June 2009

Dear Members of the GBBC and GLBT Community:

Happy Pride 2009!  June is always an exciting time for the GLBT community, both here in America’s First City, as well as throughout the United States.  To think that just five years ago there was no place in this country that would allow or recognize the marriage of two individuals of the same sex.  Today we stand shoulder to shoulder with other fine states that recognize the value of equal rights.  The right to marry the person you love should not be a privilege but rather an inalienable right.  Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, and Iowa are all states that “Get It!”  Together we stand with pride as the first state that supported equal marriage rights, and ready ourselves to help other states willing to stand for what is simply right.

I would like to digress from the usual business topics I speak about and reflect on the successes the GLBT community has had over the years, both locally and nationally.  There appear to be great reasons to stop and celebrate for a day of Pride in our own backyard of Boston, however I cannot help but think about how we got to where we are today.  There have been many battles we have fought, ignorance to educate, and intolerance to overcome, but through all the battles and successes there have been many losses we have endured to get to a better life - losses that shook our community and shocked the world that we should not forget.   

When I think back on the cost of some of our accomplishments I cannot help but think of two sad events in our history ... the death of Matthew Shepard and Lawrence King.  Matthew’s death was deemed “senseless,” but the GLBT community conveyed that it had a greater meaning - that tolerance is necessary and violence towards those who are different is the truly senseless act.  Lawrence’s death is even more troubling since the age of children of such a young age demonstrated such hate.  Lawrence’s courage to express himself on a Valentine Day card to a fellow boy in his school cost him his life at the hands of an equally young classmate.

Today, in 2009, we should celebrate, march in parades and dance in the streets, for we have earned the rights to not only do so, but also because these rights allow us to be who we are.  However, we should stop and think of all the battles we have had to endure and never forget the losses we have experienced to get to where we are today.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and the officers of the Greater Boston Business Council, we would like to wish everyone a Safe and Happy Pride 2009!  Remember our past, smile at our future and celebrate the now.

Sincerely,
Ed Travers II, President