Welcome Home: New York City

As we drove through the Lincoln Tunnel, my heartbeat became faster; I was almost home—the landscape no longer sprawling grass fields spotted with cows but rather highways spotted with trash. To be honest, I have kind of missed the trash—because alongside the trash comes a community that actually applauds the work we, as equality riders, have been doing. Growing up in New York, my exposure to negative attitudes towards the GLBTQ community has been limited, almost non-existent. Having never encountered the hatred many of my fellow riders have endured throughout their entire lives, the past month and a half on the road has opened my eyes to an array of different forms of violence—violence of the mind, heart, and tongue.

I felt welcomed back to my city as the 26 of us riders entered the fundraiser held to raise money for our journey. Instead of being met with signs of hate, we were welcomed with open arms and embraced. A breath of fresh air in the middle of New York City—who would have thought?! Each one of us shared our experiences, observations, and thoughts about the ride thus far with Soulforce NY and fundraiser attendants. As we spoke, images of the past month and a half were projected onto both the wall and ceiling of the lounge. Looking at those images, I find it so hard to believe that our journey is almost over, at least the actual ride—I realize that our work is a journey far from being over.

I was overwhelmed with pride when the 2007 Equality Ride received a Proclamation of Recognition by the New York City Council and House of Representatives. A friend of mine, one I have had since pre-school, came to support us, and came up to me at the end of the presentation in tears, thanking us for everything we have been doing for the GLBTQ community. This was a common greeting from most we encountered that night–just a feeling of overwhelming support for and recognition of our commitment to social justice.

As I traveled into Brooklyn, my home, that evening, I looked at the people sitting beside me on the F train–all different colors, ages, creeds, orientations–and we were all so peaceful just sitting there. Traveling around the country on a big gay bus has really put my life in perspective, and finding myself in New York after visiting the Deep South and having been to jail for justice, really put me in a place of peace. We have two weeks left til each of us returns to our respective homes, and I think I can say with a clear conscience that not a single one of us will be returning home the same person as when we left.

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