>I was sent this poem from a collegue in Newton, who received it from a
>colleague that was at PFLAG. It's long, but powerful. I hope you find
>something in it that moves you.
>
>Keith Boykin's Remarks at the 2000
>March on Washington
>A Poem for the Millennium March
>
>I Speak Today
>As One Black Gay Man
>
>I Speak Because
>Barbara Jordan
>Langston Hughes, and
>The Reverend James Cleveland
>could not speak
>
>I Speak for myself,
>but I also speak for my uncle,
>a black gay man
>who could not be here
>because he was murdered in his own bedroom
>
>I speak to stop the violence
>from Wyoming to Alabama
>and all points in between,
>and yes, in Texas and New York as well
>
>I Speak to tell
>George W. Bush and Rudy Giuliani
>not to pack your bags for Washington
>because you will not be living here next year
>
>I Speak knowing that
>the right-wing may vilify me,
>closeted gay men may deny me
>and religious demagogues may decry me
>
>I Speak to tell Jesse Helms,
>and Trent Lott,
>and Strom Thurmond,
>your days of division are numbered
>
>I Speak Because
>two homosexuals who share their lives together
>deserve at least the same rights
>as two heterosexual strangers who met last night on prime time TV
>
>I Speak Because
>James Baldwin
>Lorraine Hansberry
>Bayard Rustin
>Audre Lorde
>Glen Burke
>Simon Nkoli, and
>Bessie Smith
>could not be here
>
>
>I Speak as a member of the family
>because there are problems in the family
>that cannot be healed
>by sweeping them under the sterilized, sanitized rug
>of homogenized homosexuality
>
>I Speak Because
>Martin Luther King
>and Huey Newton
>would support my cause
>
>I Speak To Resist
>the commercialization
>and commodification
>of a mainstream "gay lifestyle"
>that enriches a privileged few
>and impoverishes the masses
>with a bankrupt culture of uniformity
>
>I Speak Because
>Alain Locke
>Joe Beam
>Essex Hemphill
>Mickey Fleming
>Greg Hutchings
>Assoto Saint
>Craig Harris, and
>Alvin Ailey
>could not be here
>
>I Speak Because
>two people sitting in a hotel room
>should not be able to dictate
>the entire lesbigaytrans agenda
>
>I Speak Because
>Sojourner Truth
>Harriet Tubman
>Malcolm X, and
>Frederick Douglass
>have taught me the value of struggle
>
>I Speak Because
>our community has a right to know
>how decisions are made,
>and a responsibility
>to hold our leaders accountable
>
>I Speak Because
>Patrick Kelly
>Willi Smith
>Joan Fountain
>Countee Cullen
>Josephine Baker
>Mel Boozer, and
>Marlon Riggs
>could not be here
>
>I Speak So that
>my silence will not be interpreted as complicity,
>my concerns not discarded dismissively,
>and my thoughts not represented simplistically
>
>I Speak Because
>Coretta Scott King
>Cornel West
>Jesse Jackson, and
>Nelson Mandela
>have uplifted me
>
>I Speak because
>my sheroes and heroes
>and other good people of conscience
>have chosen not to speak
>
>I Speak to give voice
>to their concerns
>
>I Speak because,
>like Fannie Lou Hamer,
>I'm sick and tired
>of being sick and tired
>
>I Speak to remind you, and myself, that I can
>hold my lover's hand
>in Anacostia or Harlem or South Central or Oakland
>if I choose to,
>and I am not always found
>in Dupont Circle or Christopher Street or Santa Monica Boulevard
>or the
>Castro
>
>I Speak to Honor
>Me'Shell Ndege'Ocello
>Ruth Ellis
>Jewelle Gomez
>Ruth Waters
>Carl Bean
>E. Lynn Harris
>George Bellinger
>Marjorie Hill
>Carlene Cheatam
>Maurice Franklin
>Kofi Adoma, and
>Peter Gomes
>For Blazing A Path
>In which I could follow
>
>I Speak Because
>not all blacks are straight,
>and not all gays are white
>
>I Speak to Honor
>Mandy Carter
>Nadine Smith
>Cleo Manago
>Barbara Smith
>James Earl Hardy
>Phill Wilson
>Ron Simmons
>Alvin Quamina, and
>Kevin McGruder
>
>I Speak so that you will ask
>why these people are not on this stage
>
>I Speak to Honor
>RuPaul
>Sapphire
>Bill T. Jones
>Ken Reeves
>George C. Wolfe
>Alice Walker
>June Jordan. and
>Phill Reed
>
>I Speak So that
>the presence of people of color
>will not be tokenized
>and the absence of people of color
>will not be trivialized
>
>I Speak to Honor
>Sabrina Sojourner
>Samuel Delany
>Angela Davis
>Jaye Davidson
>Cheryl Clarke, and
>Nona Hendryx
>
>I Speak to Enter These Names
>indelibly in the record books
>of this gathering
>
>I Speak Because
>Audre Lorde warns that
>my silence will not protect me
>any more from the anti-gay forces
>than it will from the anti-black forces
>
>I Speak to stand up
>for the millions
>of brothas and sistahs
>whose area codes do not begin
>with 202, 212, 213, or 415
>
>I Speak Because
>AIDS is not over,
>in America or Africa,
>despite what the privileged elite may write,
>that people of color are at greater risk than ever,
>and that now is not the time to turn our backs on this disease
>
>I Speak so that
>black gays and lesbians
>can create our own organizations
>to support our own needs
>without having to answer the tired old question
>why are we "separating ourselves?"
>
>I Speak because your priorities
>are not always our priorities,
>but all of our priorities are important
>and should not be casually dismissed
>
>I Speak because
>affirmative action
>and racial profiling
>are part of my agenda
>
>I Speak so that
>a black family can get a home loan
>and a black man can simply get home,
>alone, without getting arrested
>
>I Speak Because
>I cannot stand the word "queer"
>and feel excluded from the word "gay"
>
>I Speak so that black leaders
>will not forget us
>and gay leaders
>will finally learn to work with us
>
>I Speak so that
>white gays
>and straight blacks
>will no longer make decisions
>that affect us
>without including us
>
>I Speak in a culture
>that devalues our love
>to say that the act of self-love
>is an act of revolution in itself
>
>I Speak to declare
>that black men loving black men
>is no longer a revolutionary act
>but an everyday thing
>
>I Speak to tell you
>that I refuse to be
>the only black person
>in any meeting,
>at any time,
>at any point
>ever again
>
>I Speak so I can get a taxicab
>not just when I leave this stage,
>but when I leave the White House
>or leave your house, after a fabulous affair,
>or any house on any street,
>that I will not be judged by the color of my skin
>
>I speak because
>Alice Walker reminds me
>that no person is your friend
>who demands your silence
>or denies your right to grow
>
>I Speak because
>nobody else can speak for me
>but me
>
>I Speak to help
>repair the breach
>that has divided us
>black from white
>straight from gay
>male from female
>
>I Speak to help
>repair the breach
>that has excluded the voices
>of youth and seniors,
>the poor and middle class,
>bisexuals, and transgendered people,
>people with disabilities,
>and all people of color
>
>I Speak with hope
>because Dr. King reminds me
>that only when it is dark enough
>can you see the stars
>
>I Speak So that
>Dennis Rodman can wear a wedding dress,
>that Carl Lewis can pose in track shorts and high heels,
>and that Little Richard can simply be himself
>
>I Speak so that
>the famous rappers and runners and writers
>and Hip Hop heroes
>on the DL
>may one day decide
>to speak as well
>
>I Speak So that
>all black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered teenagers
>will one day be allowed
>to live peaceably in their own family homes
>
>I Speak Because
>we must broaden the movement
>to see the intersection of
>race, gender, class, religion, sexuality, and ethnicity
>
>I Speak not to get
>my place at the table
>but to demand a whole new table arrangement
>that welcomes all those who have been excluded
>
>I Speak not to gain privilege
>but to challenge the whole concept
>of privilege itself
>
>I Speak to Invoke the Lessons of
>Rodney King,
>Abner Louima,
>Amadou Diallo
>James Byrd, and
>Patrick Dorismond
>lest they be forgotten
>or thought to pertain strictly
>to some other march
>
>I Speak because
>we cannot prevail
>against the Prop 22s
>if we do not also fight
>the Prop 187s and Prop 209s
>
>I Speak because
>June Jordan tells me
>that freedom is indivisible
>or it is nothing at all
>besides sloganeer-ing
>and temporary,
>short-sighted,
>and short-lived
>advancement for a few
>
>I Speak to Say, unequivocally, once and for all,
>that blacks and gays are not the same,
>that racism is not the same as homophobia,
>and that the civil rights struggles are not identical
>
>I Speak Because
>it matters not
>which group is most oppressed,
>or which was first oppressed,
>or whether they are identically oppressed.
>What matters is that no group or class of people
>should be oppressed
>
>I Speak to remind you
>that this march will soon be forgotten
>if we do not take action
>in our own lives
>in our own communities
>
>I Speak in the hope
>that this gathering
>will not become
>just another circuit party
>and that real people
>may learn real lessons here
>
>I Speak to shine the light
>in Internet chat rooms,
>online clubs,
>glbpoc listserves,
>and lgbt email chains
>
>I Speak Because
>the personal is political
>every time we are not ashamed,
>to go beyond our boundaries,
>to express our love,
>to come out,
>to volunteer,
>to make a donation,
>to write a letter,
>to forward an email,
>to register to vote,
>or simply to speak
>
>Finally, I Speak to offer a choice
>between fear and love
>
>I Speak Because
>fear is negativity,
>scarcity,
>and
>falsity
>
>I Speak Because
>love is positivity,
>abundance,
>and
>truth
>
>I Speak Because
>fear is unnatural and learned
>and love is natural and innate
>
>I Speak so that
>my faith may be used as a tool for love,
>and not a weapon of hate
>
>I Speak because
>I refuse to worship
>at the altar
>of religious bigotry
>
>and self-righteous piety
>
>I Speak to Pray
>for Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell
>that they may learn
>the true meaning of unconditional love
>
>I Speak so that
>one more black gay man or woman may find the courage
>to rise up in church today and challenge a minister
>who spews out the vicious bile of religious-based homophobia
>
>I Speak so that
>Angie and Debbie
>and Alveda and Reggie
>may one day understand
>that God is love
>X-Mozilla-Status: 0009yone
>
>I Speak because
>I have no power to make these dreams happen
>unless someone, somewhere hears these words as her own
>and decides to act
>
>I Speak
>as a proud African-American
>same-gender-loving
>Christian-identified man
>unashamed of who I am
>unwilling to be divided into identity camps, and
>unbowed by the demons of hatred that would incite me
>to fear instead of love.
>
>I speak because Audre Lorde tells me,
>"When I dare to be powerful,
>to use my strength in the service of my vision,
>then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid."
>
>I Speak Today
>As One Proud Black Gay Man
>
>
