It's coming!
Next week is our Breaking the Silence Week at San Jose State University.
The week is revolved around the National Day of Silence, a national youth led day of action to protest the systematic silencing that goes on between the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, and allies (LGBTQQIA).
We've been hard at work creating a week of events that are open to the entire campus community. Our goal is to continue to educate people about queer issues to further create understanding and acceptance within our world.
I urge you to participate in someway, whether that be speaking out, sharing your story, or just educating yourself about some of the issues that are out there.
Check out our website for further event details: http://www.sjsu.edu/breakingthesilence.
On another note, I was able to catch Cheryl Jacques speak tonight. Jacques is the former president of the Human Rights Campaign, an organization that works to advance the rights of the queer community.
I was a bit frustrated that I did not find out about this event earlier (the ongoing problem that our campus faces about communicating events to everyone) but nonetheless, I was able to attend.
Jacques spoke about how currently we are living in a civil rights movement; the issues are still the same, just a different population of people.
She brought up how the Irish were once discriminated, women, and of course African-Americans. Jacques said we have to look back before we can move forward and continue the fight for equality.
She concluded her speech by saying full equality will happen in America, but when that time comes, that is the question. Change will move quicker when people follow.
Ultimately, it is the people who have the power, not the politicians. The politicians follow the people.
When the time comes, people will realize what's going on and politicians will react. Jacques explained why we see senators Clinton and Obama sidestepping and not answering the marriage question for queers.
When they say they agree on equal rights in education, workforce, discrimination, and so on, it does not add up that one says they believe queers are equal until marriage comes up.
Jacques said we need a courages politician to stand up for these rights.
I wanted to ask a question, but I did not know how to phrase it. Something about her leaving the HRC and if she could comment about the struggles that the organization is going through, but I think the audience was not at that level of interest.
I came across a website that criticizes the the human rights campaign and its inability to view other human rights besides queer rights, mostly relating to a 2007 report on companies that are queer friendly. Well, the report does not look at other human rights violations. Rights that should be looked at.
Joshua Michael Sebrasky wrote an open letter to the HRC, stating:
Shouldn’t we, as part of an oppressed minority, be quite carefully considerate of the rights of others, as well as skeptical of the dominant forces in society? It is nearly impossible to isolate one variable in a social equation (how class, race, gender, sexuality, nationality, age, etc. interact and overlap), so it is more than disheartening to see the “largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality” in the United States omit so much consideration of the civil rights of those other than we who are categorized under the nebulous moniker “GLBT.”
Argh. Between all of my reading for a paper and this argument, no wonder why the LGBT movement is so disconnected.
Although there are a lot of issues, especially ones raised above, I do believe, as Jacques said change also starts with you she added.
If you are gay, come out, talk about it!
If you are not gay, become an ally!
It all begins with discussion. As soon as people know someone who is queer, perceptions about the community changes. Dialog happens.
This is contagious.
I am empowered when I feel like I'm making a difference. I do see that we are in the middle of a modern day civil rights movement. I'm doing something about it. I'm speaking out about it. I'm trying to create change through education.
What are you doing?
hey, i just ran across your blog wherein you commented about running across my letter. thanks for the "free publicity." 11 signatures strong. oh well. i can't seem to get the community to think outside of their own concerns, which is disconcerting, but nevertheless understandable.
anyway, just thought i'd say something since you're all the way in san jose and are aware of a letter campaign i started on kent state campus.
keep up the good blogging!
~josh
Posted by: josh sebrasky | May 06, 2007 at 09:40 PM