“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” — Thomas Jefferson
Often I find myself in the position of reflecting on the legacy of moralism in politics, especially after GetEQUAL’s recent interruption of first lady Michelle Obama’s speech at a DNC fundraiser in an attempt to bring attention to a languishing executive order to stem LGBT workplace discrimination. Due to unaddressed racial attacks by various groups on the Obama administration, GetEQUAL and Ellen Sturtz have now been saddled with the racial baggage of a nation that was unequipped to handle repercussions of it’s first African-American president. Threats of violence, accusations of racism and property damage are only a taste of what GetEQUAL organizers have experienced by those attempting to defend the honor of the first lady.
Being a black member of GetEQUAL, I’ve been called an “Uncle Tom” — and consequently I felt the need to defend an organization that has helped elevate my voice. Being a black LGBT rights activist, I often find myself caught between two worlds — and this situation is no different. The recent statements calling GetEQUAL’s action “unwise and untimely” echo sentiments addressed in Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. My reaction to the criticism is similar to those expressed by Dr. King: No one who believes in justice for all should sit idly by as an injustice ravishes a country built on civic principles and revolutionary ideals. After all, “injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere” – so why shouldn’t that truth hold in this case? I truly believe if you are not a part of an equality solution, then you are contributing to democracy’s equal opportunity problem.
I want to share an excerpt from Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” which states:
“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial ‘outside agitator’ idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.”
I’m not trying to defend GetEQUAL or Sturtz — they don’t require my protection. But I will defend anyone who is unafraid to challenge the brutality of indifference. I am invisible in the African-American community because I’m a lesbian and I’m invisible in the LGBT community because I’m Black. I’ve suffered at the hard cold hands of discrimination and its ability to crush your spirit. I refuse to sit back and allow Peter to pay Paul in an attempt to deflect years of suffering by LGBT families who have no workplace protections. Here is the cruel reality faced by African-Americans and the LGBT community: We continue to struggle with the harsh realities around the immoral majority’s discriminatory treatment of minorities.
President Obama once said:
“Equality is a moral imperative. And as president, I will place the weight of my administration behind the enactment of a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. I will NEVER compromise on my commitment to equal rights for all LGBT Americans.”
So why do the president and the LGBT community find ourselves at odds with each other, if not simply because the president is not following through on these promises? I must stand on the right side of justice and agree with Dr. King. While critics deplore GetEQUAL’s decision to interrupt Michelle Obama’s speech and conflate this action with accusations of racism, they fail to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. When it comes to workplace discrimination, our community can’t simply wait for a politically convenient time that will never arrive. We cannot operate on an inside-the-beltway timeline that prizes inaction over action. We cannot just wait while our families are torn apart by uncertainty, insecurity, and broken promises.
First ladies throughout history have been interrupted by activists trying to fight to find a way inside justice’s door. I challenge each of us to not merely rest contented with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes. While some may take to the Internet to decry that a demonstration took place at a Democratic fundraiser attended by the first lady, I believe it is even more unfortunate that the president’s broken promises and a nation’s heterosexual power structure left the LGBT community with no alternative.
Cd Kirven is a national board member for GetEQUAL and a lead organizer for GetEQUAL Texas.
