2008 Woodie Awards
Fight the powers that be
Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: Opinion/Editorial
On Nov. 15 at the Old Courthouse
in downtown St. Louis, colors of the rainbow and cheers of "Yes we can" from 1,500 mouths spilled down the steps, onto Broadway and onward into Kiener Plaza.
St. Louis was one of many cities,
including Chicago, Los Angeles,
Manhattan, San Francisco and others where communities rallied in the streets to protest the California amendment, Proposition
8, to the constitution that defined marriage to only include unions between man and woman,
thus banning gay marriage.
The Journal has never been so proud.
State and city officials were present at the rally including St. Louis City Mayor Francis Slay, Comptroller Darlene Green and State Senator Joan Bray.
Surprisingly, religious leaders
were also vocal in their disapproval
of the discrimination against gays. Rabbi James Stone Goodman, the Reverends Krista Taves, Susan Drake and Julie Jennings
were among the speakers. Some other speakers were activists, former bank CEO, Bill Donius, and several teenagers. Chad Allen, an openly gay star from TV's "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman," spoke about his feelings on Barack Obama being elected president, the future of the LGBTQ
movement and shared the story of how he proposed to his boyfriend during the beginning of the rally.
The vote for Prop 8 left 18,000 newly married couple in legal limbo, and has set a precedent that may ignite future votes in other states.
The Journal was surprised to find the highest percentage of yes votes for the ban came from blacks and Hispanics. Black clergy partnered with 1,100 Latino
churches that pushed for the ban. We thought that being two groups that have been historically
oppressed and have had to fight for their own civil rights would understand the plight of the gay community. However, The Journal was sadly mistaken.
These groups forget that before
the Civil War and for a time thereafter, blacks were not allowed
to marry, and before 1967, interracial couples were not allowed
in downtown St. Louis, colors of the rainbow and cheers of "Yes we can" from 1,500 mouths spilled down the steps, onto Broadway and onward into Kiener Plaza.
St. Louis was one of many cities,
including Chicago, Los Angeles,
Manhattan, San Francisco and others where communities rallied in the streets to protest the California amendment, Proposition
8, to the constitution that defined marriage to only include unions between man and woman,
thus banning gay marriage.
The Journal has never been so proud.
State and city officials were present at the rally including St. Louis City Mayor Francis Slay, Comptroller Darlene Green and State Senator Joan Bray.
Surprisingly, religious leaders
were also vocal in their disapproval
of the discrimination against gays. Rabbi James Stone Goodman, the Reverends Krista Taves, Susan Drake and Julie Jennings
were among the speakers. Some other speakers were activists, former bank CEO, Bill Donius, and several teenagers. Chad Allen, an openly gay star from TV's "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman," spoke about his feelings on Barack Obama being elected president, the future of the LGBTQ
movement and shared the story of how he proposed to his boyfriend during the beginning of the rally.
The vote for Prop 8 left 18,000 newly married couple in legal limbo, and has set a precedent that may ignite future votes in other states.
The Journal was surprised to find the highest percentage of yes votes for the ban came from blacks and Hispanics. Black clergy partnered with 1,100 Latino
churches that pushed for the ban. We thought that being two groups that have been historically
oppressed and have had to fight for their own civil rights would understand the plight of the gay community. However, The Journal was sadly mistaken.
These groups forget that before
the Civil War and for a time thereafter, blacks were not allowed
to marry, and before 1967, interracial couples were not allowed
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