The election of Barak Obama as President certainly fits the bill.

It may take a while for me to complete my thoughts on this as I will need several breaks for my eyes to dry...you see I have been crying almost every time I think about it. I just never in my wildest dreams thought an African American would be president. I firmly believed that America's racism would always rear its ugly head to eliminate that possibility. I stand happily corrected.

As I listened to Barak Obama deliver his acceptance speech last night, I watched intently as they scanned the crowd. Seeing Jesse Jackson with tears streaming down his face was almost more than I could handle. This man, who knelt beside Martin Luther King as he lay dying on that motel balcony, deserved to see this day. Al Sharpton, Oprah Winfrey, the folks gathered at Ebeneezer Baptist Church (MLK's church) deserved to see this day. You and I did too but as African Americans I feel they deserved it more.

Thomas Friedman, New York Times columnist wrote - "And so it came to pass that on November 4, 2008, shortly after 11 p.m. Eastern time, the American Civil War ended, as a black man -- Barack Hussein Obama -- won enough electoral votes to become president of the United States."

So this morning on my long bus ride into work I thought about my friend, my mentor, Pastor Zachary Bruce. He taught me more about racism in the short time that I worked with him then all the years that I have been a social activist working for racial equality. This educated, articulate, intelligent and always impeccably dressed man once asked me to carry a TV that we needed for a presentation down a city street for him. Pastor Bruce was always a gentleman so this took me by surprise. He would never think of asking a woman to carry something this heavy for him without a compelling reason and so I agreed but asked him why he couldn't carry it. The answer was both disheartening and educational. He was worried that people would assume that he had stolen it. Throughout the time I worked with Zac he shared many stories with me about facing racism first hand. Stories like how his mother always taught he and his siblings to not put their hands in their pockets in stores lest the clerks would think they stole something. And how nontheless the clerks would follow him around stores watching even though he followed his mother's advice.

Another time Zachary and I were returning from a conference in Oregon and while driving near Tenino, Washington traffic was diverted from I-5 onto small country roads. Zachary immediately grew tense and apprehensive, scared to be driving alone with a white woman in the car with him. I slid down into the seat, hiding until we were able to get back onto the main interstate.

This is the world we live in but it just got a little better.

So this is for Pastor Zachary Bruce and to all my brothers and sisters of color and for my children.

Hallelujah!!!

Here is to a brighter future for us all !!!