News
Jennice C. Ontiveros — Third Place Winner
January 29, 2009
Tonight I am going to ask that you trust me, and that you trust those around you because right now I am going to ask that you close your eyes and keep them closed, and I will do the same. Now, picture your fifth grade classroom. What did it look like? Do you see the walls, the books, the little desks? Picture your classmates, do you see their faces? And your teacher, what was his or her name?
The year was 1998, I was nine years old, my teachers name was Mrs. Miller, and we concentrated on a different subject everyday of the week. We were in fifth grade, and Wednesdays were History.
It's funny how as a child your perception of the world is skewed to your lack of experience, knowledge, and ability to understand the true meaning of here and now.
As an elementary school student, I somehow convinced myself that war was an outdated term. After reading about the Civil War, the World Wars, and so on, I could only comprehend that these dates were in the past, and that the world, or at least the United States, was at peace. I was sure of this idea, and felt secure in my blissful ignorance. Of course, that was easy; there was seemingly nothing at my finger-tips. I had never seen a riot, been exposed to soldiers preparing for battle, or seen terrorism in my homeland. At least, not yet.
The truth is that our history is rich, filled with its share of setbacks and successes, we have often come together to change its course.
The year 1610: Virginia adopts "sodomy laws" making sex between two men a "capital crime" punishable by death.
1619 The First African slaves arrive in Virginia.
1777 All states take away women’s right to vote.
Although these events preceded the civil war, they targeted three minorities that would eventually rise up in their own civil rights movements.
1865 to 1920 The 13th, 15th, and 19th Amendments are ratified, banning slavery, granting African Americans the right to vote, and lastly- granting all women the right to vote.
1942 On the brink of WWII and in the years following, the U.S. military discharges approximately 100,000 soldiers for admitting to homosexuality, whether or not they had ever acted on such desires.
In the same decade President Truman orders the US Military to be integrated.
Do you see the inconsistencies?
1953 In an order equating homosexuals to drug addicts and criminals, President Eisenhower bans employment of gays in the federal government. 12 years later it is repealed.
1963 African American Gay Rights Activist Bayard Rustin organizes the March on Washington where Dr. King delivers his famous "I Have A Dream" speech.
1964 Title Seven of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex.
1973: The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from it list of "illnesses."
1981: AIDS gains media attention, and is labeled the "gay cancer."
Then, in the 1990's, a time relative to all Whittier students:
President Clinton signs the "don’t ask, don't tell, don't pursue" policy in response to gays in the military.
And in the latter half of the decade,
Title Nine requires that college athletics programs must involve equal numbers of men and women to qualify for federal support. Matthew Shepard is murdered in Laramie, Wyoming in a hate crime motivated by homophobia. But just a year later, President Bill Clinton declares the month of June "Gay Pride Month."
2008:The United States experiences the culmination of three civil rights campaigns, and the state of California witnesses one of the most historical election ballots it has ever seen. Citizens are given the opportunity to vote for a female vice president, a black president, and to drastically alter the lives of those identifying as Gay Lesbian Bisexual or Transgender. While the results yield a dream realized for the African American civil rights movement, the U.S. also sees G.L.B.T. community's right to marry taken away.
History is no longer a 5th grade lesson learned on a Wednesday afternoon, but a movement that speaks for itself. It is driven by the people of its time, and now, we are those people. Our generation has great responsibilities at hand, including the rights for our fellow citizens. Now is the time to recall that Dr. King’s dream was and still is an all inclusive ideal that embraces those fighting for their denied rights. Today, those people are the members of the Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, and Transgender community.
Whether you identify as G.L.B.T., or as an ally of those who may be your friends, family, co-workers, classmates, roommates, or just your cashier at the local Ralphs, know that you are an ally of human civility, and those rights Dr. King peacefully fought for in this war against one another. The time is now, the place is here. We must stand up for one another and know that Dr. King’s dream can be reality. Rise above those fifth grade ideals; ignorance is not bliss. Move on from the stagnation of toleration and into the progression of acceptance. If I am able to embrace, not tolerate, but embrace that you are a human being; knowing that I am too am human, I will stand up for your rights. And I will fight for you because if you do not have rights, neither can I; for we are equals.
 In 2008 Proposition 8 was passed and same sex marriage was banned in the state of California. In 1850, anti-miscegenation laws were passed forbidding Whites to marry Blacks, Asians, and Filipinos. They were not repealed until 1948. If we follow this timeline, the GLBT community will not see equal rights until 2106, 98 years from now. I believe that we cannot wait that long. The G.L.B.T. community cannot wait that long. I believe that the time is now and that we must not let history repeat itself. I believe that our president of the United States of America: Barak Hussein Obama would agree because just over a week ago in his inaugural address he reminded us that, "The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."
