By Michael Golojuch, Jr.

There are some here in Hawai’i that do not think that we need to celebrate, nor honor the memory of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I am not one of those people. Nor should any member of any minority group think that way. I say all minorities because Dr. King, like all great and historic leaders, his message and work transcends race, ability, religion, gender, gender identity and expression, age, socio-economic status and sexual orientation. We as minorities should not let Dr. King’s day go by without taking some time to reflect, honor and celebrate him and his life’s work.

A friend asked me when I thought Dr. King’s work would be finished. While some think Dr. King’s work was completed with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ’68 or even ‘91. Still others thought we saw the completion of Dr. King’s work with the election of President Barack Obama. I think that we still have a long road ahead and I am not sure if Dr. King’s work will ever be fully completed.

This is because the fight for equality, social justice and ensuring everyone’s civil rights are honored and protected is an ongoing never-ending struggle. We have had and will continue to have major and minor victories along the way. As well as some setbacks, like this past November when we saw the GOP take control of the US House and come with-in striking distance of the US Senate.

The major reason that the GOP takeover of Congress is a setback to Dr. King’s work is due to the plans of a GOP controlled Congress to roll back President Obama’s health care overhaul, eliminate all safety nets and protections that government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Social Security are suppose to provide. All of this is in direct opposition to Dr. King’s life’s work.

This is all being planned by the GOP with no concern for the over 30 million Americans that have no health insurance or the fact medical bills are the number one reason Americans file for bankruptcy. Never mind the millions of Americans that will get sick and die if there is no controlling the number of pollutants that businesses will dump into our drinking water or release into the air or ensuring our food supply is safe.

Do not get me wrong not all members of the GOP are anti-equality, anti-social justice and anti-civil rights, just like not all members of the Democratic Party embrace equality, social justice and civil rights. Though there are far more supporters of Dr. King’s dream in the Democratic Party both locally and on the national level than in the GOP at any level. The GOP would a much more inclusive party and supporter of Dr. King’s dream if they had more people like Rep. Cynthia Thielen and Rep. Barbara Marumoto in decision making positions with-in their party.

Luckily here in Hawai’i we did not follow the national trend of sending GOP Tea Baggers to Congress nor did we put them in control of our State or City Government – at any level. This was a major victory for equality and civil rights here in Hawai’i. Though keep in mind this great accomplishment was done by a minority of the total number of eligible voters and this should trouble each and every one of us.

Hawai’i has one of the lowest voter registration and turnout rates in the nation. This is a huge embarrassment for a state as diverse as Hawai’i. With so many different minorities we should have the nations highest voter registration and turnout. I say this because every member of any minority group should know that someone; somewhere died for their right to vote. In most cases a lot of people died for this right. So for any member of a minority group to not register and not vote is to spit on the memory of those that made the ultimate sacrifice.

There are those that think I should not have included sexual orientation or gender identity and expression in the list of protected classes when talking about Dr. King and his life’s work. To that I say anyone who thinks that Dr. King would not support full equality for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community does not understand fully what Dr. King was working towards. If you disagree you just have to look at who Dr. King put in charge of the March on Washington: Bayard Rustin an out gay African-American. Mr. Rustin was as out as he could have been during that era without being lynched for being gay.

If that is not enough just look to the one person on this earth who had the most intimate relationship with Dr. King and knew him the best – his wife Coretta Scott King. She was a very strident supporter of equality for the LGBT community, which included marriage equality, all of her life up until her death in 2006. To quote Mrs. Coretta Scott King from the 2003 Creating Change Conference, organized by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:

“I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people. … But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream, to make room at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.”

So when the Civil Unions bill comes up for a hearing this legislative session and if you truly believe in Dr. King’s dream, take his and Mrs. Scott King’s words to heart and support the bill. For there was never an asterisk after Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech or any of his writings stating that his ‘dream’ did not include the LGBT community.

All this being said I hope that you join will join me in taking time this year and every year to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his life’s work!

(This year I will be marching with PFLAG-Oahu in the MLK Parade on Monday Jan 17th it starts at 9 AM from Magic Island and goes to Kapiolani Park so come out and march with us or ride their trolley if you cannot march the distance. For more information please visit the parade’s website: http://www.mlk-hawaii.com)

Michael Golojuch, Jr. is a graduate of St. Louis High School and University of San Francisco. He is chair of Honolulu Pride (formerly Honolulu LGBT Pride Parade), Vice-Chair of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawai’i and Special Events Director for Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays-Oahu (PFLAG).

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