I didn't sojourn to Washington D.C. for the National Equality March on Homecoming weekend as a vocal advocate for gay rights. I went because I was (tentatively) ready to show my support more openly for my gay friends. I wanted to see change and fight injustice. I went because I had never participated in a national march, nor had I been to D.C. Midterms were approaching, and the time was ripe for adventure. I went, in short, not knowing at all why I was marching or why it was crucial that all Americans understand the importance of this civil rights movement.
I returned to Tufts, first of all, with a better understanding of who the members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in America are. The people I marched with were friendly. I arrived at the march knowing only one other person, but I left it with more friends than I can count on fingers. I marched next to Keith, who was in charge of holding the bullhorn and leading chants. My favorite was a call-and-response chant to an army marching song: "I don't know but I've been told, 'Don't ask, don't tell' is getting old. I don't know but it's been said, who cares what people do in bed." The chants were clever and optimistic. There was little anger shown outwardly by the marchers; the prevailing feeling was a sense of hope.
I also returned pleasantly surprised at America. I was proud that I could march peacefully, respectfully and resolutely with my fellow Americans down the streets of our nation's capitol, bluntly and humbly address our president, and know that we would be heard. At one point I was just feet from comedian and Daily Show correspondent John Oliver as he interviewed a rainbow-clad woman, asking if she really needed those equal rights anyway. America would know what we were doing because The Daily Show and other national news networks cared to be there to report it. Whether or not all Americans agreed with the cause, everyone would have the chance to hear about it because America has set up the beautiful institution of democracy. Everyone is allowed to speak out, profess the truth they know, theoretically, without fear of retribution — at least from their government.
Unfortunately, the last sentiment that returned with me to Tufts was sadness at the inequality and intolerance present in my country. Cars drove by the march route with "Protect D.O.M.A." (Defense of Marriage Act) signs and images of happy gay couples circled in red, with big X's over their faces. This was appalling. To think that my fellow Americans don't want our LGBT brothers and sisters to have the right, for example, to visit an ill spouse in the hospital is disgusting. Do they realize that federal rights are granted to Americans under the institution of marriage, and that over 1,000 rights are denied to the LGBT community because they are not allowed to legally marry in the majority of states in America? Do they know that there are high school students across the country that consider committing suicide daily because they are told by society that they are inferior, that they need to change, that they have to hide who they are if they want to get a job and become successful adults?
This is the message that is sent to children when they are raised in a country that denies rights to a portion of its citizens. I would like to think that the bigots driving around in their cars with their signs — or leading summer camps, or directing large corporations, or preaching in churches or teaching in schools — are simply ignorant of the hate they are actually purveying. The alternative — that these people are willfully and actively trying to harm their neighbors, their leaders and their co-workers — is too horrifying for me to even consider.
The National Equality March was not the beginning of the fight for equality in America. This fight has been evolving since Europeans brought Africans here before this nation was formed and Africans resisted their oppressors, since women fought for the right to vote early in the twentieth century, since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marched in Washington in 1963 to end segregation and win equal rights for all Americans — just as I marched in Washington on Oct. 11, 2009 to win equal rights for all Americans. I too have a dream, that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.
Nor is the march the end of the battle. It was, as a wise man recently said, a call to action, not just for President Obama or gay rights activists, but for all Americans. I believe that Americans are intelligent enough to understand this issue or to want to educate themselves about it. I believe Americans are hungry for justice and will fight for equality for all people. I believe that Americans — even those who disagree with me and think marriage is a sacred institution that should be reserved for non-gay, non-heathens — are humane enough to understand that a lesbian woman living in America deserves the same right to access to her partner's medical insurance as a straight woman in America.
I return to Tufts with these beliefs and invite everyone to consider their own. One of the most powerful moments of the march was the concluding rally at the capitol, where the more-than-250,000 marchers gathered to listen to speakers such as actress Cynthia Nixon, activist Judy Shepard, singer Lady Gaga and various members of Congress. It was there that I realized that even though this is a fight that does not win me any rights personally, it is my duty to work toward equality and speak out when I see injustice. This is my fight just as much as my gay or bisexual friend's fight because, as Cynthia Nixon so elegantly stated, "When a country has different laws for different categories of people, it sends its population a message that the group of people with lesser rights are somehow inferior and less deserving of respect. That message is heard loud and clear by the worst elements in our society. And it instructs them that if they are looking for someone vulnerable to prey upon, gay people are a ready target."
This movement is not about rights for marriage; it is about demanding equal responsibilities, opportunities and treatment for all citizens. I know I am not alone at Tufts in my belief that equality under the law is an inherent right and that this country will be inherently unequal until we address this issue. I am a busy student with many responsibilities, many aspirations and many time commitments. I don't have to give up all of my possessions and become a traveling advocate in order to work towards equality — I only have to think critically about how my nation is being run, vote responsibly and talk with people about this subject. This is our generation's issue, and we have the power to change this country for good.
