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ACTIVISM National stage As activists head to a national march in D.C. this October, Carolinas leaders respond to a call for federally-focused strategy for equality by Mott Comer . Q-Notes staff S itting in a coffee shop in Pittsburgh, Penn., during the weekend of the nation’s largest gathering of progressive bloggers and citizen journalists, 27-year-old Kip Williams looks more like a laidback San Francisco hippie, than a man charged with the monumental task of pulling together a nation al network of activists in all 435 congressional districts. But as he speaks, a leader filled with pas sion and vision breaks through the image pre sented by Whis hip, grunge look: baggy jeans, a ragged button-up shirt and a carefree iPod headphone-wearing personality. “We are broken and divided right now,” Williams told Q-Notes, commenting on the state of LGBT community affairs in the face of a splintering debate on the National Equality March his group has planned for Oct. 11,2009. As director of Equity Across America, a new national organizing network springing from the passage of California’s Prop. 8, Williams is mov ing fuU-steam-ahead on plans to bring thou sands of activists to the nation’s capita. The initial call for the October march — made by longtime activist David Mkner and later picked up by grassroots and national activists including AIDS Quilt founder Cleve Jones — sparked a frenzied debate among LGBT advocates and community members across the nation. The march has come under intense scruti ny and criticism — traditional LGBT media outlets and bloggers have hounded Jones and other organizers. Some bloggers have issued statements against the march, urging their readers not to attend. The criticisms are always the same: limited resources for individ uals and organizations during a bad economy, a top-down leadership rather than grassroots action and bad timing without enough time to adequately plan. In the face of the criticism, Williams stands strong. “In order to move forward we’re called to a higher place,” he said. “We’ll have to get past a lot of the finger-pointing and in fighting and work together as friends and partners in a movement.” When activists, community members and politicians gathered in Washington, D.C., for the Millennium March in 2000, not one state had yet approved marriage equality for same- sex couples. The Supreme Court had yet to hand down its decision overturning sodomy laws. In rural Southern and Mid-Western states, safe schools policies and gay-straight student organizations were still developing and had yet to take a foothold. Yet, despite the progress, organizers with Equality Across America feel we haven’t moved far enough, and fear the current Democratic leadership might be backing down on the promises they gave the commu nity before the 2008 election. Equality Across America hopes its National Equality March will send a message and inspire change. Jones, a prot^gd of openly gay elected offi cial Harvey Milk and portrayed by actor Emile Hirsch in last year’s landmark film about the assassinated leader, says our community has great momentum that can’t be wasted. “We’ve got the Stonewall generation working with the Facebook generation on this march,” Jones told Q-Notes in an inter view via telephone. “We’re dealing with a very historic moment the likes of which we have not seen before. I’ve been around for a long time and I have never seen anything like what we have, today” Reports in the LGBT media and blogos- phere have consistently placed the leadership onus on Jones. Although he has been front and center representing the movement, he’s quick to dismiss the leadership label. “I’m not the leader of the march,” he said. “I’m just one of over 80 people, a great group of people all over the country.” Equality Across America says the aim of their National Equality March is simple: “Equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.” To achieve that national equality, Jones believes it is time to change strategy. “I think the old strategy of fighting state- by-state, county-by-county, city-by-city is a failed strategy!’ he said. “The time has come tO' focus on federal action.” Ian Palmquist, executive director of the statewide Equality North Carolina, disagrees. see Local Leaders on 6 Ke F F E Conveniently located at 13517 Statesville Road in Huntersville, North Carolina, Kejfer Select provides the finest selection of luxury' pre-owned vehicles. 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