Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Nonviolence 4 Equality - Training LGBT People in Civil Disobedience and Direct Action

A call has been issued for non-violent resistance by the LGBT community and allies in our plight to raise awareness that it is time to give us equal rights under the law.

"Today, we affirm that nonviolent strategies such as marches, vigils, demonstrations, public protests, and civil disobedience, seek to create what Dr. King called “healthy tension”. This constructive tension forces those who perpetuate injustice, and society as a whole, to pause, reflect, and consider the ugliness of their prejudices and the indecency embodied in their discrimination. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King wrote: “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored."

Add your endorsement to the call for non-violent action and check out the resources and tool kits provided.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

There is a great LGBT civil rights organization called the Empowering Spirits Foundation that focuses on this very issue of a positive approach. They are very creative in how they approach this hot topic issue of gay marriage, in that they engage in service oriented activities in communities typically opposed to equal rights to foster thought and change for LGBT equality.

A friend of mine told me about it and I thought it was a great, positive approach to the issue. We had so much fun at the last event and it was great to give back to the community. Plus it was great to converse with others on the other side of the table in a way that wasn't confrontational.

Anyway, this can be such a heated issue and I thought this was a unique approach.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Empowering-Spirits-Foundation/49288966338

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