Connecting

 Rainbows  :    Civil  Rights  Walks  for  America  

Easter  Sunday,  2011  
 
   
Today,  we  have  just  completed  a   We  can’t  be  deceived  into  believing  that  
peaceful  civil  rights  walk  in  memory  of   the  mountaintop  doesn’t  exist.    We  know  
just  some  of  the  many,  many  LGBT   that  it  exists.    Others,  who  have  come  
Americans,  whose  lives  have  been  lost,   before  us,  have  seen  it.  
as  a  result  of  a  system  that    
institutionalises  discrimination  and  hate.   We  ask  His  Grace  the  Archbishop  of  New  
  York  to  uphold  the  social  doctrine  of  the  
We  gather  here,  outside  St.  Patrick’s   Church.    We  respectfully  say  to  the  
Cathedral,  because  it  was  only  last   Church  :    «  Practice  what  you  preach.  »    
month  when  Archbishop  Timothy  Dolan   Reflect  on  the  words  in  your  very  own  
and  other  Bishops  traveled  to  Albany  to   social  doctrine  :  «    In  fact,  the  roots  of  
deliberately  lobby  against  marriage   human  rights  are  to  be  found  in  the  
equality.   dignity  that  belongs  to  each  human  
  being.  »  
As  an  institution  that  aspires  to  a  social    
doctrine,  the  Catholic  Church  should  not   Let  us  have  a  moment  of  silence,  in  
be  trying  to  reduce  the  status  of  any  man   prayer  or  meditation,  for  those,  who  
or  woman.    All  people  get  to  live  one  life,   were  not  shown  dignity  during  their  
which  they  cannot  physically  repeat  here   brief  time  here  with  us.  
on  earth.    To  quote  from  the  Church’s    
own  social  doctrine,  it  is  necessary  to   One  of  us  will  now  peacefully  enter  St.  
«  consider  every  neighbour  without   Patrick’s  Cathedral,  and  light  one  candle  
exception  as  another  self,  taking  into   in  rememberance  of  all  the  people,  who  
account  first  of  all  his  life  and  the  means   have  died  as  a  result  of  inequality.    
necessary  for  living  it  with  dignity.  »     A  second  candle  will  be  lit  for  our  dream  
  that  we,  too,  make  it  to  the  mountaintop.    
Those  of  us  who  collect  here  today,  and   In  memory  of  the  people,  who  have  died,  
others,  who  were  unable  to  join  us,  but   let  us  sing,  «  This  Little  Light  of  Mine.  »  
are  with  us  in  spirit,  find  it  unacceptable    
that  anybody’s  precious  life  should  be   Justin  Aaberg  
diminished.    By  opposing  mariage   Gwen  Araujo  
equality,  the  Church  is  promoting     Asher  Brown  
restrictions  in  the  exercise  of  people’s   Raymond  Chase  
rights  and  freedoms,  and  we  find  this   Tyler  Clementi  
unrighteous.   Amanda  Gonzalez-­Andujar  
  Lateisha  Green  
From  the  time  of  the  founding  of  this   Paulina  Ibarra  
nation,  we  have  been  walking  in  only  one   Myra  Chanel  Ical  
direction  :    toward  the  fulfillment  of  the   Duanna  Johnson  
supreme  promise  that  all  women  and   Roy  Antonio  Jones  III  
men  are  created  equal.       Lawrence  King  
  Jorge  Steven  Lopez  Mercado  
For  many  long  stretches  in  our  nation’s   Billy  Lucas  
history,  Americans  have  fought  for   Durval  Martins  
changes  in  our  government,  so  that  our   Eric  Mohat  
laws  could  make  good  on  the  promise   Ruby  Molina  
that  we  are  created  equal.    Today,  we   Mariah  Malina  Qualls  
showed  that  we  continue  on  this   Ryan  Skipper  
journey,  and  we  know  that  we  will  get  to   Seth  Walsh  
the  day,  when  we  will  know  full  equality.   Victoria  Carmen  White  
  Angie  Zapata  
 
 
2011-­‐04-­‐24  :  Text  of  Speech  by  Louis  Flores,  Connecting  Rainbows