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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

December 19, 2008

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www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com

letterstotheeditors

No HR official should say those things To the Editors:

University of Toledo administrator Crystal Dixon should realize that she would still be drinking from a "colored only" water fountain if her civil rights had been put to a public vote in the 1960s. ["U. Toledo official, fired for anti-gay screed, sues school,” December 5 issue.]

Sexual orientation and gender identity are ours from birth; heteros and gays cannot be "changed" and we should all enjoy equal rights.

No one in a human resources capacity should be able to express ignorance and bigotry and still expect to keep that job. It's 2008-why do we still have to keep having these same discussions?

David C. Wolf Cleveland

Registry vote shows progress & bigotry

To the Editors:

I have called Cleveland my home all my life. I earned my high school diploma from Collinwood High School. I was raised by my parents in Ward 7 and my mother still lives in the home she bought with my father more than thirty years ago. I have worked as an organizer in the Glenville neighborhood and have witnessed firsthand the strong sense of community people have about their

homes, streets and businesses. I could live in Cleveland Heights or Lakewood, yet I choose to work and live in Cleveland. I shop in the city and volunteer in the city. Needless to say, I love Cleveland.

Monday night, December 8, was a night to be proud of my city. The city council passed an ordinance to allow a domestic partner registry for Cleveland residents. This measure, which was spearheaded by Councilmen Joe Cimperman and Joe Santiago, passed by a 13-7 vote.

I sat there among community members, activists, friends and colleagues and listened to the roll call. When all was said and done, a majority of council members who represent Black communities voted against the measure.

I was not surprised to learn that many of these council members voted as they did because they faced scrutiny and pressure from leaders of the Black churches in their wards. Pastors and reverends and bishops threatened to withhold their parish's support come re-election time. The threats came from the same individuals who stand in the pulpit on Sunday mornings preaching about love and the Christian way. Human rights are not a political pawn. When did pastors become politicians?

I could see shame in some council members' eyes, knowing that they sold civil rights up the creek in order to keep their political careers afloat. Knowing that the promises they made to the citizens of Cleveland were drowned out by secretive phone

milestones

Jack Manchester and Tom Boyes marry in San Fran

San Francisco-There were thousands of people on the sidewalks protesting Proposition 8 on the day that Tom Boyes and Jack Manchester were married in San Francisco City Hall. Signs in English, Spanish and Chinese protested the measure.

"It was a true coming together for human rights," said Boyes. “Going to San Francisco to be married on November 4 was our way of showing our love and commitment to one another; it was also our way of casting our vote. We flew into town at 1:15 am and were married at 3:30 pm the same day!"

Outside City Hall were hundreds of people with No on 8 signs, Boyes reported. There were also news media from around the world. Inside was a very gay festive atmosphere.

"The people working in City Hall were having the time of their lives. They loved what was going on. When we talked to the judge that was going to marry us, he said he could marry us anywhere on city hall prop-

erty except the men's room. He was a very gay kinda guy."

"After our ceremony in the beautiful rotunda of the building, upon leaving a couple of kids around 14 years old with skateboards looked at us and said, 'Hey man, congratulations!'" Boyes noted. "Changing the minds of children is where change starts."

"The trip was worth it all and more," he continued. "Having the right to stand with my partner and say our vows... priceless."

After the ceremony, the Akron couple, who have been together 16 years, vacationed for two weeks, enjoying the city and Ocean Beach and reading about themselves in Proposition 8 coverage on the Internet.

"International newspapers had our picture with the caption: 'Jack Manchester, age 61, kisses his partner Tom Boyes, 59, both of Akron, after their marriage vows...' We knew we reached another milestone!"

calls and back room dealings at church altars. My pride on Monday night was undermined by my bitter embarrassment as a member of the Black community. Nothing embarrasses me or disappoints me more than seeing such vehement opposition on the part of Black religious leaders against LGBT civil rights measures. This embarrassment turned into anger because I felt betrayed by my own people.

The hypocrisy of Black religious leaders befuddles me. They are not only hypocritical, but also forgetful and devoid of empathy. I will never cease to be amazed at how a group of people whose entire existence in America has been mired in the filth of racism can be so hateful and exclusionary. To them, equality and diversity only matter when discussing the disenfranchisement of Black people.

Do they not remember that the same Bible they use to propagate hate is the same Bible that was used to promote Blacks as a second-class group of citizens? The same Bible that was used to justify slavery?

I am sick and tired of the Black Church, once a beacon of hope and change, now the vehicle for sexism and homophobia. The Black Church should not and cannot speak for the entire Black community. We are not a homogenous group of people. Whether or not Black religious leaders want to admit it, Black gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons do exist. I know them. I work alongside them. They are my neighbors. They, too, are Christians. They are your hairstylists, your choir directors, your service employees, your bosses, your neighbors, and your family members. I am one of them.

To deny this fact would be telling a lie and any pastor worth his salt knows this is wrong. It is heartbreaking to see my Christianity manipulated as a tool for hate, discrimination and bigotry. It is maddening to hear that logical and understanding members of council were intimidated by leaders of Cleveland's Black churches into voting against this measure. To know that Black clergy members threatened to withdraw electoral support and to hear Councilman Roosevelt Coates quoting the Bible during a legislative committee meeting shakes my belief in the separation of church and state.

I remember attending the Obama rally that was held before Election Day. There was a sea of people waiting to hear his message on that cold and rainy Sunday. For once in Cleveland's recent memory, people regardless of classification came together because they cared about their nation and their city. It was a beautiful thing.

Sadly, the win of President-elect Barack Obama almost means nothing when you consider the glaring passage of anti-gay legislation in Arkansas, Arizona, California and Florida.

On Monday night, Councilwoman Mamie Mitchell from Ward 6 eloquently spoke about putting our energy into the problems that face our city on a daily basis. Our city is in peril and it has been for years. The Black community, overwhelmingly living on the east side, suffers from greater incidence of poverty, lack of resources, violence and foreclosure. Where are our Black leaders when yet another young person is killed in our streets, when families are losing their homes, breadwinners are being laid off, when our schools need support, when are streets are lined with garbage, when our elderly are left alone, when our sick can't afford to go to the hospital?

I do know where they were on Monday night. They were using their faith to stop loving, caring, hardworking, taxpaying citizens from accessing a basic and fundamental right: the right to love. The right to have a family. The right to be treated with dignity and respect. The right to live, work, worship and play in the City of Cleveland to truly call this place home.

As an LGBT person of color, I call on the leaders of the Black religious community and the leaders of the LGBT community to come together and discover what values we share. Do we not all want to live and work in a safe community? To have quality schools for our children? To have jobs and health care? To live in a region that is one of the best in the nation? If anything we should be applauding individuals who want to form monogamous unions and create households that make our

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neighborhoods more appealing, wholesome and safe.

I call on LGBT persons of color to be out and proud. Do not be ashamed of who you are. With risk and struggle come freedom and the fundamental right to be happy.

I call on Black allies to stand up to the bigotry that is so salient in the Black community. Your silence condones hate.

I call on white LGBT persons and allies to include people of color in the movement's leadership. Your ignorance of communities of color only makes our efforts to unite across divisions more difficult.

I want to thank those council members including my own, Jay Westbrook-who listened to their constituents, who rejected the pressure of personal interests and stood up for what is best for our city. Councilman Kevin Conwell said it best when he said that this is not about religion or morals, it's about making our city a better place to live.

There is too much at stake; too many lives and families at risk from economic crisis and failed national leadership. Using morality and Christian values to tear down another human being will not make our city better. There is a sense of urgency to repair Cleveland and now more than ever we need to come together to fix what ails us. We need to work together to achieve a common vision for our city: One city, one people, one mission.

Letters to the Editor

Maria Miranda Cleveland

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