New Orleans Proclaims Today LGBT Civil Rights Equality Awareness Day To Honor Bayard Rustin

BE IT PROCLAIMED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That the Council hereby proclaim March 17, 2012 to be LGBT Civil Rights Equality Awareness Day, and call upon the United States Congress to take action forthwith to fulfill our country’s duty to protect all citizens from discrimination and extend to them guaranteed equal rights under the Constitution of the United States of America.

PROCLAMATION

THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

WHEREAS, a central tenet of United States law is the principle of nondiscrimination and equal protection under the law as human rights; and

WHEREAS, Bayard Rustin was a visionary leader in America’s black civil rights movement, a mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr., a teacher of Ghandian nonviolence, and as an openly gay man, organized the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom at which Dr. King delivered the “I Have A Dream” speech; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Rustin’s legacy includes the 1964 Civil Rights Act, a modern symbol of human dignity and the duty of the United States government to outlaw discrimination based on status; and

WHEREAS, March 17, 2012 is the Centennial of Mr. Rustin’s birth, and a fitting time to recognize his immense contribution to justice and equality in America; and

WHEREAS, the modern LGBT movement, via the American Equality Bill, seeks to outlaw discrimination based on “sexual orientation and gender identity,” as required by the U.S. Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and human conscience; and

WHEREAS, gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender Americans face historical and on-going discrimination based on their innate status, causing untallied human tragedy, loss of life, psychological damage, community isolation, and abuse that necessitates a comprehensive response by the federal government as a matter of public welfare; and

WHEREAS, from March 2011 to May 2012, Richard Noble, under the auspices of the “National Civil Rights March Across America” is passing through New Orleans, Louisiana, as he traverses the country on foot from West Hollywood to Washington, D.C., to raise this demand; and

WHEREAS, the City of New Orleans acknowledges the inherent value of diversity and nondiscrimination, and stands for justice and equality for all people; now therefore

At the request of the Council President Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson

BE IT PROCLAMED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That the Council hereby proclaim March 17, 2012 to be LGBT Civil Rights Equality Awareness Day, and call upon the United States Congress to take action forthwith to fulfill our country’s duty to protect all citizens from discrimination and extend to them guaranteed equal rights under the Constitution of the United States of America.

Jacquelyn Brechten Clarkson, Council President

Eric Granderson, Council Vice President

Susan G. Guidry, Councilmember, District “A”

Stacy Head,     Councilmember, District “B”

Kristin Gisleson Palmer    , Councilmember, District “C”

Cynthia Hedge-Morrell,  Councilmember, District “D”

Jon D. Johnson, Councilmember, District “E”

Stuart Wilber believes that living life openly as a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender or Allied person is the most powerful kind of activism. Shortly after meeting his partner in Chicago in 1977, he opened a gallery named In a Plain Brown Wrapper, where he exhibited cutting edge work by leading artists; art that dealt with sexuality and gender identification. In the late 1980’s when they moved to San Clemente, CA in Orange County, life as an openly gay couple became a political act. They moved to Seattle 16 years ago and married in Canada a few weeks after British Columbia legalized same-​sex marriage. Although legally married in some countries, they are only considered domestic partners in Washington State. Equality continues to elude him.