Proud, Prideful, Prepared

By Brian Henderson

Who would have imagined 45 years ago that our divided and (yet united) states would be on the brink of seeing marriage equality become another law of our land? Most recently, 19 of 50 states allow for marriage equality with three others, including Colorado, including civil union or domestic partnership in their state legislation. In the coming months, we will see how marriage equality moves forward in Utah, Oklahoma, Nevada, Texas, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan.

With defiance, courage, and conviction, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and allied individuals reacted on June 28, 1969, to the police raid on the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. This outcry for justice prompted Craig Rodwell, Fred Sargeant, Ellen Broidy, and Linda Rhodes, to propose on November 2, 1969, the first gay pride parade to be held in New York City.

Forty-five years later we witness Gay Pride parades, festivals, and events the world over. Famed artist, Vincent Van Gogh, is quoted as having said, “Making progress is like miners’ work: it doesn’t advance as quickly as one should like, and also as others expect, but faced with such a task, patience and faithfulness are essential.”

Today, as a community of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and allied people may we remember that our work for equality and justice is not in vain. On account of the patience and faithfulness of others before us, our Pride Marches are more than just events. We can be proud of how far our culture and society have come. In healthy and hope-giving ways, we can be prideful knowing that each one of us is a beautiful human being endowed with the ability and goodness to make this world a more welcoming, affirming, and caring place. With proud spirits, and prideful acknowledgement of our humanity, we need always be prepared to take the next steps to seeing justice and equality become reality.

These steps will challenge each of us to listen more carefully and compassionately to one another. These steps will challenge us to take often the high road of character especially when words and actions of others dismiss and disrespect our human dignity. These steps will challenge us to carry the movement for equality for everyone from courtrooms and sanctuaries to our homes and neighborhoods.

Taking some liberty with a famed quote oft used by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I remind us in this 45^th year since the Stonewall outcry for justice, “We ain’t what we oughta be; we ain’t what we wanna be; we ain’t what we’re gonna be; but thank God we ain’t [where we was]!”

So … be proud, be prideful, be prepared as our Denver PrideFest is experienced once more. Know that you too have a part in making our city be a more welcoming and affirming place … for everyone.

Brian Henderson has been an ordained minister with American Baptist Churches, USA, for 14 years. Holding multiple degrees in theology and systems theory, Brian is the first openly gay clergy person for the First Baptist Church of Denver, located at 14^th and Grant St., where Sunday services are held each week at 10:30am. Learn more at fbcdenver.org.