Now’s time for gay civil rights movement

I recently had the opportunity to participate in an event that I have not witnessed in Atlanta for many years —- a protest for civil rights. As I joined the ranks of 750 other Georgians, I stood at the steps of the state Capitol in awe. Had the recent ballot referendum in California been responsible for mobilizing the gay community here and across the nation?

Despite my roots in activism, I have never been a strong advocate for same-sex marriage. In fact, since marriage affects only a small and willing portion of the community, I have always felt that there are more important issues, such as employment non-discrimination protections and anti-hate crime legislation that affect everyone in the community. Taking same-sex marriage into consideration, I still feel that we are wasting our time fighting at the state level when we need to be pressing forward for the next civil rights movement at the federal level.

In states such as Georgia, we are never going to mobilize enough voters to pass marriage-equality legislation, and, even if we did, it could be rescinded just like our friends in California just experienced. By moving forward at the federal level, we are securing our place in history and our equality for all of the generations to come.

At the Capitol rally, however, I experienced a sense of pride in my community. For the first time in a long time, my brothers and sisters showed up in mass to protest discrimination and advocate for equality and civil rights.

Later, we moved our activism and protests to Midtown. As I stood at the corner of 10th and Piedmont, I had a new realization. The last time I held a candle outside the local gay bookstore, we were all praying and waiting for Matthew Shepherd to recover from his severe and hateful beating.

Whatever happened after Matthew’s death? I remember the promise of hate crimes legislation and a spirit of unity within the community —- but it never came, and our spark smothered and eventually died.

Now, I issue a call to action —- not to Congress, not to our new president and not to our local politicians, but to all of us living our daily lives within our own communities. It is time for us all to take this energy we created and do something positive. We cannot forget those who came before us.

In 1963, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. sat in a Birmingham jail and wrote to his fellow clergymen. He wrote: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Though I have heard this quote dozens of times, it has never had more meaning than it does now.

We are all tied in a single garment of destiny. Though the “isms” have divided us, they can no longer be about black and white, HIV-positive and HIV-negative or rich and poor.

It is about what is right and what is wrong. Passing any type of legislation that separates, classifies or strips anyone of equal rights is wrong.

Now, while we are still feeling that sense of pride and accomplishment from the protests, we must move forward and take the next step. I challenge the next set of activists to mobilize the troops, unite our community and let our voices be heard.

> Justin “JZ” Ziegler is president of the Atlanta Executive Network and development officer for AID Atlanta.