The Bronx stands up to anti-LGBT hate
By and
NEW YORK--Some 50 multiracial marchers turned out for an enthusiastic rally in the Morris Heights neighborhood of the Bronx on November 19, after the local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community sent out a call to protest the recent surge in hate crimes against the LGBT community in New York City.
Participants and organizers included Rev. Carmen Hernandez, the Bronx Community Pride Center, the Bronx Academy of Arts, Gay and Lesbian Dominican Empowerment, Family Circle, and numerous other activists who came to stand up against hate.
Bronx resident and marcher Alicia DeCurtis, a relative of Julio Rivera, who was murdered by anti-gay thugs in Queens in 1990, came out to support her children, stating, "I'm [here] supporting my son. I have two kids who are gay. This violence has to stop!"
The rally began in the University Heights neighborhood of the Bronx and marched to the steps of 1910 Osborne Place, where a brutal hate crime took place in early October, in which as many as nine members of the "Latin King Goonies" reportedly beat, tortured and sodomized four men they believed to be gay over a period of hours.
Once marchers reached the location of the attack, a speak-out took place. Rev. Carman Hernandez called this act of hate "unacceptable." She went on to say, "The violence against gays in our community is out of control. We contribute to a culture of violence when we give into hate."
The rally was an important step in standing up to the violence and homophobia supported by local politicians, particularly Bronx state Sen. Ruben Diaz. Diaz built his reputation on opposing equal rights for LGBT people, including opposing laws that would protect LGBT students in schools.
Diaz, an evangelical minister, is one of the leading opponents of equal marriage in New York state. In 2009, he went so far as to bus thousands of anti-gay churchgoers to a rally to oppose former Gov. David Paterson's support of equal marriage.
As march organizer Ed Garcia stated, "[This hate] most likely comes from ignorance. When you have state Senator Ruben Diaz saying homosexuality is a sin, it breeds more ignorance."
Many rally participants expressed the need for schools to do more to educate young people about LGBT people and their lives to help end the fear and ignorance which breeds violence and hate. Participants also spoke about the connection between the legal inequality that LGBT people face and how this helps to foster ignorance and hate.
As march organizer and Bronx Community Pride Board Member Antonio Centeno remarked, "This is the day to start the movement for equality. We need to make equality in New York City a reality. We need to make our borough become equal for all. We have been asleep for so long, but not anymore!"
Marchers then walked two-and-a-half miles to the steps of the Bronx courthouse to demand equality now under the law. Chants of "Vives tu vida, no a mia" (Live your life, not mine), "No mas odio" (No more hate) and "Hey ho, hey ho, homophobia has got to go" could be heard as marchers trekked along.
Speakers called for education, housing, acceptance and an end to the violence--and vowed to continue the struggle against the climate of fear and hatred spouted by anti-gay politicians and media.
