Last week, I posted about a racist act in Mississippi, where a noose was put on a statue of James Meredith, the first African American student to attend the University. Three students are suspected in the attack and actions against them have begun as the investigation continues:

Sigma Phi Epsilon says it has indefinitely suspended the Alpha Chapter, which voted to expel the three freshman members over their suspected involvement in hanging a noose and a flag bearing a Confederate emblem on the statue of James Meredith, the first black student to enroll at Ole Miss.

The story speaks to the continuing impact of racism and bigotry, but there is another aspect of the incident that I want to highlight today, illustrated by this quote:

“It is embarrassing that these men had previously identified with our fraternity,” said Brian C. Warren Jr., CEO of Sigma Phi Epsilon. “SigEp as a national fraternity has championed racial equality and issues on diversity since 1959 when it became the first national fraternity to invite members of all races, creeds and religions to join its membership.”

I was two years old in 1959. It wasn’t that long ago, and Warren’s efforts to distance the national fraternity from this event makes perfect sense. But it just wasn’t that long ago.

For the LGBTQ community, racist actions like this foreshadow the type of incidences that face our community down the road if we simply try and demand our rights through legislation. We must never stop demanding our legal rights and full equality, yet we must also continue to strive for full acceptance culturally, in our neighborhoods, in the cities and towns where we live, our, our schools, our places of employment and everywhere we go. There are no places where bigotry can be acceptable if real equality is to be ours.

I have not seen many LGBTQ bloggers take up this event and write about it which is a shame. All oppressed communities must stand together against bigotry, discrimination, and hate. Equality is everyone’s fight.