[BRC-NEWS] A Poem for the Millennium March Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit April 30, 2000 A Poem for the Millennium March Remarks made at the Millennium March on Washington, Sunday, April 30, 2000. By Keith Boykin I Speak Today As One Black Gay Man I Speak Because Barbara Jordan Langston Hughes, and The Reverend James Cleveland could not speak I Speak for myself, but I also speak for my uncle, a black gay man who could not be here because he was murdered in his own bedroom I speak to stop the violence from Wyoming to Alabama and all points in between, and yes, in Texas and New York as well I Speak to tell George W. Bush and Rudy Giuliani not to pack your bags for Washington because you will not be living here next year I Speak knowing that the right-wing may vilify me, closeted gay men may deny me and religious demagogues may decry me I Speak to tell Jesse Helms, and Trent Lott, and Strom Thurmond, your days of division are numbered I Speak Because two homosexuals who share their lives together deserve at least the same rights as two heterosexual strangers who met last night on prime time TV I Speak Because James Baldwin Lorraine Hansberry Bayard Rustin Audre Lorde Glen Burke Simon Nkoli, and Bessie Smith could not be here I Speak as a member of the family because there are problems in the family that cannot be healed by sweeping them under the sterilized, sanitized rug of homogenized homosexuality I Speak Because Martin Luther King and Huey Newton would support my cause I Speak To Resist the commercialization and commodification of a mainstream "gay lifestyle" that enriches a privileged few and impoverishes the masses with a bankrupt culture of uniformity I Speak Because Alain Locke Joe Beam Essex Hemphill Mickey Fleming Greg Hutchings Assoto Saint Craig Harris, and Alvin Ailey could not be here I Speak Because two people sitting in a hotel room should not be able to dictate the entire lesbigaytrans agenda I Speak Because Sojourner Truth Harriet Tubman Malcolm X, and Frederick Douglass have taught me the value of struggle I Speak Because our community has a right to know how decisions are made, and a responsibility to hold our leaders accountable I Speak Because Patrick Kelly Willi Smith Joan Fountain Countee Cullen Josephine Baker Mel Boozer, and Marlon Riggs could not be here I Speak So that my silence will not be interpreted as complicity, my concerns not discarded dismissively, and my thoughts not represented simplistically I Speak Because Coretta Scott King Cornel West Jesse Jackson, and Nelson Mandela have uplifted me I Speak because my sheroes and heroes and other good people of conscience have chosen not to speak I Speak to give voice to their concerns I Speak because, like Fannie Lou Hamer, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired I Speak to remind you, and myself, that I can hold my lover's hand in Anacostia or Harlem or South Central or Oakland if I choose to, and I am not always found in Dupont Circle or Christopher Street or Santa Monica Boulevard or the Castro I Speak to Honor Me'Shell Ndege'Ocello Ruth Ellis Jewelle Gomez Ruth Waters Carl Bean E. Lynn Harris George Bellinger Marjorie Hill Carlene Cheatam Maurice Franklin Kofi Adoma, and Peter Gomes For Blazing A Path In which I could follow I Speak Because not all blacks are straight, and not all gays are white I Speak to Honor Mandy Carter Nadine Smith Cleo Manago Barbara Smith James Earl Hardy Phill Wilson Ron Simmons Alvin Quamina, and Kevin McGruder I Speak so that you will ask why these people are not on this stage I Speak to Honor RuPaul Sapphire Bill T. Jones Ken Reeves George C. Wolfe Alice Walker June Jordan. and Phill Reed I Speak So that the presence of people of color will not be tokenized and the absence of people of color will not be trivialized I Speak to Honor Sabrina Sojourner Samuel Delany Angela Davis Jaye Davidson Cheryl Clarke, and Nona Hendryx I Speak to Enter These Names indelibly in the record books of this gathering I Speak Because Audre Lorde warns that my silence will not protect me any more from the anti-gay forces than it will from the anti-black forces I Speak to stand up for the millions of brothas and sistahs whose area codes do not begin with 202, 212, 213, or 415 I Speak Because AIDS is not over, in America or Africa, despite what the privileged elite may write, that people of color are at greater risk than ever, and that now is not the time to turn our backs on this disease I Speak so that black gays and lesbians can create our own organizations to support our own needs without having to answer the tired old question why are we "separating ourselves?" I Speak because your priorities are not always our priorities, but all of our priorities are important and should not be casually dismissed I Speak because affirmative action and racial profiling are part of my agenda I Speak so that a black family can get a home loan and a black man can simply get home, alone, without getting arrested I Speak Because I cannot stand the word "queer" and feel excluded from the word "gay" I Speak so that black leaders will not forget us and gay leaders will finally learn to work with us I Speak so that white gays and straight blacks will no longer make decisions that affect us without including us I Speak in a culture that devalues our love to say that the act of self-love is an act of revolution in itself I Speak to declare that black men loving black men is no longer a revolutionary act but an everyday thing I Speak to tell you that I refuse to be the only black person in any meeting, at any time, at any point ever again I Speak so I can get a taxicab not just when I leave this stage, but when I leave the White House or leave your house, after a fabulous affair, or any house on any street, that I will not be judged by the color of my skin I speak because Alice Walker reminds me that no person is your friend who demands your silence or denies your right to grow I Speak because nobody else can speak for me but me I Speak to help repair the breach that has divided us black from white straight from gay male from female I Speak to help repair the breach that has excluded the voices of youth and seniors, the poor and middle class, bisexuals, and transgendered people, people with disabilities, and all people of color I Speak with hope because Dr. King reminds me that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars I Speak So that Dennis Rodman can wear a wedding dress, that Carl Lewis can pose in track shorts and high heels, and that Little Richard can simply be himself I Speak so that the famous rappers and runners and writers and Hip Hop heroes on the DL may one day decide to speak as well I Speak So that all black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered teenagers will one day be allowed to live peaceably in their own family homes I Speak Because we must broaden the movement to see the intersection of race, gender, class, religion, sexuality, and ethnicity I Speak not to get my place at the table but to demand a whole new table arrangement that welcomes all those who have been excluded I Speak not to gain privilege but to challenge the whole concept of privilege itself I Speak to Invoke the Lessons of Rodney King, Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo James Byrd, and Patrick Dorismond lest they be forgotten or thought to pertain strictly to some other march I Speak because we cannot prevail against the Prop 22s if we do not also fight the Prop 187s and Prop 209s I Speak because June Jordan tells me that freedom is indivisible or it is nothing at all besides sloganeer-ing and temporary, short-sighted, and short-lived advancement for a few I Speak to Say, unequivocally, once and for all, that blacks and gays are not the same, that racism is not the same as homophobia, and that the civil rights struggles are not identical I Speak Because it matters not which group is most oppressed, or which was first oppressed, or whether they are identically oppressed. What matters is that no group or class of people should be oppressed I Speak to remind you that this march will soon be forgotten if we do not take action in our own lives in our own communities I Speak in the hope that this gathering will not become just another circuit party and that real people may learn real lessons here I Speak to shine the light in Internet chat rooms, online clubs, glbpoc listserves, and lgbt email chains I Speak Because the personal is political every time we are not ashamed, to go beyond our boundaries, to express our love, to come out, to volunteer, to make a donation, to write a letter, to forward an email, to register to vote, or simply to speak Finally, I Speak to offer a choice between fear and love I Speak Because fear is negativity, scarcity, and falsity I Speak Because love is positivity, abundance, and truth I Speak Because fear is unnatural and learned and love is natural and innate I Speak so that my faith may be used as a tool for love, and not a weapon of hate I Speak because I refuse to worship at the altar of religious bigotry and self-righteous piety I Speak to Pray for Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell that they may learn the true meaning of unconditional love I Speak so that one more black gay man or woman may find the courage to rise up in church today and challenge a minister who spews out the vicious bile of religious-based homophobia I Speak so that Angie and Debbie and Alveda and Reggie may one day understand that God is love and love is for everyone I Speak because I have no power to make these dreams happen unless someone, somewhere hears these words as her own and decides to act I Speak as a proud African-American same-gender-loving Christian-identified man unashamed of who I am unwilling to be divided into identity camps, and unbowed by the demons of hatred that would incite me to fear instead of love. I speak because Audre Lorde tells me, "When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid." I Speak Today As One Proud Black Gay Man Copyright (c) 2000 Keith Boykin. All Rights Reserved. Keith Boykin is a graduate of Harvard Law School who served two years in the White House as a Special Assistant to President Clinton. He is the former Executive Director of the National Black Gay & Lesbian Leadership Forum, and is the author of "One More River to Cross: Black and Gay in America" and "Respecting the Soul: Daily Reflections for Black Lesbians and Gays." He has appeared on numerous national television shows and is a popular lecturer on college campuses. He lives in Washington, DC.--B.J. 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