“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

Doesn’t matter what color you are, you deserve to be free. Doesn’t matter what gender you are, you deserve to be whatever you want to be. Doesn’t matter what your sexual orientation, you deserve to be with the one you love.

In the early 70’s it was announced, prior to entering the 7th grade of middle school, that we would be blending the Caucasian and African-American schools. There seemed to be such upset in the air, and yet I was troubled as to why. I had grown up with an African-American nanny and several other African-Americans who worked with us on my grandparent’s property and dairy farm. I understood the value of relationship which all people can bring.

I was one of the leaders in the 7th grade class, so when I was accepting and creating new friends who were African-American, I was deeply saddened when many of my Caucasian friends would no longer have anything to do with me. I realized in that moment – being different requires courage and a willingness to be an outcast. I did not understand the ignorance behind this idea, yet I was intuitive enough to know I did not want to. Understanding sometimes requires us to STAND UNDER what we feel is the right way to be.

The key element here is that cultural influences in our world seem to override spiritual teachings, education and principles. In other words, even in the Unity movement in the 60’s “colored” children were not allowed to swim in the pool at Unity Village – a Movement which believes ALL people are created as God’s beloved children and all are inherently equal.

One of the Biblical Ten Commandments “as strictly followed by traditional Christians” states we are not to kill. “Thou shalt not kill,” yet many traditional Christians have stated clearly perhaps “all homosexuals should be killed and wiped from our society.” This same influence was used with the talented witches in Salem and also with African-Americans prior to the Civil Rights movement.

Excerpt: “The Right to Be You” by Temple Hayes