Mildred and Richard Loving only wanted one thing. They wanted to be married. But because she was black and he was white, the state of Virginia, not only denied them that, they convicted them of a crime and sentenced them to jail.
The trial judge suspended the sentence for a period of25 years on the condition that the Lovings leave the state and not return toVirginia together for a period of 25 years. He stated in an opinion that:
Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red,and he placed them on separate continents. And, but for the interference withhis arrangement, there would be no cause for such marriage. The fact that heseparated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.
This morning the voters of the state of California stripped the rights to marry from their gay citizens. This was mainly due to votes by other minorities who should have known better. Until the black community gets it that they will never truly be equal until we are all equal, I will fight to expose hate, homophobia, and bigotry wherever I see it. The US Supreme Court reversed the decision in the Loving case in one of the greatest victories of the civil rights movement:
The U.S. Supreme Court felt otherwise. It decided that marriage is one of the”basic civil rights of man.” Therefore, to deny the Lovings this basic freedom based on the racial classification that these state statutes implied, deprived them of a freedom of choice. Chief Justice Warren held that “miscegenation statutes adopted by Virginia to prevent marriages between persons solely on basis of racial classification violate equal protection and due process clauses of Fourteenth Amendment.”
Yet many of today’s leaders in the African American community do not believe that gay people are human. This “basic civil right of man” is not to be extended to gays and lesbians. I know that there are a lot of white people who feel the same way, but not nearly in the same proportion as in the black community–as this vote demonstrates. And I know that there are many in the African American community who support gay marriage, most notably the late widow of Iconic civil rights leader MLK Jr, Coretta Scott King.
“Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union,” she said. “A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages.”
It is a disgrace that a community that has suffered so long at oppressive hands has no shame in turning around and doing the same thing to another oppressed group. Donna Brazile, who is a major player in Obamanation had this to say;
He acknowledged a proposal by gay DNC member Garry Shay of California to add gays to the party’s affirmative action guidelines for selecting convention delegates triggered a contentious internal debate.
Dean said some “influential individuals” within the DNC Black Caucus, such as Donna Brazile, opposed the plan because it was seen as “an affront to the civil rights movement.”
Now is it any wonder that African Americans voted for Prop 8 by a margin of 3 to 1? It is time for black leaders to take stock in the AA community and purge it of all bigotry. For months I have been called a racist for my objection to Obama as president. Yet this morning I hear no one in the media, the Democratic party, or anyone but myself frankly, calling many in the black community out for being bigoted and homophobic.
Obama is a lost cause. He is a bigot, a homophobe and will do nothing to speak up against this kind of hatred. This is the result of that bigotry
In the language of their generation, Gus and Elmer were friends.
They worked together, took cruises together and sang in the same church choir. They lived together for nearly six decades but never held hands in public.
Then, last month, Gustavo Archilla, 88, and Elmer Lokkins, 84, crossed the Canadian border near Niagara Falls and were married.
”We eloped,” Mr. Lokkins said in his Manhattan apartment one recent afternoon, before breaking into song. ”To Niagara in a sleeper, there’s no honeymoon that’s cheaper.”
Then he paused, and his tone shifted. ”We waited a long, long time.”
Mr. Archilla and Mr. Lokkins did not marry for political reasons, financial reasons or legal reasons. Through their 58 years together, they mostly stood by as others fought for rights like civil unions or domestic partnerships.
Marriage meant more to them. It was something sacred, they said, an institution they cherished even as it shunned them.
I thank whatever creator exists out there that Mildred and Richard didn’t have to wait until they were almost 90 to have their relationship sanctioned by state and man. I hope I don’t have to either. As a final thought, I want everyone to remember this couple:
This is from the wedding of longtime gay rights activists Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin. They were one of the first couples to be married when the CA supreme court made same sex marriage legal there. Two months later, in August of this year, Del passed away, with her wife by her side.
“Ever since I met Del 55 years ago, I could never imagine a day would come when she wouldn’t be by my side,” Lyon, 83, said in a statement. “I am so lucky to have known her, loved her and been her partner in all things.
“I also never imagined there would be a day that we would actually be able to get married,” Lyon said. “I am devastated, but I take some solace in knowing we were able to enjoy the ultimate rite of love and commitment before she passed.”
I think it is a blessing that Del passed without having to witness this travesty. Every person who voted for the vile prop 8, regardless of their race, should be ashamed. But African Americans should know better.
Gay Rights=Human Rights
Posted by garychapelhill 
Posted by garychapelhill 
Posted by garychapelhill 
