National Equality March

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David Hawkins Becomes an Activist

October 16, 2009 in Activism by Antonio Cerna | No comments

HN friend David Hawkins wrote a daily dairy of his experience at the National Equality March last week for Advocate.com. He writes about getting teary eyed at the spectacle of marchers:

HN Friends David Hawkins (R), Nathan Manske (M) and Elisa Mason (L)

HN Friends David Hawkins (R), Nathan Menske (M) and Elisa Mason (L)

There were hundreds, thousands of people around me. I realized quickly that this massive line of bodies was much more than that. Until that time, I’d never seen so many gay people in one place.

He also shares this beautiful anecdote:

One of the last images I saw at the rally was of a beautiful family. Two men hand in hand, holding their gorgeous baby boy. If there was any reason to justify my attending the National Equality March, this was it. Not only am I fighting for everyone’s right to love, but I — we are fighting for the love of that child. We are fighting so that he and everyone around him grows up knowing that two daddies are as worthy of parenting a family as straight couples who have always been allowed to marry. We are fighting so that love remains love, and equal really means equal.

We only wish David would share with us what he wouldn’t share with Advocate.com. Mainly the images from inside DC’s Town nightclub.

But the energy in line was lively, and I randomly found some friends who’d also come down to D.C. from Brooklyn. We all waited together, and after an hour we’d finally made it in. Now, let me tell you that Town was FUN! And there’s a reason I didn’t offer any of those smutty images to Advocate.com. I have to save some sense of integrity! And after all, this is supposed to be a story on my experience at the march. Let’s keep our heads out of the gutter.

We live for the gutter, David. Now tell us everything. You told us about the Dads with babies, now tell us about the Daddies and the hot babes. We want to know!!

National Equality March/Rally/Party

October 15, 2009 in Activism by hadjalexiou | 2 comments

MAKING NOISE | Attending the Equality March in Washington D.C. this weekend was an exercising the First Amendment right of gays to get loud. H-N made it to the march, the rally, and even the after-party.

march15

As the media has reported, the marchers at the parade were overwhelmingly young—perhaps averaging 22-23 years old. For many older marchers, this young representation was heartwarming.

However, by contrast, the marchers were also overwhelmingly white. While there were other races represented, in a city as non-white as D.C. there was not balanced ratio of different colors.

There was a lot of good moods, smiles, and barely any angry folks. While many people led cheers (some of the memorable ones include “Hey Obama, Yes We Can!” as people marched passed the White House, and the call and response “Tell me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!”), just as many people didn’t yell at all. Walking past the White House, I had to ask (in the loudest voice possible), why “nobody was making any noise! Why would you come if you aren’t going to use your voice!”

People laughed, but I wasn’t joking!

Why the National Equality March matters

October 14, 2009 in Activism by B.B. Nichols | 1 comment

Cleve Jones knew that the internet would revolutionize the way that the Equality March was organized, and he was right. It takes but moments to make hundreds of thousands of people aware of any event and then allows you to keep them actively updated and engaged with its progression. Social networks like Facebook are particularly useful for events such as this because they act as both informers and influencers. All month, and particularly all of last week I could see which of my friends were going to the march, how they were getting there, not to mention all the additional activities and parties they planned on attending while there. I couldn’t help but feel like maybe I was missing out.

Lady Gaga @ National Equality March

October 12, 2009 in Behavior by Antonio Cerna | No comments

“I’m here to protect my friends.” This is the statement that Lady Gaga made to Corey Johnson on Sunday for Towleroad.com.

“I feel that homophobia runs rampant in the music industry. Artists are allowed to speak openly in a hateful way, in a homophobic way, in a misogynistic way, and the press does not challenge them. I’m going to be taking a very strong stance against that. And I’m an artist that refuses to accept that behavior.”

Does this interview/stance change your perception of Gaga as a pop singer? At least, does it change your mind about her as a coherent speaker?

YouTuber SubmarinerAndroid says:

I dismissed Lady Gaga for months after she emerged, as just another fame-whore girl with some dance songs. But she really is operating on a higher level than most of her competition. The songs have grown on me, and so has she. She takes risks, she’s fun, she’s real, and she’s fabulous.