Last night’s historical election of Barack Obama will forever be a bittersweet memory for me. As a black woman, who is not old enough to have lived through the civil rights movement or segregation, but who is old enough to realize that racism is alive and well; I know that America’s election of the first African-American as President will forever change this country’s landscape. I know that the election of a man with a “funny sounding” non-traditional American name is remarkable. The election of a man whose father was Kenyan, whose mother was an unwed, young and white, woman pregnant by an African man; lets me know that people can get past their bias, prejudice and unfounded convictions for the greater good.
Barack is a man who made whites and blacks alike stare their prejudices in the face. We had a choice on Tuesday. We could have chosen to continue to walk along the line that divided us all, for each of us, what that line represented was uniquely different. One persons line may have been a lot wider than another’s; do we dare face ourselves and make that leap over these self-imposed lines or stick to the tired, old thoughts and ways that have kept us apart in the past? Baracks win last night is not only a win for all of America but for all of the world. He won for those of us who are different, those of us who some consider less-than seasoned and lacking the proper amount of gray, he won for those of us who were counted out and told that we could not succeed, that we weren’t light enough or smart enough, pretty enough or had enough money. He won for the son’s and daughters of unwed moms and dads, he won for the unwed moms and dads. He won for my son and other young black men who may have seen the only route for black men to be successful is either on the basketball court or in music videos. Barack won for each and everyone of us who was told that would weren’t good enough or weren’t qualified to do that which we wanted to accomplish. Barack has inspired a new generation and breathed a breathe of fresh air into those who once thought that all was lost. Yes, America, we can!
Despite this, despite all the hope and inspiration that a Barack win brings, I am left wondering about the state of our country. A place where we can shed innocent young blood over oil, a place where we can ignore the ethnic cleansing in African countries and the cry of the poor from our own city streets. I sit here today looking for a reason why I can be denied the right to love by the same people who have made history in electing a black man as President. I am staring at the news of a successful measure in both Florida and Arizona that has banned the marriage of consenting adults who want to pledge their eternal love and devotion to one another.
Half of me is elated…the other half divided.
I am black.
I am a woman.
I am a lesbian.
And in the eyes of those in this country who has just made history, I am not entitled to the same rights as others, because of my sexual orientation.
This win is bittersweet…as I know we have a long way to go. So what do I do? Can I be any less of a lesbian than I am a woman or black? Contrary to what some may think, I didn’t choose to be a lesbian. I can deny my love for my partner as much as I can deny my gender or the color of my skin.
Will we ever see the election of a lesbian to the highest office of the land?
Not that I can see…as long as we are thought of as second class citizens who are not worthy of the rights enjoyed by straight men and women.
This country believes that it is O.K. to deny a human being their basic rights due to their gender, color or their skin or sexuality.
I know some people hate it when gays compare their fight to that of blacks in America. I know, I know…
What I don’t know is how we can stand the hatred and dehumization of anyone. No, I don’t have a big L for lesbian on my forehead. You will know that I am a black woman when you see me and my sexual orientation is not something you can tell by my appearance. If you can like me when you think I am straight and can hate me when you know otherwise, when I can legally lose my job for being a gay woman and my partner in love and life is denied benefits because of her sex, when my car is keyed and the windows of my home are busted because I am different…then that is prejudice too and it is no greater or no less of a prejudice than any other group. Hate is hate.
America reminds steadfast in her resolve to deny my rights.
In this great country, I remain separate and unequal.
But my fight continues, as I remember that women were not welcome at the voting booths, but they showed up anyway until America had no choice but to legally extend the right to vote to a group that should have never been denied in the first place.
I know that blacks weren’t even counted as a whole person, until they stood up and America had no choice to count them because they wouldn’t sit down until they were. The men and women who knew that the “whites only” and “colored” signs were cruel and just wrong; reminds me that what people think is right, isn’t always right. People who weren’t afraid to lay down their lives so that those who come after them will never have to experience a life of hatred that they endured, inspire me to keep my head up.
Barack’s win is a reminder that while we have come far, the fight for me and for others is far from over. We keep on.
I have to stand on the belief that just because the law denies me my rights today, doesn’t mean that I won’t win tomorrow. What today seems like an outrageous notion, will be a given tomorrow. As long as I keep standing for what I know is right and just and true my voice will not be silenced and I will not be deterred.
Not by people who hate just for the sake of hating;
Not by people who believe the crazy notion that there is some “gay agenda” of “spreading” homosexuality to young children;
Not by people who believe that I am going to hell for loving who I love; as I know that some people who sit in church faithfully have no idea who God is;
And not by anyone who believe they can regulate my life and who I love.
So I thank Barack Obama for leading this historic rise as the first black man to lead the free world. I am grateful to others we came before him who refused to be moved, they refused to sit “over there” or “back there”, they refused to believe that they were somehow less of a person because of the arbitrary class system imposed by imperfect people.
I know that people once thought the world was flat until someone was brave enough to sail the deep blue sea in order to prove to the world it was round. So let’s just continue to go and fight and continue to move America to a truly free country where everyone has the same rights as everyone else. So yes, today is bittersweet, but this is just the beginning of a brighter future. Yes we can, yes we have and yes we will!
Let’s continue the good fight for our rights. I will be posting information on petitions, rallies and any events that will help ensure civil rights for all Americans, not just some.
