1. We are marching, truly marching Can’t you hear the sound of feet? We are fearing no impediment We have never known defeat.
2. Like Job of old we have had patience, Like Joshua, dangerous roads we’ve trod Like Solomon we have built out temples. Like Abraham we’ve had faith in God.
3. Up the streets of wealth and commerce, We are marching one by one We are marching, making history, For ourselves and those to come.
4. We have planted schools and churches, We have answered duty’s call. We have marched from slavery’s cabin To the legislative hall.
5. Brethren can’t you catch the spirit? You who are out just get in line Because we are marching, yes we are marching To the music of the time.
6. We are marching, steady marching Bridging chasms, crossing streams Marching up the hill of progress Realizing our fondest dreams.
7. We are marching, truly marching Can’t you hear the sound of feet? We are fearing no impediment We shall never know defeat.
Yesterday, in the landmark decision Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against discrimination due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. The ruling was met with widespread praise among LGBTQ rights groups, which have long argued against such employment discrimination. While this year, the LGBTQ community cannot physically march in Pride parades around the country, we are symbolically marching closer to equality through the courts, and if Joe Biden wins the presidency in November, we will be making even greater strides.
Carrie Law Morgan Figgs was born in 1878. A teacher, community leader, playwright, and poet, Figgs was the author of Poetic Pearls (Edward Waters College Press, 1920) and Nuggets of Gold (Jaxon Printing Company, 1921), as well as several plays. She died in 1968.
The Washington Post has been keeping track of the number of lies that Donald Trump has told in public. When I checked the site yesterday, it had last been updated on May 29, 2020, at that time, Trump had been in office for 1,226 (long and disastrous) days in office. In that time, Trump has made 19,128 false or misleading claims. During his time in office, Trump and his administration has been the most viciously anti-LGBTQ administration in the nation’s history. Now, the Republican Party has published a claim so preposterous you’d think it was published in The Onion. President Donald Trump, they say, has “taken unprecedented steps to protect the LGBTQ community.” This from a man that picked Mike Pence, one of America’s most homophobic politicians, as his Vice President. On the same day the Republican Party made this announcement, they also announced it would recycle its cruel 2016 platform that specifically targeted the LGBTQ community for condemnation. As such, the Republican platform will continue to oppose same-sex marriage and the expansion of civil rights for sexual orientation and gender identity while supporting President Donald Trump’s transgender military ban, conversion therapy, and businesses discriminating against same-sex couples.
In the statement released by the GOP, the party only lists times the president “kept his promise to protect the LGBTQ citizens,” conveniently leaving out the hundreds of times the administration has actively worked to undermine the community. Many of the accomplishments were simply continuations of protocols set by previous administrations and were either broken promises or extremely misleading. One of the statement’s assertions touts that since elected, President Trump has selected five openly gay persons for a position as U.S. Ambassador: Robert Gilchrist, Richard Grenell, Randy Berry, Eric Nelson, and Jeff Daigle. The document also points out that in 2019, President Trump’s first LGBTQ judicial nominee, Mary Rowland was confirmed to the District Court of Northern District of Illinois.
In a letter to the U.S. Military Academy’s graduating class, a coalition of several hundred West Point alumni slammed the Trump administration’s politicization of the military amid nationwide protests. “Sadly, the government has threatened to use the Army in which you serve as a weapon against fellow Americans engaging in these legitimate protests. Worse, military leaders, who took the same oath you take today, have participated in politically charged events,” the alumni wrote. “The oath taken by those who choose to serve in America’s military is aspirational. We pledge service to no monarch; no government; no political party; no tyrant,” the group continued, adding that they were “concerned that fellow graduates serving in senior-level, public positions are failing to uphold their oath of office and their commitment to Duty, Honor, Country.” I bring this up because like those West Point alumni in the Trump administration who have betrayed their oath, Robert Gilchrist, Richard Grenell, Randy Berry, Eric Nelson, and Jeff Daigle have betrayed their own LGBTQ community.
There is no excuse for someone working against their own best interest for fame, power, or whatever reason they try to justify their traitorous actions. To quote Michelangelo Signorile, “When you will sell out your own kind, there’s really no telling how low you will go.” Maybe the lesbian, gay, and bisexual men and women (as far as I know, there are no transgender people in the administration) who work in the Trump administration don’t see themselves as traitors, yet they work for an administration that has systematically done everything it can to destroy LGBTQ equality since being sworn into office. The lesbian, gay, and bisexual people who work for an administration which is actively trying to destroy the LGBTQ community may claim that they are trying to work within the system to change it are deceiving themselves and anyone who listens to them. Instead they need to be advocating strongly for LGBTQ rights and not collaborating with people working against that cause. They need to actively be working to get this administration our of office. When Joe Biden becomes president, this country will once again stand as a beacon of hope for LGBTQ people in America and around the world.
Donald Trump and Mike Pence have done everything in their power to endanger the rights and lives of LGBTQ people: banning transgender service members from being able to serve their country, proposing policies to strip LGBTQ health care protections, allowing homeless shelters to turn away transgender people, and encouraging adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ families, and the list seems to never end. The list the GOP released includes laughably tiny gestures like allowing a gay man to speak at the 2016 convention and lists various appointments he made that were filled by LGBTQ community members, like the ones I mentioned above. For many in the LGBTQ community, they risked everything to come out and be who they really are. Most survived, others did not, and many others lost their family and friends. We have fought too hard to let our government take away our rights.
A large part of the list revolves around former ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell. The out Trump acolyte was tapped to serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence, making him the first gay person to hold a cabinet-level position. Grenell’s tenure in both positions was rocked with repeated scandals and German officials reportedly “shunned” the controversial diplomat for his association with the far right, his interference in German domestic politics, and a perceived lack of professionalism, describing him as “narcissistic.” As the ambassador, Grenell announced a new federal initiative to decriminalize homosexuality around the world and said it demonstrated Trump’s commitment to civil rights and the LGBTQ community. Asked about it by reporters, Trump admitted he didn’t know anything about it. In total, Trump has nominated five gay men to ambassadorial positions, yet the administration refused to allow embassies to fly rainbow flags during Pride month.
Why am I saying all of this? It’s because lesbian, gay, and bisexual kids are three times more likely than straight kids to attempt suicide at some point in their lives. Medically serious attempts at suicide are four times more likely among LGBTQ youth than other young people. African American, Latino, Native American, and Asian American people who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual attempt suicide at especially high rates. One study found that 41 percent of transgender adults said they had attempted suicide. The same study found that 61 percent of transgender people who were victims of physical assault had attempted suicide. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual young people who come from families that reject or do not accept them are over eight times more likely to attempt suicide than those whose families accept them. Each time an LGBTQ person is a victim of physical or verbal harassment or abuse, they become two and a half times more likely to hurt themselves. This administration is furthering this with their policies of LGBTQ discrimination.
If we had a more accepting society in America, we could fight these statistics. So, I partially hold those LGBTQ people who work for the Trump administration responsible because they are helping make it harder for the LGBTQ community. I had a very good friend who was gay. Even though his family was not religious, they were conservative. When he came out to them, his brother nearly beat him to death while his parents watched and did nothing. His family never spoke to him again. Shortly after that, he tried to commit suicide. Thank goodness, he failed in his attempt. A friend found him in time, and he was taken to a hospital. Sadly, he died too young in a car accident several years later. This is hard for me to write, but because gay people were so demonized when I was growing up, I didn’t think it was possible for me to be gay. I was bullied relentlessly in school for being a sissy, appearing to be gay, or because my voice was not deep enough. The bullying and the inability to deal with my own sexuality led me to try and take my own life. I thank God every day that I was unsuccessful. I believe now that God had and has a plan for me. However, my parents still don’t accept me being gay, and I don’t expect they ever will. I suspect that a large number of my LGBTQ readers have faced similar issues: you either have attempted suicide, you know an LGBTQ who has attempted suicide, or you know an LGBTQ person who did commit suicide.
All of these are reasons why LGBTQ people should not work within an administration like Trump’s because by doing so, they are showing acceptance of his policies. We have to fight as hard as we can against LBGTQ discrimination. We need the United States to show the world that we care about our LGBTQ community. We can do that by electing Joe Biden. He has already been shown to be an LGBTQ ally, and his campaign recently announced a new voter outreach effort, Out For Biden, aimed at the LGBTQ community. Biden believes that every human being should be treated with respect and dignity and be able to live without fear no matter who they are or who they love. During the Obama-Biden Administration, the United States made historic strides toward LGBTQ equality: the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Biden’s historic declaration in support of marriage equality on Meet the Press in 2012, and the unprecedented advancement of protections for LGBTQ Americans at the federal level. While there are 11 million LGBTQ Americans eligible to vote in the upcoming presidential election, over 2 million aren’t registered to vote. According to the Williams Institute, 50 percent of registered LGBTQ voters are Democrats, 15 percent are Republicans, 22 percent are Independents, and 13 percent said they identify with another party or did not know with which party they most identify. LGBTQ voters are racially diverse, 47 percent are under age 35, and one-third have at least a college education. As LGBTQ people, we are central to the fabric of this country. We must elect a government that will focus their voices and celebrate the contributions of LGBTQ people everywhere.
The bottom line is that if you support Trump you cannot seriously claim to support the LGBTQ community. As I said the other day “Not all Trump supporters are racist, but all of them decided that racism isn’t a deal breaker.” The same goes true concerning the LGBTQ community: not all Trump supporters are homophobic, but all of them decided that homophobia isn’t a deal breaker. This was clearly and bluntly (with a few expletives) illustrated by a gay Texas man named Andrew Joseph Duffer, who recently posted a YouTube video titled: “Five Minutes of Hot Tea.” The video may be hilarious, but Duffer’s description of Trump supporters in his small Texas hometown should raise concerns. I can relate to this video concerning my friends and family back in Alabama. As Duffer points out, “it’s not a difference of opinion, it’s a difference of morality.” If you haven’t seen this video, it’s worth watching. He uses some language I don’t use among polite society, but few of my friends are polite, so I won’t say its language I don’t use. Watch it if you want. Some will like it, some won’t:
I know there is a lot packed into this post, and I got a little carried away. I had a lot I wanted to say. If you read it all, thank you.
For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
(KJV) (James 1:20)
Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
(KJV) (1 John 3:18)
What is human anger? It’s anger that occurs when someone rubs against our pride or selfishness. God still wants us to get angry, but for the right reasons such as the injustice to people of color and the those of the LGBTQI community. We must look after the most vulnerable among us today. They/we are discriminated against every day, and it should cause you to be angry. Learn to temper your selfish anger. When you feel yourself getting angry because your feelings are hurt, swallow it and focus your mind on something else. If you must be angry focus that anger on something that truly matters. Let it be a righteous anger. Stewing in your misplaced anger only produces more anger. Practice refocusing your mind as many times as needed and put your anger to good use.
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
(KJV) (1 Peter 4:11)
You have a gift. You don’t think so? As a believer, the Holy Spirit has given you a talent. Don’t hide it out of false humility. Instead, use your gift! What about a hidden gift of writing or of speaking out against injustice? Perhaps you have a gift of persuasion in either the written or spoken word. It may be something totally different, but you do possess a gift from God and maybe only you know what that gift is. It could also be a gift that you don’t realize you have. So, it is important that if you realize someone has a gift that they don’t use, then let them know what a gifted person they truly are. Help them hone that gift. Gifts can be used to bring glory to God when others experience your gift. Determine what your gift is and share it with others.
The Epistle of James is my favorite book of the Bible and speaks directly to my message today. For me, James more than any of the other epistle writers spoke of what it truly means to be a Christian. The theme of patient perseverance during trials and temptations is at the heart of what James wrote. James wrote to encourage his readers to live consistently with what they have learned in Christ. He wanted his readers to mature in their faith in Christ by living what they say they believe. He condemned various sins, including pride, hypocrisy, favoritism, and slander. He encouraged and implored believers to humbly live by godly, rather than worldly wisdom and to pray in all situations.
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone…. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
(KJV) (James 2:14-17, 26)
During the difficult times in which we are living, we really must remember what we need to be doing. Focus our energy and anger and use them for good works. Let your faith guide you to make this world a better place.
On May 27, 2020, after 11 a.m., a 38-year-old African American transgender man, Tony McDade, was fatally shot in the Tallahassee, Florida, by an officer of the Tallahassee Police Department. The circumstances surrounding McDade’s death are still murky. Tallahassee Police say McDade was a suspect in a fatal stabbing that occurred shortly before his death. They also claim he was armed with a handgun and he “made a move consistent with using the firearm against the officer.” An eyewitness report has contradicted statements by the Police Department that McDade was armed with a gun. But this barely made the news. Why?
McDade doesn’t check off the appropriate boxes for being a “real” victim. He was transgendered, and for some, that’s not the face of the Black Lives Matter Movement and Protests. McDade’s death came on the heels of the high-profile deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd—who were killed in police encounters in Louisville and Minneapolis, respectively.
Florida has been an epicenter of anti-transgender violence over the past two years. Last year, the American Medical Association deemed a surge in the murder of transgender people an “epidemic.” The vast majority of victims are transgender women of color. Of the 52 reported murders of transgender or gender non-conforming people in the past two years, about 1 in 7 were in Florida.
I was going to talk about other civil rights moments when people who didn’t fit the bill of the perfect victim and were pushed aside or forgotten, but I decided to do a bit shorter of a post today. Did you know that five women refused to give up their seats to a white person and were arrested in 1955 before Rosa Parks became the face of the Montgomery Bus Boycott for doing the same thing? For one reason or another, the other women did not fit the profile that the Movement wanted. Several of these women did file the lawsuit Browder v. Gayle which eventually end bus segregation. Bayard Rustin, one of the organizers of the March on Washington, was eventually pushed out of the Civil Rights Movement for being gay. In many civil rights movements, those who didn’t fit into the perfect profile were ignored or pushed out. In the early gay rights movement, men who couldn’t pass as “straight” were not allowed to march with the Mattachine Society. The examples are really too numerous to mention all of them.
Never forget that Marsha P. Johnson, a black self-identified drag queen, was a leader of the Stonewall Riots. Many of the rioters in June 1969 were transgender, and we owe it to transgendered people of all races for the gains we have made in civil rights. Let’s not forget the “T” in LGBTQI+, because they are also our brothers and sisters. They deserve to be recognized as well. Just because a person doesn’t fit the perfect profile you want to see represent people that are treated unjustly, they were still treated unjustly, nonetheless.
As newly out actor Justice Smith recently said while protesting for Black Lives Matter:
“[Nicholas Ashe (his boyfriend)] and I protested today in New Orleans. We chanted ‘Black Trans Lives Matter’ ‘Black Queer Lives Matter’ ‘All Black Lives Matter’. As a black queer man, myself, I was disappointed to see certain people eager to say Black Lives Matter but hold their tongue when Trans/Queer was added. … I want to reiterate this sentiment: if your revolution does not include Black Queer voices, it is anti-black. If your revolution is okay with letting black trans people like #TonyMcDade slip through the cracks in order to solely liberate black cishet men, it is anti-black.”
While I know what it is like to be a gay man and have to hide who I am, I cannot begin to pretend that I know what life is like for a person of color. I know that the LGBTQI+ community and communities of color have faced similar struggles and fights for equal rights, it is far from being the same. Many of us can, and have, hidden our sexuality, but people of color can’t hide their skin color. African Americans need our support at this time. We are a nation in crisis, and we need to all come together to make it a better place. Especially since we have a president who as The New York Times reported: “Trump increasingly sounds like a cultural relic, detached from not just the left-leaning protesters in the streets but also the country’s political middle and even some Republican allies and his own military leaders.”
Joe
The Closet Professor 