Nov. 15: Not the beginning
Gay columnist Richard J. Rosendall gives us some insight:
Some are claiming that the Nov. 15 protests across the country are the true start of the marriage equality movement, but that is false. The flashpoint of Proposition 8, like Stonewall before it, galvanized large numbers of people, but in both cases the movement’s pioneers began laying the groundwork more than a decade before.
Our “Second Stonewall,” yes. The beginning, no. I wholeheartedly agree. Too many folks have worked on marriage equality for Nov. 15 to be “the beginning.”
I’ll address more of this in depth in my rant to be published in Q-Notes‘ Nov. 29 issue: I see the recent tide of on-the-street activism as a new wave of the LGBT movement. Things are changing, and they’re changing fast. Nov. 15 wasn’t just a “flashpoint of Proposition 8.” I believe we’ll see a reawakening of the LGBT community and new energy from younger yet-to-be-seen activists.
How will national organizations respond? How will they grow? How will they tap into this new energy? Those remain among some of my biggest questions.
From yesterday’s thoughts:
There’s been a chorus of queer leaders and writers calling for either a complete shake-up of our national organizations, or — at the extreme — a complete defunding and abandonment of some (more here).
Our national organizations aren’t going anywhere. Indeed, we do need them. But I agree with Lane… something’s got to be done. In the aftermath of Obama’s historic election and the amazing national response to the passage of California’s Prop. 8, no one can argue that the world of queer activism isn’nt changing. History is moving at a light-years speed past the present model of advocacy set for our agenda by leaders in our nation’s capital.
Matt, 22, is an LGBT journalist, activist and youth advocate currently living and working in Charlotte, N.C., where he serves as the Editor of Q-Notes, the Carolinas' LGBT news source. A native of Winston-Salem, N.C., Matt attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is still continuing to pursue his bachelors degree. He is the Owner & Editor of InterstateQ.com and has been active in LGBT advocacy work since the age of 14.
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