Where Were You When?

Today, on June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality. Where were you?

I was in the TT office, sitting at my desk. As I read about the life and legacy of Marva Collins, a cheer erupted from my colleagues about 20 feet away.

“What happened?” Maureen Costello, Teaching Tolerance’s director, inquired.

“The Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality!” Off our scurrying fingers went to search the Web for confirmation of the long-awaited decision on marriage equality. We needed proof. We wanted to see it for ourselves. Could this be true?

Is this the feeling justice-seeking Americans experienced when the Supreme Court handed down the Brown v. Board of Education decision? Did they feel a sense of surreal and supreme satisfaction bubbling in their stomachs? Were their smiles a little bigger and brighter when they thought of the momentous step toward equity and fairness?

Part of our American ethos is to answer the question, “Where were you when...?” Where were you when Kennedy was assassinated? Where were you on 9/11? Where were you when Barak Obama was elected? These questions mark surprises that take our breath away—for better or worse. They mark moments that are suspended in history books and tattooed on our memories. Today’s moment—marriage equality for the LGBT community, nationally—took too long to come, and yet it happened in an instant.

In his famous “How Long? Not Long!” speech near the steps of the Alabama Capitol, Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to those who had marched over 50 miles from Selma to Montgomery for voting rights. He told these marchers: 

… Somebody’s asking, “How long will prejudice blind the visions of men, darken their understanding and drive bright-eyed wisdom from her sacred throne?” Somebody’s asking, “When will wounded justice, lying prostrate on the streets of Selma and Birmingham and communities all over the South, be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men?” Somebody’s asking, “When will the radiant star of hope be plunged against the nocturnal bosom of this lonely night, plucked from weary souls with chains of fear and the manacles of death? How long will justice be crucified, and truth bear it?” … How long? Not long, because the moral arc of justice is long, but it bends toward justice.

Today, the moral arc of justice bent a few more degrees; its slant is just bit closer to justice. All Americans now have the same right to marry under our flag. All of our civil rights were strengthened. Despite conflicting views, we are today—as our creed suggests—one indivisible nation with liberty and justice for all.

Fairness won on this day. But if you want a lesson in fairness, observe young people. They are purveyors of fairness. For many youth, June 26, 2015, marks an important day for their families. For others, it may be victory all of their own. We owe it to our students returning in the fall to ensure that school climate prioritizes and values LGBT inclusivity.

If you need more information on how to make your class and school more LGBT-inclusive, take a look at Teaching Tolerance’s Best Practices: Creating an LGBT-Inclusive Environment. This is also a time to renew our support of our LGBT colleagues (see the blog “LGBT Teachers Need Allies”). Are you looking for strategies to speak up for your LGBT colleagues? Then don’t forget to read Speak Up at School: Respond to Everyday Stereotypes and Bias. Some of the same strategies can be modeled and used with your students.

When you kick off the 2015-16 school year, consider offering students the opportunity to remember today’s momentous occasion in our nation’s history. Ask them, “Where were you when…?”

Christian is a teaching and learning specialist with Teaching Tolerance.