Some Michiganders made signs before the Oct. 11 march and rally at an event hosted by Straight Women in Support of Homos. BTL photos by Crystal Proxmire
WASHINGTON, D.C. – At least a couple hundred Michiganders made their way to the Nation's Capital to join the 100,000 people (or more, by some estimates) marching in the National Equality March on Oct. 11. Two tour busses left on Friday night from Ann Arbor that had been secured by the Michigan Democratic Party LGBT & Allies Caucus for anyone who needed a cheap ride down. The 110 passengers were mainly college students from all over the state including Marquette, Big Rapids, Kalamazoo, Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor.
Others from Michigan drove down on their own, like Arin Fisher, Paxten Wiers, Sara Appleyard-Pekich and Gretchen Keillor. Coming from the west Michigan city of Holland, it took the four friends over 12 hours to make it to D.C. "I'm an ally," Appleyard-Pekich said.
"I gotta walk proud by all my brothers and sisters. By brothers and sister,s I mean that we are all family and we need to stand up for each other."
The group attended a poster-making party hosted by SWISH (Straight Women in Support of Homos) at The Atrium of Finn and Porter Restaurant before heading up Pennsylvania Avenue.
Affirmations volunteer Kyle Haldki and Triangle Foundation Director of Operations Robert Thomas were able to fly down for the day, along with many more who came into town without specifically meeting up with Michigan marchers.
But the LGBT Caucus group was undoubtedly the largest. "This whole thing is amazing and beautiful," said Farris State student Erica Patrick, who came with the group. "I can't even begin to put this experience into words.
Like many Patrick had never been to the capital. Getting into the city a day before the march gave her and others a chance to see the city. "I did a double-decker tour," she described of her day off. "It cost $30 but it was worth it. In about five-and-a-half hours, I had a chance to see all the big things."
Fellow Farris Social Work major Tasheema Jones was also excited about the trip. When asked what she was going to do with her 'free day' in DC, she said, "I have always wanted to see the Smithsonian. I have to see if it's just like in the movies."
But it wasn't just sight-seeing and fun. There were several seminars, workshops, gatherings and mini-protests spread throughout the city over the weekend.
The bus trip from Ann Arbor began with a lecture on non-violent protest and the importance of being good representatives and kind people. "The Michigan LGBT Caucus is non-violent," said Phil Volk, chair of the caucus and one of the travel coordinators. "There will be protestors there, but don't let them upset you. Don't hold conversations with them. You can't change their minds. Don't leave the main body when we're marching." Fortunately for marchers, there were hardly any protestors to be seen along the parade route.
It was a bittersweet gathering as gays and their allies celebrated coming together and the progress that has been made in the gay rights movement while still vehemently demanding true equality for all people. They shared stories of sadness, anger and frustration.
Volk, a more seasoned activist, recalled an even more oppressive time for gays in America. "When I was growing up, you couldn't do this," he recalled. "Police used to come to gay parking lots and run the license plates and put people's names on the pedophile list. If you got stopped and they found out you were gay they beat you with their billy clubs. And no one cared at all.
"What we have now seems amazing to the 1960s, but it shows that we still have further to go."
Some from Michigan marched at youth groups at the beginning of the parade, while the caucus group marched near the tail end o from the corner of 15th and L Street all the way to the Capitol building, where over two dozen politicians, activists and celebrities gave speeches in support of equal rights.
"I liked the rally the best," said Brianna Smith, a political science major with a non-profit minor at Eastern Michigan University. "I was excited to see Dustin Lance Black. … He talked about the need for change and how we need to accept ourselves."
Other speakers that graced the stage included David Mixner, Cleve Jones, Judy Shepard and Los Angeles Council Member Bill Rosendahl.
But judging from the banter on the bus back to Michigan, the most memorable speech was given by pop superstar Lady Ga Ga. "I am humbled to be here," Ga Ga said, calling it "the most important day in my career."
"Obama, I know you are listening," she said calmly into the mike before shouting in frustration: "Obama, are you listening?" That question sent the loudest cheers through the crowd.
Lucas Pio, a Grand Valley State University Finance major who came to the U.S. just eight months ago from his home country of Brazil, had a particularly interesting experience as a new citizen. "The most important thing to me is seeing for myself the way the American Political system is set up," Pio said of the experience.
He was also emotionally touched by the story of a lesbian mother. "When she talked about her family," he said, "she said that no one could look at her and tell her that her family was less valuable than anyone else's." Pio said that Brazil is like the United States in that in the cities, homosexuality is more accepted than in the small towns. However, he has never faced violence or other problems – either in the US or in Brazil.
Fermin Valle, a chemistry major at Grand Valley State University, was the coordinator for the Grand Valley group, which brought seven students to Washington, D.C. to march. Now that the march is over, Valle and the others plan on going back to their respective colleges or cities and carrying on the message of equality for all human beings.
"I want to find a way to connect leaders in a grassroots way so we can tear down the state-by-state opposition they used against minorities in the civil rights movement," Valle said. "We need change at a national level, and I feel like it's my duty to fight against hate and oppression."
Valle believes that not only is this a gay issue, but one of the timeless struggle between the haves and the have-nots. "Those in power like to create divisions among the working class so that we get so busy fighting each other for resources that we don't really question them or try to organize and create change."
