Opinions

From the field: an investment in the future

By Jaan Williams, Organizing & Training Fellow
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund

I care passionately about the freedom to marry. As a trans man with two gay uncles, the recognition of all relationships, regardless of gender or identity, is amazingly important to me. My Uncle Mike and Uncle Cliff, who have been together as long as I’ve been alive, have never had the choice to get married; I'm proud to be fighting for them and for the same freedom for me and my partner.

Being an Organizing & Training fellow with the Task Force has been an amazing opportunity for me to grow as an individual and as an organizer. When couples started getting married on June 17, I was standing at a courthouse outside of Los Angeles, witnessing their happiness. The couples that I met that day had been waiting 10, 20, 30 years and more to have legal recognition of their commitment to each other and remembering their stories and faces drives me to keep doing this work.

Another reason I am so proud and grateful to be working with the Task Force is the emphasis on organizing effectively across lines of difference and including people who have been historically excluded from organizing efforts. In the next week I have meetings with the local faith, trans women of color and youth communities, not only ensuring that are they’re heard, but that they play an essential and important role in defeating Proposition 8, the initiative intending to change the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

For me, this campaign isn’t just about winning in November. Just like my fellowship with the Task Force is an investment in my future, the work that the Task Force is doing with the Equality for All campaign is an investment in the communities that we’re working with and the future of our movement. When we win in November, not only will we keep the freedom to marry in California, but the momentum built here will continue with us as we advocate locally, statewide and federally for marriage, for employment protections and for hate crime legislation.

Ella Baker, the African-American civil rights activist, once said, “Strong people don’t need strong leaders.” The Task Force and the Equality for All campaign are building communities of strong people who can stand together and advocate for equality. I’m proud to be a part of it.