I won’t forget that eerie silence.
As I took my seat in homeroom during eighth grade, just a month before graduation, our teacher slowly made her way to the front of the room, tears in her eyes, to tell us that one of our classmates — one of my friends — had taken her own life that morning.
The next few months brought overwhelming grief and loss for all of us. Although her demons weren’t attacking her sexual orientation or gender identity, she was lost in a system in which her pleas for help were ignored. I empathize with the families of the young men who were recently lost to anti-gay bullying, and to the families of thousands before them, and hearing of their loss reminded me of the anger that I felt realizing just how little progress we’ve made. I know that something has to change.
Hearing stories like the ones surfacing over the past few weeks, it would seem that we haven’t made much progress. I know that is not true, but I do believe while those who are silenced from the confines of their closets are listening, we have to wear our pride out loud. Those who are struggling need to know that there are people fighting for all of us to be equal.
At GetEQUAL, I help support folks across the country who are identifying problems, figuring out solutions, and organizing people to take action and fight back. I get the privilege of seeing everyday folks take action who have never done so before, but who are driven by seeing others do so. In honor of Eric Mohat (NY), Seth Walsh (CA), Asher Brown (TX), Tyler Clementi (NJ), Justin Aaberg (MN), and Billy Lucas (IN), I want to share a few of the actions that have taken place just this week to fight back against the sometimes crushing presence of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia:
* In Albuquerque, a group of GetEQUAL activists met President Obama’s plane and motorcade as he attended a backyard BBQ, with a “too loud to be missed” presence, urging him to immediately issue an Executive Order to stop the military discharges of LGB servicemembers while “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” sits in limbo.
* In Chicago, Join the Impact Chicago and GetEQUAL activists staged a flashmob outside the office of Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) to educate him and the local community about the need for an inclusive ENDA. They used this as an opportunity to highlight the broken promises made regarding ENDA, and asked Rep. Lipinski to use his House leadership to call for employment discrimination to end this year.
* In Indianapolis, GetEQUAL activists have rallied around local students who were refused service at a local bakery when they tried to order rainbow-decorated cupcakes for National Coming Out Day. They are organizing a protest on Friday at noon in front of Just Cookies in Indianapolis. (Update: Due to a death in the family, the protest is off.) They have also worked with another local bakery, The Flying Cupcake Bakery, which is holding its “First Annual Gay Cupcake Party” on Friday. These actions have resulted in support from the local Mayor and upcoming conversations have been scheduled with Rep. Joe Donnelly to discuss the discrimination our community faces.
* In Atlanta, activists from the Queer Justice League organized a visit to the office of Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) to demand an apology after a Chambliss staffer posted a homophobic comment on Joe. My. God. — an LGBT blog. Sen. Chambliss has since apologized for his staffer’s comment, and has issued a public statement repudiating such comments. GetEQUAL met with them on Thursday night to brainstorm ways to take further action to move LGBT causes forward in Georgia, especially with Atlanta Pride coming up next weekend.
Rallies are also being organized across the country to honor the memory of the LGBT youth we lost recently, including “National Safe Schools Day of Action” in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, Oct 5, and “Stand Up to Youth Suicide Rally and March” in San Francisco on Friday, Oct 8. And there is a national organizing effort for “It Gets Better” rallies and flashmob events to take place next weekend to commemorate National Coming Out Day on Oct 11.
We need to fill the eerie silences across the country with our stories of joy and pride. Regardless of where you live across the country, we’ve got to continue standing up to the hate speech, societal indifference, bigoted rhetoric, and public shaming that has been crippling us for far too long. I hope you’re encouraged by these folks who are standing up and speaking out in their communities, and are inspired to take action in yours. Will you join me and the countless others in this sustained effort to stand up, save a life, and own your equality? To get more involved in organizing, wherever you live and whatever you want to do, please email me at info@getequal.org.
Get Out! Get Active! GetEQUAL!
Michelle Wright
Campaign Associate
P.S. Here are two extra links that highlight the extraordinary work being done by our community to help save lives and offer hope. Please visit The Trevor Project and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network to get more involved with helping LGBT youth own *their* equality.
