Today feels like a Mutable Monday!

Many lives are being changed right before our eyes. Freedom to Marry (www.freedomtomarry.org) posted on Twitter that Richard and John could marry after 61 years of being together as a couple. Wow! this is longer than some people live let alone live together. Some may ponder why would they change anything now if they’ve been happy for six decades? Obviously, they could have traveled to D.C. or other states to marry since New York had not allowed them to marry. If New York has been their home, why should they have to leave to marry?

This couple and many others can rejoice as they celebrate along with many others who have taken the Roadmap to Victory path to gain their Freedom to Marry. Learn more about the Freedom to Marry efforts and victories. http://www.freedomtomarry.org/page/share/Road_Map_to_Victory?source=youtube&subsource=roadmapvid_desc&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=ytuberoadmapvid_desc

Sign up for the Freedom to Marry pledge that supportsmarriage rights for all Americans. http://www.freedomtomarry.org/pages/take-action

I would say that the changes being brought about in favor of gay rights, especially the right to marry the person you love, are changes worth fighting for. Let’s hope others won’t have to wait 61 years like Richard and John.

Today feels like a Straight Saturday!

It was late yesterday when I read online articles and tweets that shouted to the world that New York finally legalized same-sex marriage. Gay men and women are crying tears of joy and proposing to their long-time partners. I’m happy for them!

A couple of the articles I’ve read online were posted by Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/25/us-gaymarriage-newyork-idUSTRE75N5ZA20110625)  and the Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-nys-new-gay-marriage-law-passes-celebrities-weigh-in-20110624,0,5107305.story?track=rss).

As always, when reading online articles there are other headlines that catch my attention. As I scrolled down the page on the Chicago Tribune site, I saw a controversial headline, Bill Maxwell: Homophobia, It’s a Black Thing, that just begged me to click on it. This article (http://scrippsnews.com/content/maxwell-homophobia-its-black-thing) addressed some oppositional views of those who are adamantly against same-sex marriage. 

Before the law passed in NY, Tracy Morgan was at the center of an anti-gay controversy. Other famous (and non-famous) Blacks have been noted as being homophobic. I can’t respond to the notion of homophobia being a Black thing. I am a heterosexual Black female and I’m promoting Step Into My Shoes: Expressions from the LGBTQ Community, an anthology I compiled and edited. I guess I missed the memo on homophobia being a Black thing.

Rev. Bernice King, the youngest child of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a very strong and active opponent of same-sex marriage. Her father is a huge inspiration for me and many in the world who believe in humanity, equality, compassion, and peace.  How can the child who sat in the arms of her Civil Rights activist mother at the funeral of her humanitarian, peace promoting and Civil Rights activist father (in that famous photo) become a monger of anything that represents inequality? Her father died in the midst of a battle that really has not ended. I would think that Bernice King would put her time and energy into the ongoing struggle to end discrimination and promote equality. 

Yesterday, today and tomorrow, feels like a Straight for Equality day.

Peacefully yours,