Thursday, July 16, 2009

Pres. Obama Speaks against Anti-Gay Discrimination in Civil Rights Speech



President Obama gave a stirring emotional speech to the NAACP today at the 100th convention of the oldest civil rights organization in the U.S.

Obama expanded his message of equal rights beyond the black communities. He said many Americans still face discrimination.
Racism, he said, is felt "by African-American women paid less for doing the same work as colleagues of a different color and gender. By Latinos made to feel unwelcome in their own country. By Muslim Americans viewed with suspicion for simply kneeling down to pray. By our gay brothers and sisters, still taunted, still attacked, still denied their rights."

He wasn't booed, and got a lot of applause, so at least the African-Americans at the NAACP understand that racism is not the only form of discrimination and African-Americans are not the only group fighting for their civil rights. He was echoing the words of MLK, that injustice against anyone is an injustice against all.

Well, not everyone understand MLK's vision of civil rights. Some still think that "civil rights" = BLACK rights.

Many of us are perplexed by LZ Granderson's column on CNN today, Gay is Not the New Black
Black gays are not upset with Obama's lack of progress on his campaign promises to LGBT people, so gay whites should not attack Obama? Gay rights should not be compared to (black) civil rights?

Pam has more on this on Pam's Houseblend

1 comment:

Myron said...

While I am asexual/fetishist and not gay, I am black and can say that I do not see a difference between the fight for civil rights for people of color and the fight for civil rights for people of different sexual orientations.

As MLK said, injustice against anyone is injustice against all. Equality is something that all people should be able to enjoy. Civil rights is not just something that should be fought for one group of people, it is something that must be fought for all people know matter what skin color they are, beliefs they hold, or their sexual orientation.

I am very disappointed with how some of my African-American brothers and sister cannot see that civil rights is something that is inclusive for all. Maybe they really have fogotten the lessons of MLK.