First Comes Love

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The problem: LGBT people are not allowed the same rights to marriage as heterosexual people. Some watchdog and religious groups have spent millions to get Prop 8 passed. Now, the thousands of LGBT couples who rushed to the altar to marry when they had the right to do so in the state of California are unsure of where their union stands.

Benjamin Manson and Sarah White waited 23 years before their marriage was deemed legal and honored by the United States of America. Their formal yet non-binding wedding ceremony in 1843 while enslaved is one of the few documented. Today, it’s viewed as a testament to the injustices of slavery and the heart wrenching tale of love conquering all. After their wedding, they returned to their respective plantations to work for their masters, spending most of their “marriage” living apart.

On April 19, 1866, 23 years, nine children and one Civil War later the two were officially acknowledge as man and wife.

Ninety-two years later, Mildred and Richard Loving eloped in Washington D.C. to avoid prosecution. She was black, he was white. Under their home state of Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act they could not marry. The Jim Crow era was in full effect. Their marriage wasn’t legal in Virginia. The two were arrested one night while they slept. Someone tipped off the local police about their nuptials. They were found guilty of being married and sentenced to either one year in jail or extradition from the state. It took a decade and a Supreme Court ruling to overturn the laws.

Today, thousands of LGBT couples, families and their supporters will take to the steps of San Francisco’s City Hall to announce the Civil Rights March to Sacramento, a 5-day march from San Francisco to Sacramento to call on the Supreme Court to overturn Prop 8.

They are walking for what they feel are their rights, not as men who love men or women who love women, but people who love people.

The Solution:

Benjamin and Sarah were people in love. Over time they were allowed to marry.

Mildred and Richard were people in love. Over time they were allowed to marry.

Raymond and Byron are people in love. Over time they will be allowed to marry.

Posted by:

Chloe

Talk is Cheap, Just Ask John Salley & PA Gov. Ed Rendell

Every now and then I try to remind myself that, at the end of the day, the action of social change is where the rubber hits the road.

Thought and talk are important; through communication, we can motivate each other, make our movement a hundred or a hundred thousand people strong. But what we all need — from each other, and ourselves — is action.

Posted by:

Sam Patton

It is hard, but not impossible…if we act together

Asthma, the high cost of education, the high cost of food; Annie’s experience in Harlem is ridiculously common. Many of our biggest cities have the biggest problems, concentrated in the communities who have the least amount of clout with the politicians who regulate our lives. For that reason, Majora Carter is an inspiration. She started the Sustainable South Bronx organization to take on industrial pollution in her community and succeeded in changing her landscape and the lives of her neighbors.

Majora Carter stands up for what she knows needs to happen. Selected as an Olympic torch bearer in 2008, Majora Carter got kicked right out of the parade when she revealed a Tibetan flag she had concealed in her sleeve and made a defiant gesture for the world to see.

Solidarity and the unity of our common desire to live in peace and prosperity: we have to work together!

Posted by:

Sam Patton

Six Years Ago Today Bush Committed Us to War

Tayma is right. The war in Iraq has been going on way too long. Today marks the 6th anniversary, as a matter of fact. The war has cost us over $600 billion and over 4,000 US troops lives. It is time to bring our troops — our brothers, sisters, friends, classmates — home! Here are three things you can do right now to help end this war:

-Tell Obama to keep his campaign promise and bring ALL the troops home from Iraq within 16 months. Call him at the White House at (202) 456-1111.

-Tell Congress to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and redirect the military budget to domestic issues like healthcare, education, green jobs, and assisting homeowners with foreclosures. Call your Representatives at (202) 224-3121.

-Get involved by signing up for CODEPINK action alerts at http://codepinkalert.org

Posted by:

Heather Box

Xzibit: “Fix our Economy!” Van Jones: “Ok.”

Well first of all, Xzibit’s At the Speed of Life is one of the dopest albums of all time!!! And its ill because this economy and the environment seem to be moving in the wrong way at the speed of light..but as Van says there is a solution. Some of ya’ll might have heard, ya boy Obama just wrote a 800 Billion dollar check to help turn this thing around. So listen up..THAT IS YOUR MONEY! Check out greenforall.org/recovery to learn about the money for green jobs in the bill and see the tool kit for some tips on how you, yes you, can put it to work in your communities.

Posted by:

Julian