Forty-six years ago today, more than 200,000 people participated in the March on Washington, where Rev. Martin Luther King deliver the iconic I Have a Dream speech. It was a watershed moment that marked a tipping point in the growing awareness and action needed in the civil rights movement.
Thirty-eight years ago, the We Demand demonstration was held on Parliament Hill--the first large-scale lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gender (LGBT) demonstration in Canada. Activists gathered on the Hill to support a brief that had been submitted to the federal government by Toronto Gay Action, which called for equal and full rights for homosexuals in Canada.
As we can see today when we pull back the camera of history, these events built upon each other and events that came before. We can also see with an African-American president in the White House and sexual orientation protected in human-rights legislation across Canada, these events had a positive impact on the future, helping to shape leaders and the world we live in now. I suggest we build upon these milestones by rethinking how elections in our country happen and broaden our definition of voting.
With a civic election 13 months away and a federal election possible at any moment, now is the time that we need to start shaping the discourse that will make up the debates and dialogues in the next election cycle.
We need to actively be voting with our lives. This means gathering for community discussions, keeping up to date on current events, researching and teaching others about what has happened in the past, organizing and holding rallies to build momentum, running for elections, working with politicians to help shape platforms, and working with political parties to help mobilize communities to get involved.
From immigration to human rights to the environment, there are so many issues facing Canadians that we can ensure the coming elections are about more than just the economy. Gone can be the days when spin-doctors tell politicians what voters care about.
Starting on this anniversary of two historic moments--of movements calling governments to task for their failings--we need to ensure that our concerns are part of local and national conversations on election day.
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