Published on 01/25/2009

Annual Breakfast Highlights Need for Political Activism

By Sr. Correspondent, D. Kevin McNeir

Atlanta - About 150 gay and gay-friendly advocates gathered at Positive Impact (139 Ralph McGill Blvd.) on Monday, January 19 for a community breakfast and forum that highlighted the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and two icons from the annals of LGBT history: Bayard Rustin and Audre Lorde. And while it was for the majority, a moment to celebrate, some commented that King's "dream" has yet to be realized when it comes to those who live there lives, either publically or privately, as SGL (Same Gender Loving) men and women.

"It's important to realize that we are all part of this community despite our individual differences," said Maurice Cook, 40, a community activist and owner of EMI Designs Group. "We have come together in the spirit of Bayard Rustin - the man who really organized Dr. King's famous March on Washington - and we are taking that same energy, commitment, love and passion that he displayed throughout his life as we attempt to see past that which may separate us so we can focus on the gifts we possess that make us unique. The messages and memories of Rustin and Lorde continue to empower us to march, rally and protest in the face of the injustices that confront our community."

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Atlanta's Black LGBT Community Reflects on Lessons of Dr. King

Annual Breakfast Highlights Need for Political Activism

By Sr. Correspondent, D. Kevin McNeir

"It's important to realize that we are all part of this community despite our individual differences," said Maurice Cook, 40, a community activist and owner of EMI Designs Group. "We have come together in the spirit of Bayard Rustin - the man who really organized Dr. King's famous March on Washington - and we are taking that same energy, commitment, love and passion that he displayed throughout his life as we attempt to see past that which may separate us so we can focus on the gifts we possess that make us unique. The messages and memories of Rustin and Lorde continue to empower us to march, rally and protest in the face of the injustices that confront our community."



The breakfast was started seven years ago by community organizers Darlene Hudson and Craig Washington to achieve several goals: provide LGBT people, people of color and progressive allies the opportunity to fellowship before participating in the Martin Luther King Jr. March; to educate communities about the life and contributions of Bayard Rustin, Audre Lorde and other activists; and to enhance mutual support and continued learning among participants engaged in social justice work. But just hours before the breakfast, a smaller yet perhaps more energized group gathered just a few yards away from historic Ebenezer Baptist Church (407 Auburn Ave. NE), the place that was once the pulpit for Dr. King, to protest the participation of Rev. Rick Warren, senior pastor of Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, CA), as the keynote speaker for the Annual Commemorative Service.



Besides being a leading force in the successful efforts to defeat Proposition 8 earlier this year in California, Warren has also been openly critical in his views about denying marriage rights to same-sex couples. "There is something about a threat that spurs people on," Washington said. "When wedges are allowed to form, then we are divided. But if we connect then we become more powerful. Rights are being taken away from us and codified. And it's people like Warren and others from the religious right who have been fueling efforts to deny civil rights to gays and lesbians for the past four or five years. We have to make our voices heard now." "I see this as a beginning and am proud to be a part of this breakfast and to have been at the protest earlier," said Mary Ann, a 40-something Black lesbian. "We are still dealing with the problems of internalized racism and homophobia in this country and I think if we really want to do something revolutionary, this time next year we should go as a group to help with the feeding of the homeless that Hosea Williams sponsors each King Day or help Habitat for Humanity. The bottom line is this - if you want peace you have to work for justice."

Perhaps the most moving comments came from Aida Rentas, 70, a former New York resident who has been out in the trenches since 1950, fighting for justice for those from the LGBT community. "When I came out in 1950, I felt totally alone," she said. "Here I was gay, Black and Hispanic and had no one who looked like me to lend their support or to talk with about what I was feeling. First I had to leave New York City because I certainly couldn't come out and talk about being a lesbian anywhere near my mother. I am so proud to see these young people organizing and standing up - demanding equal rights under the law. Don't be so hard on yourselves children - you have accomplished a great deal. And together we can get even more accomplished."
"To be afraid is to behave as if the truth were not true." - Bayard Rustin, (1912-1987), black gay, civil rights activist "There is no such thing as a single-issue strategy because we do not live single-issue lives." -- Audre Lorde, (1934-1992), black lesbian, mother, warrior, poet