Reflections on the recent protests against Prop 8, the ballot initiative which took away equal marriage rights in California
"It was just a bunch of us, mostly young, spontaneously coming together. Some of the older crowd warned us to go back but we kept on going and dispersing in different directions,"
It was seeing my college office filled to capacity on a Friday evening that made me a believer. See, for anyone who knows anything about college, work and college student are words you do not associate together on a Friday evening. As I entered American University's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Ally Resource Center that Friday night however, I got a good whiff of marker smell and adrenaline. Before my very eyes were at least 12 or 15 very queer or very allied students making signs for what many of them would be their first protest.
"S8 Against H8"
"So When Do I Get To Vote On Your Marriage?"
I should start with why I was there on a Friday evening in the first place. I'll admit, I had my book club meeting the following week, and I really just wanted a quiet place to cuddle up and embrace my dorky side.
This month's book was 25 years of black, gay writing, so I was very excited to finish it. I was secretly hoping I would be inspired to write something based on what I read, unfortunately (or fortunately) I didn't get around to reading that night, what with the impromptu organizing and movement building I discovered happening spontaneously around me. I saw a room full of beautiful, budding, fired up activists .
I guess you can classify me as an serial activist. Things like phonebanks, canvassing, fundraisers and protests I all enjoy, but I've done so many of them they just aren't as exciting anymore. That's why when I saw fellow college students toiling away on making protest signs on a Friday evening, I had a flashback to my first virgin encounters with activism. Oh how delightful and purely pleasurable those first naive excursions can be.
"Don't Drink the H8erade"
"Fight H8, Fight Prop 8!"
I thought of my first pride in NYC, where I put on a rainbow cape and dressed up like the gay superman (embarrassing yes, regretful no). Boy did I hear a mouthful from many of my friends who were less enthusiastic about pride. "It's just one large party", "It's one day long beer commercial", "Where's the anger, we're being made second class citizens, we should be shouting in anger, not cat calling the go-go dancers!".
Sure, I shared some of their concerns, but it was PRIDE! I needed a space to have my identity affirmed and pride was the best place for that. That Pride march was also my gateway drug into the activist community. It was from that experience that I decided to intern at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, an LGBT media watchdog that gets less credit than it deserves. It was a little too much for me as a high school student, but it was still worth it.
Going back to last Friday night, when I saw those students making their signs, I wondered if this protest was their gateway drug into other forms of activism. I read a post on thenewgay.net which seemed to be wondering the same thing:
I’m not sure who our gay leaders are, or what they have to say, but on Sunday I saw a bunch of college kids organize a march without having much time or money to coordinate. They led a few thousand rain soaked people from the US Capitol to the White House, and there weren’t any official speakers or corporate sponsors present—just pissed off people who want justice, and want the world to take notice. They inspired me, and I hope that they inspired you to work towards solutions.
When I left the Resource Center to get to my job as a desk receptionist in one of the dorms I noticed something else. Every other person I passed who I knew would ask me "Are you excited about tomorrow?" "Hey man you going tomorrow?", not even needing to say what it was they were asking me about. We all just knew what was going on.
At my desk, people passed me who had signs, were making signs or who were attending a sign making party. A sign making party . How did all this get organized in just a week and a half!?
"Republicans Against H8"
"C'mon, do you really want to make lesbians ANGRIER?"
The passage of Proposition 8 has energized a large contingent of college students to become political activists, according to university and student sources...
"For a long time young people, including myself, have been complacent and satisfied with the way things were going. But Proposition 8’s passage struck a chord because it is denying citizens equal opportunity and equal access," [UCLA student] Valk said...
I woke up early the next morning, partly because I couldn't sleep and also because I was volunteering at an LGBT economic summit before the protest.
I happened upon a panel on how LGBT businesses could access media, including new media. The discussion inevitable found its way to facebook and the prop 8 organizing that happened largely through that medium.
Attendees noted that they would be leaving early (or wish they could) to march in solidarity with protesters. across the nation. I did indeed see some of them at the protest, but I have just as much respect for those who stayed in the conference. The ones that stayed also contributed by committing to strengthen our community economically.
"Out of the closets, into the streets!"
"We're Here, We're Queer, We're Married, Get Used to it!"
Emily Rokosch, the assistant director of the [UCLA] LGBT center, said she has seen students come out with a new level of passion regarding Proposition 8.
"It’s great that college students are getting passionate and standing up for issues they believe in. At the center we’ve observed a large number of student leaders who have really stood up and took an active leadership role," Rokosch said...
It was youth that organized this march and youth that made up the majority of attendees. We're not sure where many of our national groups were in the past few days, but for the most part (cough... HRC) they were not helping us youth organize the largest LGBT nationwide protest in American History. You know something is terribly wrong when you see me quoting queer conservative Andrew Sullivan:
You will notice that the website of the biggest gay rights group in the country has one single mention - it's a blog about a celebrity, of course - of the massive protests that occurred for marriage equality across the country yesterday. (A letter from Joe Solmonese tells us to be nice.) You will also notice that a handful of young non-professionals were able to organize in a few days what HRC has been incapable of doing in months or years...
How many struggles do we have to wage with these people always, always failing to lead - before we demand accountability and reform? Losing a battle this important should mean, at least, the rolling of some heads. Or we have no accountability at all. What are we: the Bush administration?
Whatever happens, it is clear that youth are taking charge of this debate, because leadership has been so uninspiring on any other level. We were the only age demographic to vote majority against this proposition.
"It was just a bunch of us, mostly young, spontaneously coming together. Some of the older crowd warned us to go back but we kept on going and dispersing in different directions," Valk said.
Many of my college friends lost their activist virginity on Saturday. Here's to hoping they remain activated. Judging by how my college, facebook and the blogosphere is still abuzz about the protest, we will.