About 200 people marched in the heart of Black Los Angeles, starting at Leimert Park to the corner of Crenshaw and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevards and back on Sunday morning, chanting slogans like "What do we want? EQUAL RIGHTS! When we do we want them? NOW!"The march was organized by Reverend Freda Lee (with the megaphone) and publicized by the Barabara Jordan / Bayard Rustin Coalition and Jewel's Catch One, which also hosted a post-march discussion from 2-4 pm.
I got a last minute invitation via Facebook, but I couldn't go because I have a severely sprained ankle.
ReplyDeleteSorry about that, chief.
Queers of African decent have been taking a lot of heat from all sides these days. This rally is a logical and assertive response.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this, I wonder how good old boy's Sullivan and savage and all those who were spewing the n-word online with as much hate as they could and throughout this country will deal with this? Oh, yeah, bet won't be heard, posted on any of the gay sites and not mentioned.
ReplyDeleteLets try to remain honest Ron - I was there and did a count and there was not 200 people in attendance at the Leimert Park protest! It was right at 97 to be exact.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, as a leading organization on gay marraige, why didn't your organization spearhead this march. Most black people and organizations alike assisted with advertising. Rev. and the Catch One was the only entities that took a "real" step to address the issue.
Keep it real!!
I am extremely proud of all or our efforts and it was definitely a monumental moment for us all. But... I think 200 people is an over estimation.
ReplyDeleteAnd I guess I'm a little leery about proclaiming how only JRC and the Catch One publicized the event when it was publicized by quite a few other outlets who coincidentally publicized other events dealing with the Black LGBT community during the weekend that JRC were not affiliated with or participate in.
There's no doubt in my mind that there were more than a 100 people marching, and at the rallies before and after it was approaching 150.... Counting in all the "well-wishers" and people who just happened to be close to the LGBT rally but not necessarily marching I feel comfortable with saying "nearly 200 people attended."
ReplyDeleteAlso, I just listed what organizations I knew that did publicity--I never said it was an exhaustive list. I'm very happy to hear word went out. I heard frm many more people afterwards mad they weren;t able to go because they didn;t know about it at all.
I’m not trying to discount the efforts that were made (or even an argument really) but… I do agree with the anonymous poster in saying we just need to keep it real. I have video of the entire event and there is NO WAY it was more than 100 people. I have spoken with quite a few people who attended who also say even 100 might be an overestimation.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for the publicity stuff… it just seemed a little “self-serving”, that’s all.