Get Equal: Major New LGBT Civil Rights Organization Formed/Is This The Birth Of A Civil Rights Movement....?

Get Equal: Major New LGBT Civil Rights Organization Formed
Copyright by David Mixner
Mar 17, 2010
http://www.davidmixner.com/2010/03/get-equal-major-new-lgbt-civil-rights-organization-formed.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DavidMixnerCom+%28DavidMixner.com%29



On Monday, the LGBT community saw a major new civil rights organization formed in our struggle for freedom.

Kip and robin at march Kip Williams and Robin McGeehee, Co-chairs of the National Equality March in October, announced the formation of"Get Equal." The talented organizers have spent months since the March on Washington, carefully putting together an effective national network of activists to battle for civil rights for the LGBT community. They have traveled across the country, held retreats with young leaders and worked with march participants to create an entity that will fill the vacuum of the absence of a 'direct action' organization in our movement.

In many ways, this is the first major "Prop 8 Generation" to emerge on the national level. Williams and McGeehee (photograph) have already proved they are two of the new bright young talents to emerge from that generation. In just two days, over 2,500 young activists have joined the group. Many expect Get Equal to have significant impact on the tactical direction of the LGBT civil rights movement.

You can sign up for this new organization by going to the"Get Equal Facebook Page" or to their website. Don't forget to stop and check out their amazing 'store'.

Without a doubt it is one of the largest organizations to form outside the Beltway of Washington, DC.

In their press release this past Monday they stated:

Emphasizing direct action and people power, the mission of GetEQUAL is to empower the LGBTQ community and its allies to take action to demand full legal and social equality and to hold accountable those who stand in the way.

"All over the country we are under attack," said McGehee. "From the recent actions of the Attorney General in Virginia to strip away protections for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people on college and university campuses to the young lesbian student in Mississippi who is being denied the right to take her date to the prom. Nearly, every day there is a new story, but the subject is always the same: we are being bullied. We are no longer willing to sit back and wait - we want change now."

Get Equal GetEQUAL's organization model is based first and foremost on empowerment. The organization will provide vehicles for people to take action around key moments and connect the narrative of those moments into a powerful movement for change. Tactics will be multifaceted, including centralized online campaigns that build up and empower the LGBTQ and allied national base, and coordinated offline actions that allow people to collectively take to the streets.

"When properly served, we believe these people can create a groundswell of energy that will fundamentally change the current political dynamic, restrict support for those who stand in the way of full equality, and embolden those who want to do the right thing," said Williams. "No longer must we settle for empty promises while our young commit suicide, our rights are stripped away at the ballot box, and we are treated as second class citizens. The time has come to unequivocally say that we are more than a political movement � we are a civil rights movement."



Is This The Birth Of A Civil Rights Movement....?
Copyright by David Mixner
Mar 19, 2010
http://www.davidmixner.com/2010/03/is-this-the-birth-of-a-civil-rights-movement.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DavidMixnerCom+%28DavidMixner.com%29


There will be temptations within the LGBT community to have decisive and strong opinions on the effectiveness of the campaign of civil disobedience launched by GetEqual.org in Washington, DC and San Francisco. Like a wildfire, the news of the arrests in front of the White House and the occupation of both of Speaker Pelosi's offices spread across the Internet and major blogs. The images were startlingly powerful with two soldiers, each in a crucified position, chained to the fence of the White House willing to bear great sacrifice for this community.

Are these the beginning stages of a new civil rights movement? Are we willing to escalate our tactics in order to press those in power to show leadership and demand our freedom? I honestly don't know. But I have hope. I have hope that over the next months these initial actions will build to a modern day civil rights movement that is as unique as our community. The stirring for non-violent civil disobedience has been building since the National Equality March late last year. Most of it has originated within the ranks of our youth. Their impatience is a powerful message that the failure to make our freedom a priority in Washington is just no longer acceptable.

As I write this, Lt. Dan Choi and Captain Jim Pietrangelo are still in jail. GetEqual.org CoChair Robin Pelosio McGeehee has been released from jail. Kip Williams and those who have occupied Pelosi's office have been arrested. Kip is the other CoChair of GetEqual.org.

Getting arrested in uniform is serious business with real consequences. These men give new definition to courage and bravery in our community. Dan could face a Court Martial and military prison. I am, at this time, not sure of Captain's Pietrangelo status. Having visited at length with Dan Choi on the phone before he made his fateful decision, I was totally comfortable that he understood the consequences and was willing to bear this burden on behalf of us. Anyone who belittles their sacrifice, even if they disagree with their tactics, belittle bravery and honor.

Pelosi22 Not only was their message to the decision makers in Washington but it was to all of us as well. Hopefully their acts of sacrifice will inspire all of us to make greater efforts for our own freedom. Clearly what has been happening up to now is simply not enough. Robin McGeehee upon being arrested shouted, "It is time to fight back" and I couldn't agree with her more. My educated guess, based on near 50 years of activism, is that we are indeed seeing the beginning stages of a new civil rights movement. With our young leading the way with courage, conviction and honor, By autumn we might very well see non-violent civil disobedience on behalf of LGBT freedom occurring in most states.

When I struggle to find the words why this is important and why these young brave leaders from GetEqual should be heard, I hit a dead end. Then Marylouise Oates reminded me of Dr. King's "Letter From A Birmingham Jail" and that I didn't have to create new words. The words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr still resonate today for all those around the world struggling against oppression. The greatest honor I can bestow upon these bright young minds is to put their actions in context with Dr. King's words.

For those of you who view their actions as ineffective, grandstanding or even ego-driven, I ask you to listen carefully to these words written by Dr. King in "The Letters From A Birmingham Jail":

My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure. Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.......

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro (LGBT) with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied.

Many have said to me that civil disobedience is not the way. King said,

You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham(Washington and San Francisco). But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes.,....

One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all...

Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire. To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience. In our own nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience.

We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country's antireligious laws.

And of course there are the apostles who caution us to wait, insist now is not the time and predict we can only hurt ourselves by being forceful in our actions and demands for freedom. Listen carefully to these words. Please savor them carefully:

...who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro (LGBT) to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro (LGBT) passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.

These dedicated, brave and inspirational protesters who came of age yesterday have my unequivocal support. No longer will I be silent in the face of this growing injustice. Whether they are the beginning of a new wave and new tactics for this community has yet to be seen. This much I do know: I plan on giving money, signing up and supporting GetEqual.org to see where it leads us. They have proven to me they deserve a chance. After all, eighteen years later we still have "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". What are we waiting for?

The issue isn't just DADT, it is freedom for LGBT people. The issue is full and complete equality. The time is now. In fact, it is long overdue. As Dr. King said:

We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.

Thanks to Pams House Blend for the Pictures and Omar Clarke of GetEqual.org. They are greatly appreciated. Pam has the scope all the time!



Dr. Mock has published four books with Floricanto Press, Berklety, CA. His articles have appeared on publications like The Chicago Tribune and several gay and lesbian newspapers. He was inducted in The Chicago GLBT Hall of Fame in 2007. He can be reached at: www.carlostmock.com