Equality Summit pt 3: On the Black Hand Side

After the 'No on 8' literally deflected bullets in the first meeting, we broke off in our work groups. They announced to everyone to go to a group that is your weakness or where you need the most training. Since the big theme was the lack of effort towards the Black communities, folks showed up at the African American discussion room, and by folks I mean white folks.

It didn't matter to me or some others, but there were people who wasn't so happy about that. There were a few Black people who wanted time to discuss our issues and asked the non-Blacks to leave. We thought that notion wasn't an option and said everyone was welcomed to the table. After 15 minutes of this mess, we pushed for everyone to stay, however the ones who opposed that idea left the room.

I was very upset about this because it sent an horrible message about the Black involvement in LGBT issues. I understand we need a space, but this was an opportunity to discuss our issues and work together. The reason why there's misunderstandings is because we don't talk to each other. This spat only caused a divide, but no worries, I held it down.

I became the 'speaker on Black issues' (jk). I addressed Blacks in the Gay media, the lack of visibility of LGBT people of color and ways to improved this. We also talk about how the protest could've been in South Central and East LA. If people felt betrayed by Blacks and Latinos, then they should have came on down to those neighborhoods and told them. Protesting in WeHo was a safe choice, protesting on Crenshaw and East L.A. would have be more effective (I think).

Afterwards, we had our African-American discussion time, but we realized there is a huge difference in where we stand. Some people are not comfortable talking openly about Black problems. There's still some trust issues with non-Blacks stemming from the past. The other side (me included) wanted explore that Jim Crow/trust/L.A. riots muck that's still holding folks back, but we only had 30 minutes.

It was clear our (Black) community needs time to deal with our stuff. We are continuing that conversation at a later date. Also we hope to connect with other LGBT groups of color as well.

In all, I enjoyed the conflict, drama, and the discussions. I met some wonderful folks during the 'thunderdome' and will stay in touch. Hopefully, we can come together and continue the healing process. I didn't grow up here, so my perception of cross-culture outreach is different than the ones who grew up in the heart of L.A.

But this is the time for a movement and change. We as a LGBT community of color need to ensure our place at the table. If we're going to win gay equality, all of us need to feel a part of the team. But it will take some time and I'm committed in making that happen.

Equality Summit pt 2: Highlights

Youtube has several moments from the Equality Summit, please enjoy.





Love Eva!




Thanks to Japhy/Queerty for the vids

Equality Summit pt. 1

So I got up early to be a part of the Equality Summit, an event involving community leaders in planning the next steps to winn back marriage equality in California.

The first meeting was with:
Staff and Executive Committee of Let California Ring (Geoff Kors & Vaishalee Raja)
Staff and Executive Committee of, and Experts on, NO on 8 campaign and (Chad Griffin, Yvette Martinez, Sarah Reece, Lorri Jean, Kate Kendall, Geoff Kors, Delores Jacobs, Marty Rouse, Chris Maliwat, and Julie Davis)
Staff from Marriage Equality USA (Pamela Brown, Policy Director and Molly McKay, Media Director)Proposition 8 Post-Election California Voter Survey, presented by David Binder, David Binder Research

About 200 or more folks were there, eager to hear about what went right and what went wrong.
Some of the info was pretty interesting. Like the 'No' campaign knew the polling results were not great for weeks, however they didn't release them until 5 weeks before the election. They felt that if they did release them, the 'Yes' campaign would use that info as a force against us.

Folks in the room were not happy about that. Most of us thought if we knew earlier we would have worked harder. Because we didn't hear about this, we thought were safe.

Lorri Jean talked about the issues they had with the professional consultants. Apparently, it was their(consaultants) fault with their faulty advise and strategies. But that came off as an excuse, maybe the 'No' folks should have kept a watchful eye on these professionals at all times.

Other issues that popped up were: Where's the money from the campaign? Who's going to hold the 'No' campaign accountable, and will they reach beyond their private circle for help.

The big story came from Molly McKay and Pamela Brown from Marriage Equality USA. Their passion and power point really hit home with the audience. They presented a power point that proved that maybe they should have been on the 'No' campaign.

Their research showed that there should have been outreach to LGBT communities of color, clergy and religious groups, also they should have used LGBT families and people in their ads, more use of grassroots groups and better outreach to Central Valley. The truth probably hurt the 'No' campaign, but it was good to hear.

People were wired after their presentation and demanded more answers from the 'No' campaign. Lorri Jean wasn't feeling it and became a little testy after a while. A little later, cards were passed out to every table for questions for the panel.

At first, they wasn't going to address the questions right away, until the audience demanded that every question get answered on a website or some form of media. The 'No' campaign and the rest of panel agreed to follow up. I have to say the crowd were fierce, they wanted explanations and answers, and made sure that each issue of the failed campaign was addressed.

David Binder, from David Binder Research talked about the Prop 8 Post-Election California Voter Survey.

• We learned that we lost in LA county, there were more support for the 'Yes' campaign than 'No'.

• Women opposed it, Men supported it (of course).

• More educated folks voted no over yes.

• The message that worked for the 'Yes' campaign was: marriage being taught in schools.

• 9% of the 'Yes' voters now feel that Prop 8 is unfair and would vote differently.

It was alot more info but these were the pieces that surprised the audience. So that's pt 1.

I'm going to the Equality Summit today!

I'm so excited about the Equality Summit happening tomorrow at the LA Convention Center.
Here's a little bit about it.

What is the Equality Summit? The Equality Summit is a gathering of community leaders committed to winning back marriage equality in California to network, share information and resources, and plan next steps.

Who is invited to the Equality Summit? The summit is open to community leaders, including new and emerging leaders, actively working to win back marriage equality in California. Because of space limitations, organizations are encouraged to send no more than two leaders. For interested people who cannot come to Los Angeles, the general sessions will be posted shortly after each ends on YouTube and at www.eqca.org.

So excited...I will report from the event and hopefully take some good pics. This should be a great place for dialogue and clarification about the Prop 8 drama and the future of gay rights.

For more about this, go here