THE MOVEMENT GOES FORWARDWritten by: Andy Lopez of StandOut Youth
All of my years volunteering and working for different LGBTQ organizations did not prepare me for the sense of accomplishment I experienced at the National Equality March. I got the privilege to march with people I respect, admire and consider to be my family away from home. Even though it has been a week, I still have trouble putting together sentences and the words to describe all the emotions I felt as we walked down Pennsylvania Avenue. The one word that keeps coming up, however, in all of my descriptions of the march is EMPOWERING.
Empowering is a multifaceted word that encompasses many different dynamics and ideals. To be empowered one needs to have been without power. To me, the process by which this power gets reclaimed is more exciting and instrumental in our fight for equal rights, than anything else we could have put together. I was incredibly amazed at the number of minorities that were present and the inclusion felt throughout the weekend. I will admit that at times the movement seems to forget that there are also people of color who agree, who support; people who struggle with the same discrimination, oppression, and dehumanization. However, this weekend was not like that. I felt the members of the LGBTQ and straight community were able to put their differences aside and work together for a common goal...equal rights under the law, and that in and of itself is empowering.
As a 21 year old Hispanic person of color, I find myself inspired by the courage and determination of the estimated 200,000 people who attended the march. The power of numbers was definitely felt in Washington DC. Nevertheless, I feel the words we spoke that day made a bigger impact. I got to meet people from various places and they told their stories. As simple or as complex as those stories were, they were real, they were present, and they were important. The nation got to hear our stories, stories of beatings, of depression, of marginalization, of discrimination within our own borders and of never feeling like you can change anything. Yet, with the simple act of being there telling these stories, we were changing things because our voices were finally being heard, and we were ending the silence: A silence that has long been encouraged both within and outside our communities.
To be surrounded by all of these people from different backgrounds, locations, and ideological mentalities and to know that we came together regardless of the various ways in which we all differ shows the importance of the work we do. It proves that yes we are all different, but we are also all human beings deserving of the same equal rights, and respect as anyone else.
My best friend, whom I have known for many years stood next to me a few minutes before our section began to march and said, “I was just telling my girlfriend that I got involved with the GSA in our high school because of you, to support you. And I am extremely proud to be here with you. Even if I were straight I would still be here with you because I love you.” It is because of people like her, that I continue to do the work I do as a volunteer and organizer for various LGBTQ organizations. She and the many others that have and continue to be there for me when things seem gloomy encourage me to move forward and volunteer, organize, and fight for what I believe is right. They give me the strength to keep going, to believe and hope for a better tomorrow.
I would like to be that voice for you today. I would like to encourage you to get out there and be yourself. Go out there and organize, volunteer, do something you believe in. Take all the things you know about and do something productive with them because this struggle is not just for the youth of today, it is all encompassing and it affects all of us. The movement does not end with October 11, 2009; it begins to take form and it moves forward, pushing and fighting for what we know to be true and self-evident as our rights. Whether you are a gay man, a lesbian, a bisexual, pansexual, transgendered, transsexual, queer, gender-queer, inter-sex, black, white, mulatto, Christian, Muslim, Atheist, or non-labeled, we all have a responsibility to ourselves to keep on fighting until we achieve equal rights for all, not just some, but for all the people. We all need to work together, because united we are stronger. Together we can say ENOUGH! We will not take this anymore!
The Movement Goes Forward
