The Frankfurter School

AN EQUALITY MANIFESTO

At a defining moment of a new equality movement, in a nation rediscovering democracy, certain values have brought us to the unmistakable need for action.  Here is one articulation of a path towards change.

CORE BELIEFS:

We believe that all human beings, and all consensual loving relationships between them, should be honored equally under the law, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, national origin or legal status.

We have discovered that the laws which discriminate against us have not kept pace with the times, and that we now have the social power to change the laws to protect ourselves and others from state-sponsored discrimination.

The path ahead has many forks but all roads lead to gay marriage. The question before us, as we work to secure that right, is how high are our hopes for this movement, this moment, and our country? Who are we and what else are we fighting for?

Proposition 8 was a catalyst and a new beginning. Although it is the first time that the right of gays and lesbians to marry has been eliminated by a bare majority vote, this right will soon enough be regained in California. We must recognize that this was the spark that lit a powder keg, and that California is at the center of a movement that is not just about marriage, and it takes place in the middle of a part of a democratic renaissance in our nation’s and that is not limited to gays and lesbians. We are at the heart of defining rights and freedoms for ourselves but that many others want to help and need our help. There is power in organizing our own communities for change, and we must build the society that we want to live in and ask ourselves what we’re willing to do to get us there.

A CALL TO ACTION:

• Convene a group of ten of your friends. Lead or participate in your own “cell,” and together we will make up the organs of our movement.

• Come together and express your common values and identify shared goals. We are many people with many views – there is not one gay community, we do not speak with one voice. Shake out into groups of ten people who share your values and goals. Don’t consider this group of ten a fixed group, people who don’t share your goals should be encouraged to find ten who do, and if your group starts to hit 15, break off and make more groups! Focus on what you agree on.

• Set rules for your meeting. Decide how long meetings will last, how they will be run and how often you will meet.

• Air your grievances. This is healthy and people need to be heard! POST-GAME ANALYSIS IS PRE-GAME STRATEGY. A lot of people in California worked very hard to fight Prop 8, and are feeling very attacked by the anger that has erupted from a grassroots level at the way the campaign was run. This is healthy, and it shouldn’t be personal! Analyzing the campaign and trying to understand what was done and what went wrong is not a bad thing – we will continue to make mistakes and we must use them all as learning experiences.

• Make a commitment. Say what you are willing to do and to give to make change.

• Equality for all also means equality for whom else? What are you willing to do for others? How will we step outside of ourselves and our own communities? What kinds of people unlike ourselves are we willing to lend a hand to help in exchange for their support of us?

• Understand the big picture and work to find your place within the movement. Look at the leadership, funding and structure for the fight on all levels.

• Study the issues. Gather information and educate yourselves about what other people are doing and how you can help. Understand the complexity of the issues and learn what you can and cannot accomplish.

STUDY TOPICS:

NATIONAL POLICY

• Legislative

Do my Congressperson and my Senators support the repeal of DOMA?

• Executive

What policies can the Obama Administration change by executive order and what constituency is going to pressure that agency to make those changes?

• Judicial

What is happening in the federal courts that could alter the rights of individual states to provide unequal protection to its citizens?

STATE POLICY
What is happening with the fight over Prop 8 in the California courts?
How do we use our resources to reframe the battle over hateful anti-family laws like the adoption/foster parents initiative that passed in Arkansas?
How do we provide support and our resources to equality movements in all 50 states?

PUBLIC OPINION
How can we move public opinion towards greater support of equality?
How do we reach out to our neighbors who are not yet our allies?
How can we use our own role in the media industry to impact the messages of equality for a mass audience?
How do we harness the power of the internet and community media to tell our stories and re-frame the debate?

LOCAL COMMUNITIES
What role can local government initiatives and laws play in increasing equality?
Do we want to run for office? How do we make our local elected officials more responsive to citizen’s concerns rather than business concerns?
What community groups can we participate in that are already set up to address concerns like ours and get things done.

A FEW LAST NOTES:

Don’t hate. Building a community and a movement is hard work and can be frustrating. Always remember that you are all there to make a difference. The political left in the United States has been at war with itself longer than it has been at war with the right. One key reason for this is the battle between moderates and radicals who insist that the other is the reason for their overall failure. MODERATES NEED RADICALS and RADICALS NEED MODERATES! Radical actions are not “unhelpful” or “counter-productive” – civil disobedience and political anger are essential to social movements. People who “work within the system” or who aren’t “thinking big enough” are on the frontlines too. DO NOT SPEND ANY OF YOUR TIME OR ENERGY FIGHTING YOUR OWN SIDE OF THE ARGUMENT. Engage in actions and organizations that share your values and win the battle by accomplishing your agenda. We will never speak with one voice and that is our strength.

Respect our history. There is so much to be learned from the generations of LGBTQ activists who have come before us. From Stonewall to Harvey Milk, from ACT UP to HRC, many people have come before us and it only makes us better to learn our history and honor our elders.

“WHAT IS THE POINT OF ALL THESE PROTESTS? THESE ORGANIZERS SUCK. WE SHOULD BE DOING X, Y AND Z!”
The protests that are erupting all over the United States are the spontaneous result of a group of people who are angry and now demanding change. They are achieving three concrete results!

• Visibility on the streets and in the media and ongoing attention to the injustice committed against us.

• Tremendous validation and solidarity for the community –seeing people like yourself, who feel like you do and are willing to go to the streets for it, builds a strong foundation for a community and a movement.

• New leadership and new organizations are being created right now. We are witnessing the birth of a new movement, and leaders are being born in the streets at the very moment that other people are listening to and following them.

“I WISH THOSE OTHER PEOPLE WOULD GO AWAY!“
Political movements are only successful if they are coalitions of different people. Where there is political energy (a rare thing in this country) it will attract idealists of all stripes. People with differing agendas are ALWAYS a part of EVERY movement. Remember that these people have SHOWN UP and they care. Embrace them as allies, do not think of them as parasitic. If they succeed in overshadowing you momentarily, consider it a lesson in helping you find your “A” game – and next time do it better! Gain control over your message and how it is disseminated. DO NOT HATE! This cannot be stressed enough. Check yourself, and check others for attacking our own flanks, no matter how “crazy” or “fringe” they might seem to you.

BELIEVE IN YOUR OWN POWER! This is your movement and you are going to change America.

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