Love and Acceptance broke through the chains of Hatred and Prejudice.
They fought long and hard and finally gained power, gained momentum;
Equal Rights for every man, white or black or in between.
Was that the end? The battle won the aching soldiers finally returning home?
NO! There is no end to either Hatred or Love, they simply transform.
Where are the Equal Rights? I see the Prejudice but not much Acceptance.
I see the single mother struggling while her male conterparts live luxuriously.
I see the boy who loves to sing and dance and wear makeup and is therefore called gay.
And the girl with short hair who is called a boy or even a lesbian because she doesn't like skirts.
The working poor who still can never make enough to survive no matter how many hours they slave.
The couple who can't marry because they are the same gender.
The mentally ill man thrown in jail instead of given the help he desperately needs
but does not know how to ask for.
I see them all, do you?
The battle of Civil Rights is not just a moment in history we think about.
It is a battle we must fight everyday until every man, woman, and child is given
the Respect, Acceptance, Love, and Rights they deserve.
The first step completed but still so many more to take.
This is not a sprint to the finish
but a marathon that only the strongest and most passionate will endure.
Stand tall my brothers and sisters;
be proud of what has been done,
Never forgetting what lays ahead for us and all the work that we must do.
We are the change and the future;
The legacy that was left by the mighty and inspirational before us.
We are not done, we have only just begun.