Did you know that the first gay couple to apply for a marriage license in the U.S. did so in 1970 in Minnesota? Jack Baker and Michael McConnell weren't allowed to tie the knot, but the two men remain together today and still plan to marry. Same-sex marriage was legalized in their home state in May, and the law takes effect on August 1 -- meaning next month, Baker and McConnell can finally hold their long-awaited wedding and becoming legally married.
This civil-rights movement was advocated by a number of Black people in the late 1950s and '60s: Septima Clark, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mary McLeod Bethune, Malcolm X, Fannie Lou Hamer, and more. It was aided legislatively by the executive leadership provided by President Lyndon B. Johnson who encouraged the passage of the most comprehensive civil-rights legislation to date, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law prohibited discrimination for reason of color, race, religion, or national origin in places of public accommodation covered by interstate commerce, i.e., restaurants, hotels, motels, and theaters. Besides dealing with the desegregation of public schools, the act, in Title VII, forbade discrimination in employment. Title VII also prohibited discrimination on the basis of gender.
Here we are in 2014...how far have we come? A long, long way...but we still have some way to go before we end hatred and fear. This video attempts to examine where we've come to and, I hope, will inspire people to learn from the past.
