By Sr. Correspondent, D. Kevin McNeir
Photography by Antoine Craigwell

It was high noon on Sunday, Oct 11 as I stood at the intersection of 15th and I streets, N.W. in Washington, DC on a fall day, where with a sky an expanse of blue, the sun's warmth suffusing and highlighting the shadows, and observing a motley crew of mostly young men and women gathering on the corners, quickly becoming a crowd of several thousand, I wondered what I was really doing at this event - the National Equality March.

 

 

Marchers on the way to the U.S. Capitol Building

This was not the first time I had come to our nation's capitol to lend my voice and support to a cause in which I strongly believed. I wasn't under any illusions that issues of rights in the gay community would change overnight because I was here; I was feeling slightly fatigued and still a little woozy from encounters the previous night with seductive amigos at The Mill and several apple martinis. But, as the adage goes, "presence is everything." At least, that's what I kept telling myself as I waited for my colleague, Antoine, to join me so we could begin our coverage of the March. After all, it's hard enough to make it in this country when you are an African-American male, who is constantly dealing with prejudice, White privilege and the stereotypes of the "dangerous Black man" permeating every mountain and molehill. But adding the moniker "gay" to the picture and making it public knowledge is for many brothers, tantamount to slitting wrists.

British singer Billie Myers and saxaphonist Dave Kozx performing America the Beautiful

While I stood waiting for the March to get underway, I couldn't help thinking how much my life and our world had changed since another October morning in 1995 when I brought a group of high school students from my hometown of Detroit to participate in "The Million Man March." Then, I was an idealistic father, with an attorney-wife and two small children, who taught theology at one of the country's most prestigious preparatory schools. Then, we were tired of the way Black men were being portrayed: as the reason for America's ills and we were fed up with media moguls labeling us as "deadbeats," "crackheads," and "criminals." To give voice and presence to feelings, men of color from every state in the Union descended on the nation's capital. in a peaceful demonstration of solidarity. I came with dual badges, I brought my optimism and press credentials at the invitation of the Rev. Jesse Jackson who in the spring of 2003 led a caravan of buses from Chicago to meet at a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court building just as the occupants, the Justices heard cases which challenged affirmative action as exemplified in the University of Michigan's (my alma mater) race conscious admissions policies. We came to Washington, DC because we knew that the elimination of affirmative action in the land, where as noted Princeton philosopher Cornel West said in "Race Matters", could have a devastating and detrimental effect on our lives - present and future; and we wanted to make sure that the Honorable Associate Justice Clarence Thomas and his colleagues heard our voices.

Lt. Dan Choi speaking to crowd

As in both cases, while the majority of my friends and co-workers were ready to admit that the cause for which I marched was noble, admirable, and certainly understandable, they wished me much success. But on this last and most recent sojourn in October 2009, the need to march and the legitimacy of our concerns would not be as palatable to American society. Still we marched, we sang, we danced and we encouraged one another. And as the crowd began to surge and the sun beamed down on our heads, I witnessed something that I had only read about - an assembly of this country's truest "rainbow coalition." The March for Equality wasn't simply a bunch of "Adams and Steves" or "Rahims and Eugenes" - there were husbands and wives, straight college students, lesbian grandmothers, gay partners, former armed services soldiers, Broadway celebrities, bisexual Generation Xers, finger-popping queens, and survivors of homophobic violence who came to the nation's capital. For the marchers, the issue on the table was encapsulated into one kernel, one that seemed simple enough: gay rights. This Sunday was a day when race, age, or sexual orientation really mattered; it was a march where America's claim as the land of "justice for all" was called into question. I asked myself, "How does who I want to love impact the lives of others?" But, I acknowledge that we may have to wait a little longer; more marches, protests and sit-ins may be necessary. It may even take voting some folks in office and others out. At least I know it will take some real soul searching in the Black community where AIDS continues to decimate our families both here and abroad.

Julian Bond speaks to the crowd

As more and more people of color fall victim to this unrelenting, non-discriminating pandemic, at the March I noticed that "our" leaders were noticeably missing in action. I wondered if they had made the connection between gay rights and the decimation of the communities and congregations and chose instead to ignore it for loftier ideals. Nationwide, everyone has made another connection between gay rights and civil rights, where then was the NAACP, the Urban League, Rainbow PUSH and the frats and sororities during this March? And where was the Black Church? While they were all notably absent - at least officially, many of their members including tithe-paying congregants, T-shirt-adorned participants and Roman collar-wearing preachers were there - if unofficially. But, the times, they are a changing! Look out for the full news story on the March for Equality in our Sunday report.