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Building a shared movement through the use of intentional language

Building a shared movement through the use of intentional language
by Mala Nagarajan [Authors note: This is the first in a series of columns about the intersection of LGBT issues and race issues. Join us in this important, and occasionally difficult and uncomfortable, conversation.] For the last nine months, the Equal Rights Washington People of Color Caucus has been discussing our roleas LGBT individuals and people of colorin the equal rights movement, how messaging has fallen far short of engaging people of color in the movement, and the disenfranchisement of people of color in politics. Some well-intentioned, white progressive allies and leaders use messages and metaphors from American history that seek to communicate our communitys pain, to make connection and to build solidarity. For most white recipients, these messages and metaphors evoke powerful images of past injustices that are now considered wrong, immoral and unlawful. However, these same words evoke for many people of color a different set of ideas of present and historical systems of oppression, of the history of white colonizers stealing power and control from the colonized, the presumption of white superiority, of those in power appropriating experiences that cannot be equated. Noted linguist George Lakoff points out that we can use language to reflect our values, and to build bridges between us, as easily as we can use them to create wedges. We have the opportunity as an LGBT community to create an inclusive movement that honors the past, present and future; that creates connections, not control; through solidarity, not the power of one group over another. I like to quote Beth Reis and Barbara Steele, fellow litigants in the Washington State marriage equality case, who so eloquently point out they have chosen to use phrases like equality under the law, justice and fairness, full citizenship, and equal protection for our families to characterize our fight, instead of using phrases like civil rights, internment or back of the bus. Saying the right words is our best first step to all working together. Attention White People: Say the Right Thing by Ken Thompson Because ours is a society that has never truly dealt with its history of racism (and particularly its history of slavery), many white people are uncomfortable discussing race. We falter and mis-step, and because we do not like to embarrass ourselves, might avoid the topic altogether. But silence on the topic serves no one well. For some it is hard to believe, but words really can hurt. In fact, the misguided, ignorant, and uninformed use of words by ones friends and allies can hurt even more than the simplistic rhetoric of our enemies. In the struggle for marriage equality, LGBT people are being pitted against our allies in communities of color, over the use of words. Social conservatives opposed to marriage equality have capitalized on this, and are leveraging it to turn folks against us. This is not an unwinnable situation, however. We, particularly white LGBT persons, can change our language and take back the high ground. Diane Finnerty, in her essay An Open Letter to My White Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Sisters and Brothers, addresses many of these issues and suggests several ways for us to correct our language and our framing of the marriage equality issue. Heres one of her ideas: Resist piggy-backing on the civil rights struggles of people of color, most notably the Black Civil Rights Movement, without first studying those struggles to honor the true legacy which they have offered this country, and acknowledging the work yet to be done. This happens in our community when we too readily lift quotes and metaphors from the Black Civil Rights movement: regularly quoting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; evoking Rosa Parks civil disobedience by proclaiming that gays should no longer have to sit at the back of the bus; using the rhetoric of separate, but not equal to confront the difference between civil unions and marriage rights for same-sex couples without understanding the historic case law behind it; showing our disingenuous use of these race-based civil rights references by only using comparisons to African American civil rights achievements and ignoring the presence of other communities of color and their struggles for liberation. So what are some good ways to talk about marriage equality in the context of historical struggles for equality in America? For starters do just that. As Finnerty says, place the struggle for LGBT rights in the full spectrum of struggles for rights, from womens suffrage, to the Americans With Disabilities Act in the 1990s, to the Civil Rights struggles throughout the late 20th century and on. Society as a whole now agrees that those groups should have equality, and our laws were re-written to work toward that goal. We are part of a lineage of other groups who have demanded their rights, and were in fact found to be equal in the eyes of the U.S. Constitution. JOIN US ONE AND ALL ERWs People of Color Caucus meets regularly to network among LGBT individuals of color, educate the mainstream LGBT community and communities of color about the intersection between the two, and help ERW be inclusive and culturally sensitive in the pursuit of LGBT equality. The ERW POC Allies group brings together white allies to educate each other about racism and privilege, support the POC Caucus, and be accountable to the POC Caucus in this work. For information on either group, please email info@equalrightswashington.org or call (206) 324-2570.