Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Shout-out: Southern Poverty Law Center

I'm in the process of disenchantment with American society. I don't think it's because things are getting worse overall. If anything, it's because nothing overall has gotten any better or worse. Sure, we've had some huge strides (Thank you, Dr. King, but let's be real, the way we dwell on what he accomplished and kind of "stopped working" after he passed and just went back to accepting things as they newly are is... disenchanting. The civil rights movement in my mind stood still right then and there, and no leader since has tackled the challenge of getting the ball rolling again). And now it seems we're back to square one but instead of Black-Americans, America has decided to share some old-fashioned hate with the queer community. The parallels are alarming. Note: some of us are both gay and black. Yet, I can always rely on some fleeting glimmer of hope. In a land where information is twisted for personal gain, there are a handful of ethical institutions out there worth applauding. Southern Poverty Law Center is one such institution (See! The south isn't so bad! I admit, we're a living, breathing paradox). SPLC is known for calling folks out on hate. They have even gone so far as to map them out for you. I was surprised to find one in my hometown of Lafayette, LA and not so surprised to see that Florida out-hated Louisiana by almost double. Anyway, the news has recently been buzzing about a new hate-list: 18 Anti-gay hate groups. And I wanted to say thanks. So, thanks, SPLC. I appreciate you.

1 comment:

  1. Just for the record, you do realize that NOT ONE of the SPLC's top ten, highest paid executives is a minority, right?

    http://wp.me/pCLYZ-67

    In fact, according to the SPLC’s hometown newspaper, the Montgomery Advertiser, despite being located LITERALLY in the back yard of Dr. Martin Luther King’s home church, the SPLC has NEVER hired a person of color to a highly paid position of power.

    Just saying.

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