The Equality March

I think it was the day after The Women's March. My closest friend Dave and I were chatting casually over text, when the topic of the LGBTQ community came up. Dave wanted to do something and tossed a flare onto Facebook to see if there was interest. I suggested he start a Facebook event page. A week or two later the interest level was in the thousands. Today it's at about 150,000. A simple idea tossed around over text, has now evolved into The Equality March, which will take place June 11th in Washington, D.C.

Dave and I have traveled through life together since about the age of seven or eight. We grew up basketball buddies, then basketball rivals, and always best friends. Though we've always had, and still have, a competitive edge. Not sure why, and we never acknowledge it, but it's there. But the backbone of the relationship is a relentless allegiance to one another. When we moved on to college, Dave headed up to Maine while I traveled a bit shorter up north to Boston. Dave introduced me to his closest friend from prep school, who was also attending my college, and we quickly became lifelong friends.

During a summer somewhere mixed in our college years, Dave oddly fell off my radar for a few weeks. I'd call and nothing. Then suddenly he resurfaced. He was "down in Florida with some friends from film school," he said. Believable, sure, but something seemed amiss. And then he told me. We were 22. I'd never suspected for even a moment. He was picky. I mean, he had the looks and charm to date pretty much anyone. I figured he just hadn't found the right girl. Times were different and I was thrown off. For a little bit, I probably made it more about me than him. It was so incredibly difficult for him to......finally.......tell me. To this day, I can't begin to imagine how hard that must have been. I can still remember the hesitation and quiver in his voice, something, to this day, I've never heard again. We were from conservative, almost entirely white, very homogenous, Northern New Jersey. We had a grand total of zero students come out in our high school, perhaps ever. Dave waited until college. The news settled and after a few days of reflection, we were good. And soon, we were stronger than ever. I defended him vigorously. Some didn't understand. Wouldn't understand. But I reflected on all that Dave, and even his family, had done for me. When I was thrown off the high school basketball team for my attitude, Dave's father called the head coach, pinned my attitude on my father, and asked them to reinstate me. They did. When the NCAA Tournament regularly came to Northern New Jersey, Dave always took me. His folks knew my mom couldn't afford the tickets and they never once asked for a penny. Dave was always there for me, and once I wrapped my mind around this new reality, I knew that I'd always be there for him, and oftentimes, the day and age called for those who cared for him to defend him. And we did.

For the past four months or so, Dave has been traveling to D.C. every single weekend to work on the March. That's his personality. An almost manic work ethic. Non-stop. In about a month, The Equality March will storm through Washington, D.C. and it will all be because of Dave. It was his idea. It was his work. And when things get underway, I'll be standing there beside him, like we did as kids, and like we continue to do as the decades roll on by.