Write Nancy Pelosi on ENDA

Cleve Jones, a pioneering equal rights activist featured in the film "MILK," creator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and Senior Advisor to the Courage Campaign, has drafted an open letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging her to bring ENDA forward for action in the House of Representatives. In a majority of states it remains perfectly legal for LGBT employees to be fired because of their sexual orientation/religious beliefs. I had the honor of attending a private screening of the movie "Milk" in December of 2008 where Cleve was a panelist and the man is indeed inspiring and I support his efforts on this issue. Now, Get Equal has a web page that allows you to add your signature to Cleve's letter. Here are highlights from his letter:
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This profound statement [passage of health care reform] about the power of politics to change the lives of everyday people touched me deeply. And it reminded me of the opportunity we have right now to transform the lives of Americans again -- the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
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As shocking as it may be to believe in the year 2010, in 29 states a lesbian, gay or bisexual person can be fired simply because of their sexual orientation and in 38 states a transgender person can be fired because of their gender identity. That's why the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is so vitally important.
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Once passed, ENDA would provide to all Americans basic protections against workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. As my friends at Pride at Work describe it, ENDA is "based on the labor principle that every worker should be judged solely on his or her merits as a worker" and is similar in nature to other federal civil rights laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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We've seen the passion you've brought to the challenge of passing health care reform. Now more than ever, we need your passion and skill to achieve the passage of ENDA.
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As you know, many Americans in the LGBT community -- especially young people -- are increasingly frustrated and cynical about the pace of progress in Washington. We want you to show them that cynicism is not the response at this time. They need to believe in the process, Madame Speaker, and you can restore their faith in this process by moving expeditiously to bring ENDA to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.
I know your values, Madame Speaker, and I know that you strongly support ENDA. Now I want these young people to know what is in your heart.

With the knowledge that health care reform has been achieved and that enough votes now exist in the House today to pass ENDA, will you work with Rep. George Miller, Chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, to ensure that ENDA is passed out of committee and brought to the floor of the house immediately?
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To add your signature to the letter, please go to Get Equal's web page here and take action. I already have done so.

National Equality March Message: No Excuses, No Delays

It has been truly a long and utterly amazing day, beginning at 5:00 AM when the alarm went off so that we could meet the buses carry about 100 of us from Hampton Roads to the National Equality March in Washington, D.C. (many more from the area went up prior to today). The boyfriend and I did the entire march route slightly ahead of the huge main body of marchers, including the block right past the White House where the photo at the bottom of this post was taken. Along the route we were interviewed by CBS News - I have no idea if the footage was used or not- as we walked down the center of Pennsylvania Avenue seeking to arrive at the Capitol ahead of the massive crowd so that I could secure my press credentials. I have yet to see an estimate of the numbers, but it was a very, very large crowd.

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Sadly, from the few sites I have checked since arriving home, it seems Obama - through unnamed sources, of course - is having a hissy fit and John Harwood at NBC News stated:

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For a sign of how seriously the White House does or doesn't take this opposition, one adviser told me those bloggers need to take off the pajamas, get dressed, and realize that governing a closely divided country is complicated and difficult.

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Hmm - the same bloggers who helped get his sorry ass elected and this is the attitude? If Obama thinks it is difficult to govern now, wait until 95% of LGBT citizens take their money and votes away from Obama and the Democrats. Frankly, what is the point of supporting politicans if they do nothing for your equality under the law. Something supposedly guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution I might add. If Obama's attitude and behavior continues as it is towards the LGBT community - i.e., nice, meaningless words like at last night's HRC dinner - I would love to see him face a primary challenge come 2012.

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As for the HRC crowd, today may well have signaled the tipping point where grass roots activists are finally tired of the HRC approach of groveling and begging for whatever political scaps are tossed to it. The crowd today and the messages they heard were VERY clear: no more excuses and no more delays. Andrew Sullivan had an analysis of HRC that I believe is point on:

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Readers know I've long been highly critical of the Human Rights Campaign, because I believe they get nothing much done, and have been co-opted by the Democratic party establishment, and have sucked resources out of local gay groups and states who really are creating change, and because of their insufferable smugness, eagerness to take credit for work others do, and Rotary Club dinners that often form their only seriously organized activity. . . I do not want to tar with one brush many well-intentioned people working for them or with them. But their leaders are just so passive, weak-kneed and apologetic, you could mistake their balls for a couple of peas.

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This split in the gay movement is not new - if you saw the movie Milk, you could see the same tension between those who wanted to stand up and fight for equality and those who wanted to offer milquetoast, semi-closeted incrementalism with straight power. . . . This weekend, these two tendencies will collide together in DC. Thousands of gay, lesbian, transgender and straight allies will be descending on this town for a classic march to express anger, commitment and seriousness to equality. At the same time, one thousand wealthy, tuxedoed, Democratic party donors will be at the Washington Hilton for the HRC dinner of dinners (which tend to be fabulous and fucking endless).

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It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Personally, I hope the motivated activist who were in Washington today go home, organize and leave HRC on the sidelines. The energy today was palpible and the event and the speeches were incredibly moving, making me almost tear up on occasion. Turning to happier issues, thankfully, as a contributor to Bilerico-DC we accessed the press area immediately to the right front of the stage. Having the equivalent of front row seats we got some amazing photos ranging from David Mixner who first called for the March back in May, Cynthia Nixon, Dan Choi, Dustin Lance Black (in the photo with me below), Julian Bond, Cleve Jones, Michelle Clunie from Queer as Folk, Lady Gaga and many, many more.

I will post more about our amazing experience tomorrow and over the next few days. The number of great speakers was incredible and I'd like to share my thoughts and impressions on a number of them who delivered thoughtful and provacative calls to activism that hopefully will speep across every congressional district in the nation. The March today is a beginning, not the end and readers need to go to Equality Across America and find a group in your congressional district. If one doesn't exist, then get some friends and start one yourself. Each and every one of us needs to get engaged and DEMAND full equality now. Talk to you members of Congress and state representatives. Beleive me, it is far harder for them to write you off when you are looking them in the face and are no longer some anonymous LGBT theoretical person. If they will not support your cause, then work to elect others who will.

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Over the nex few days, I'd also like to also share more of the 188 photos the boyfriend took throughout the day.

‘Hair’ Closes for One Day So Cast Can March in NEM Rally

When the boyfriend took me to New York earlier in the month after a prior meltdown, we had the good fortune to be able to see the musical "Hair" and I posted about the experience and the activist work of lead actor, Gavin Creel, who co-founded Broadway Impact. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to get a message from Creel himself. As the New York Times is reporting, the musical will close down for one day so that the entire cast can travel to Washington, D.C., to participate in the National Equality March. Once again, the momentum for this action came from Creel (pictured at left). I am excited about attending the March - the boyfriend bought us bus tickets on buses being run up to D.C. by HROC, a local LGBT groups for which I prepared the organizational documents. I expect it should be a long and crazy day. It will be especially fun since I will have press credentials! Here are some highlights from the New York Times:

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Playwrights and producers have used scathing commentary, heartbreaking drama and sharp satire to score political points about war, torture, presidents, AIDS, race relations and women’s rights with New York theater audiences. Now the Broadway musical “Hair” is expanding the concept of stage activism by taking to the streets and urging audiences to follow. The producers canceled a Sunday matinee so that the cast and crew could attend and perform at a march for gay rights in Washington on Oct. 11.

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That unusual — and expensive — decision to skip a popular weekend performance at the beginning of the theater season originated with the show’s star, Gavin Creel. “I said, ‘My God, we have to go, we have to go,’ ” Mr. Creel recalled when he first heard about the rally late last spring.

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[I]n May Mr. Creel met Cleve Jones, creator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, when he came to see “Hair” with Dustin Lance Black, author of the Oscar-winning screenplay for “Milk.” At a party afterward for the release of the cast recording, they all talked about the Oct. 11 National Equality March that Mr. Jones was helping to organize. The rally’s organizers say they are seeking “equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states” for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people.

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[A]t the heart of “Hair” is a political message about equality, justice and freedom, and that everyone involved “knew what they were signing up for.” The Sunday matinee was canceled and a Monday-evening performance on Oct. 5 was added. Ticket-buyers could trade in their seats for another performance or get a refund. The cast and crew were essentially given the day off, although, as it turns out, Mr. Creel said he thought that nearly everyone in front of the curtain and many who work behind it plan to go to Washington.

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Blunt appeals from the stage to attend the rally seemed inappropriate, but during the final number, when the audience is invited to dance onstage, cast members now hold up homemade signs about the Oct. 11 rally that say: “Our tribe is going. Are you?”

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At the same time, Broadway Impact is organizing at least 20 free buses to take people from New York to the rally and back. Performers like Sutton Foster, Audra McDonald, Jonathan Groff and Neil Patrick Harris, as well as the casts of “Hair” and another Broadway musical, “Memphis” (opening Oct. 19), have each donated the $2,400 needed to rent a bus. The tribe will be on one of them.

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Again, it should be an interesting adventure. At times, I truly believe that activism and this blog have saved my life - with help, of course from the boyfriend, my youngest daughter and my family and office staff.

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NOTE: Others seeking to attend the March from the Hampton Roads area can still purchase bus tickets at the HROC website.

Cleve Jones Invites Obama to National Equality March

Cleve Jones has invited President Obama to the National Equailty March on October 11, 2009. As fate would have it, it now looks like I will miss the experience of the March (I will be there with attendees in spirit), but such is life. I believe that the March has great potential to make those on the fence and the undecides to open thier eyes and see LGBT Americans as people, not just some theoretical group that can be easily ignored. Hate and prejudice is a terrible thing - as I know full well from my judicial lynching by the Virginia court system in my divorce. It needs to be confronted and the complacent need to be forced to look at the inequality and ruined lives their compacency ultimately supports. I believe the March has the potential to do this and to also engage a new generation of activists. Here are some highlights from a press release from the March organizers that includes the text of Cleve Jones' letter to Obama:

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Dear President Obama:

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Thank you for honoring Harvey Milk with the Medal of Freedom Award. Harvey was my friend and teacher. In the 30 years since he was assassinated lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people have attained a handful of rights in a handful of states, but we are still second-class citizens.
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Your historic election gave us hope that change can happen, and now tens of thousands of LGBT people, along with our straight allies, are taking action to demand it. On October 11 we will march on Washington in support of a single goal: full and equal protection for LGBT people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.
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Equal rights are not a "gay" issue. They are about our shared human rights: safety in our schools and jobs, equitable healthcare and housing, and protection for our families, to name a few.

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I compare our National Equality March with the Civil Rights March of 1963. Martin Luther King had a dream; we have a dream too. We share Dr. King’s belief in the dignity and equality of all peoples, and his commitment to non-violence. And we share his faith that justice will prevail.
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We do not expect to achieve our goal overnight. Our struggle for equality has taken many years, and much hard work remains ahead. The nation is preoccupied with economic hardship and war. But you have given us hope that civil rights remain on this nation’s agenda. The time is right for us to call on our fellow Americans, our elected leaders, and you to reaffirm our shared commitment to civil rights.

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With hope in our hearts, we invite you to join us on the west lawn of the Capitol on October 11th. We ask you to take the microphone and renew our faith that Washington will work with us, and not against us. We urge you to remind the world that we are welcome members of this nation. We invite you to stand with us in pride.

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Sincerely,Cleve JonesCo-Chair, National Equality March

Dustan Lance Black on the National Equality March

Besides being an Academy Award winning screen writer Dustan Lance Black has become a somewhat non-stop activist for LGBT equality. I was lucky enough to see him in person last December at the all expense paid LGBT Blogger Summit when attendees had a private screening of the movie "Milk." In an interview with the Windy City Times, Black explains why he supports the National Equality March on October 10-11, 2009, and the importance of LGBT Americans making a visible statement in the nation's capital. I share many of his views and, as I have said before, the boyfriend and I will be attending. Here are some interview highlights:

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Taking a break from writing on a recent Sunday afternoon, the San Antonio, Texas-raised Black discussed the upcoming National Equality March ( scheduled for Oct. 10-11 in Washington, D.C. ) , his experiences touring the country, closeted Hollywood actors and, for the first time, a national LGBT awareness campaign he will launch this Sept.

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Dustin Lance Black: I'm doing anything Cleve [ Jones ] asks me to do—I guess that makes me a humble servant to the march on Washington. It starts with David Mixner calling for a march on Washington a couple of months ago [ on his blog ] . For a serious march. Not a gay Lollapalooza. And Cleve Jones, who has been so incredibly skeptical about having another march, read that piece and believed that now is the time. It's time for two reasons. One is to make our voices heard.

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There have been promises made by the Obama administration while he campaigned, really exciting and specific promises, and he still occasionally talks about them but has done nothing about achieving any of those goals. He's set no dates, he's shown no way forward meaning he's not pressing Congress or demanding or requesting legislation. We need to make our voices heard. The second reason, and the thing I think is so incredibly important, is this march unlike previous marches is an organizing march. We have reached out to LGBT leaders in all 435 congressional districts and where we couldn't find leaders we found people we're trying to teach how to lead and organize and gather a group of LGBT people that is representative of their district and bring them to Washington.

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We will have leaders from all 435 congressional districts represented in the D.C. mall and use that moment as an organizing conference so these people learn about grassroots activism, how to lobby their federal representative back home in their local district, and how to do the door-to-door activism that really does change minds. All of this is because there's a philosophy that you only can achieve full equality through the federal government. All the leaders before us have known that. But we haven't demanded it until now, and if you look at the history of any civil rights movement in this country federal quality is the only way to full equality.

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I think it's incredibly important that Obama is invited to speak. Cleve is the organizer at this point and I know he's negotiating that and in contact with the White House, and if Obama does show up and speak I think that says a lot. And if he doesn't, that also speaks volumes. I'm all for him being given the only VIP invite to speak."

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I've gone to many cities across the country that are either conservative, or like in Columbia, Mo., that's considered a purple area because it flip-flops from red to blue each election. In one of these places I was met with "You A Fag" written on the big wall of the green room. I'm met with that initially but as I get up and speak and begin to relate my story and I ask people from the audience to relate their stories, which is always a part of what I do, you can feel the homophobia melt away. The discomfort turns into laughter and by the end people are coming up and shaking my hand or shaking their friends' or classmates' and starting to have those conversations. I know it sounds corny but having had the chance to travel and speak in every kind of town there is across this country, I feel more than ever that all Americans love LGBT people and those who think they don't simply have not met us yet.

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I'm not in favor of outing people unless they're in a position of power and using that to hurt gay or lesbian people. It's not my mission to go outing people just so they're out, so I'm not going to have a confrontation with any actor who chooses to stay in the closet. That's their personal choice. I wish it was a different choice, I wish they would all come out. But in terms of the more aggressive tactic of outing I would save that for people who are deliberately hurting the gay community and there's a lot of that in Washington.

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I do agree with Black that many outward homophobes simply have not met and come to know LGBT individuals. I know for a fact among my clients that my being openly out and matter of fact about it has changed the views of a number of people who previously would not have seen themselves as gay allies. Coming out and living honestly and openly is perhaps the most effective type of activism any of us can do.

October 11, 2009 National Equity March on Washington

Varying LGBT organizations have been nay saying Cleve Jones' call for a march on Washington, D.C, this coming October. On October 11, 2009, to be exact. One of the main arguments against a march is that the funds involved could be better used on local LGBT civil rights endeavors. While this perhaps true, by the same token a march on Washington might energize LGBT Americans who to date have sat on the sidelines and never been involved politically. In Virginia, it has been the passage of anti-gay legislation that has made a number of LGBT Virginians finally wake up and get off their butts. At present, we have a President who promised real change and to deliver on a number of promises for increased rights for LGBT Americans. To date, that President, Barack Obama, has delivered absolutely nothing. Maybe those broken promises combined with seeing other LGBT citizens engaged and demanding equality will cause others to awaken politically. Of course there are other reasons for supporting the march as well. Fellow Bilerico blogger Bill Browning has a post that looks at why a march makes sense:

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I choose to believe Hope's retention is meant to be comforting and not a bane to our existence. In that spirit, I've decided to whole-heartedly endorse Equality Across America and the National Equality March.

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It's clear now that this is our strongest and best opportunity to make a communal statement that will resonate. Going to Washington does not take away or diminish other efforts. Consider the IMAX experience versus the Netflix version. The impact of what you see on widescreen can never be entirely duplicated at home.

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The reach of the march extends far beyond the individual in-your-face. It is a show of solidarity and force, a statement that is in proportion in its volume to the need for such a statement. The communal voice has been silent since the loss in California. That voice was heard in the wake of Prop 8, but not since. It's time for that voice. While the idea may have been the province of only a few people in its inception, it is now, in its full discussion, owned by many.

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Gay, Inc. is not the enemy of the grassroots movement. The young new activists and online media gurus are not diametrically opposed to established lobbying efforts and infrastructure. We have to find a way to bring all of our best activists, strategists and lobbyists together in a way that allows them to work in conjunction while checking our egos at the door.

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I'm putting my own reservations aside in favor of Pandora's last and best gift to humanity. None of us can open this box on our own. This time to pry the lid open, it's going to take all of the muscle and determination of our community. After all, we too are "All Gifted." It's time to take Hope out of the box and use it.

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Personally, I plan on going to Washington and the boyfriend no doubt will go with me - as will a number of people I know from the Hampton Roads area. I am tired of being a second class citizen and having my rights diminished solely because I do not subscribe to the fear and hate based religious beliefs of the Christianists who have for far too long controlled the lives of others in total abrogation of the right to freedom of religion promised to all citizens under the U. S. Constitution. Damn right I'm going to Washington to voice my demands for equality.

Are We Seeing Stonewall 2.0?

One of the things that struck me this past weekend in Washington, D.C., was the level of energy amongst the bloggers and activists at the LGBT Blogger Summit. Everyone seemed very enthused and motivated to move forward with the battle to achieve full legal equality for LGBT Americans. Admittedly, all of us were already activists of sorts, but the whole post-Proposition 8 reaction around the country seems as if it may be a new awakening of activism in the LGBT community. The same energy/anger seems present in the Hampton Roads area based on the demonstrations that took place on November 15th and the activity I see in the e-mail stream coming from HROC members. The phenomenon is not just local to this area as evidenced by a New York Times article that examines a new generation of activists. Personally, I am all in favor of renewed militancy and a putting aside of playing nice and begging for rights to be doled out to us. Here are some story highlights:

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SAN FRANCISCO — They’re calling it Stonewall 2.0. Outraged by California voters’ ban on same-sex marriage, a new wave of advocates, shaken out of a generational apathy, have pushed to the forefront of the gay rights movement, using freshly minted grass-roots groups and embracing not only new technologies but also old-school methods like sit-ins and sickouts.

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Matt Palazzolo, 23, a self-described “video artist-actor turned gay activist,” founded one group, Equal Roots Coalition, with a group of friends about 10 days ago. “I’d been focused on other things in my life,” Mr. Palazzolo said. “Then Nov. 4 happened, and it woke me up.”

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Many grass-roots leaders say the emergence of new faces, and acceptance of tactics that are more confrontational, amount to an implicit rejection of the measured approach of established gay rights groups, a course that, some gay men and lesbians maintain, allowed passage of the ban, Proposition 8. “I think we are demanding as a community that we democratize our processes and ensure we all have a voice,” said Molly McKay, media director of the volunteer group Marriage Equality USA. “Because we are not a campaign. We are a movement.”

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The executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Kate Kendell, a member of the No on 8 campaign’s executive committee, said the criticism was understood. . . . . the ballot initiative’s passage has forced many in the gay community “out of our stupor” and opened the door for new leaders, she said. “It’s totally legitimate to say that the normal way of doing things did not get us to the finish line,” Ms. Kendell said. “And now some of those groups need to move over a couple of lanes to make room.”

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The new activists have impressed some gay rights veterans. “They’ve shown a clear ability to turn out large numbers of people,” said Cleve Jones, a longtime gay rights advocate and labor organizer. “It’s also clear that they are skeptical of the established L.G.B.T. organizations. And I would say they have reason to be.”

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many activists seem unwilling to wait for a legal solution and have planned a series of events to keep the issue in the public eye, including a nationwide candlelight vigil later this month, a Million Gay March in Washington next spring and continued protests at county clerks’ offices throughout California.

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Quite a few activists said they had also been inspired by the acclaimed film “Milk,” which chronicles the fight by a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Harvey Milk (played by Sean Penn), to beat back a 1978 ballot measure that would have barred gay teachers from California’s public schools.

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Mr. Palazzolo, the activist-actor-video artist, said it had taken Proposition 8 to reawaken political consciousness that he and many peers abandoned during college. “We’ve been spoiled,” he said. “Because while we knew we’d been discriminated against in the past, we’d never felt it until now.”