Detroit labor activist Greg Murray penned a column in the Macomb Daily declaring that society shouldn't compare the struggle of African-Americans to claim full and equal rights in American society with the struggle of gays and lesbians to claim full and equal rights in American society.
He says the two movements are separate and unequal because, you know, it's not always obvious if someone is gay.
Macomb Daily: It is not a stretch to conclude that being gay does not have the same immediate identifier as does the color of one’s skin. Sometimes it is hard to determine whether a person is gay. It is not all that hard to determine whether a person is black.
Of course, plenty of civil rights movement heroes strongly disagree. Let's go to the tape:
"It is exactly the same thing. It is a right that all Americans have and t no reason why gay and lesbian people should not have these rights too. These are civil rights. We ought to be happy that other people, including gays and lesbians, have imitated the black movement for human rights. They've adopted our songs, we ought to be happy. They've adopted our slogans, we ought to be happy. They've adopted the way in which we went about it, the non-violent way generally speaking, we ought to be proud of that. And when others imitate what we did, to gain their rights, we ought to be first in line to say can I help you?"
- NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, who co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1960.
“I couldn’t imagine myself denying a right to my neighbor, my fellow citizen, that I enjoy myself. I don’t think you can say we believe in equal rights for some people but not for others. I think that’s what we call an oxymoron. I think if you believe in equal rights, you have to grant them to all the people.” - Rev. Joseph Lowery, former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Council
"I've heard the reasons for opposing civil marriage for same-sex couples. Cut through the distractions, and they stink of the same fear, hatred and intolerance I have known in racism and in bigotry." - U.S. Rep. John Lewis, former SNCC chair and leader of the march across the Edmund Pettis Bridge.
"Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood. This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimize the next minority group." - Coretta Scott King
But what do those people know?
Let's listen to Greg Murray, instead. Butch it up, gays and no one will ever discriminate against you ever again!
