ration
I’ve always felt connected to the Civil Rights Move-
ment of the 1960s. As a child, my family shared with
me their stories of growing up in rural South Caroli-
na during a time when being spat at or being called the
N-word was more than just a common occurrence—it
was applauded. And I, as a 24-year-old Black man, have
had my own run-ins with racists and bigots, albeit never
as severe as what my parents experienced.
But despite this history, things have gotten progressively better for
Blacks in America. We now claim $845 billion in buying power. We finally have someone who looks like us in the White House. Unfortunately, not
as much progress can be said for LGBT people, as evidenced by the overwhelming passage of anti-gay-marriage and adoption propositions this
past November.
History books will mark Nov. 4, 2008, as the day Americans elected
Barack Obama as the country’s first self-identifying Black president. Sadly,
the books will also show that on that day—and for what is believed to be
the first time in the country’s history—LGBT Americans in three states
(Arizona, California and Florida) were stripped of their basic human right
to marry whomever they love, a classic example of taking one step forward,
two steps back.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 36
BY DARYL C. HANNAH
