Sneedivism
By Meg Sneed

Journey of Stories
Conversations along walk will help plant seeds of understanding

For many years in my early activism it was the stories about others that inspired me and gave me hope. As I went across the country talking about equality, it was easy to speak about the facts and figures, it was easy to tell the story of a friend or loved one.

But something was missing — my story.

There are moments in our lives that change who we are. My moment was in the winter of 2006, when, at the age of 24, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I sat down and wrote a “Bucket List.” As I reviewed that list, and saw that the top two items were marriage and children, I began to see my own story.

I considered the 1,138 rights denied to LGBT couples and how that would affect my life and my love. I was scared, so scared to let anyone close to me. I didn’t want to fall in love. I didn’t want to think about a partner not being able to see me in the hospital, or worse, what would happen if I died. I didn’t want her to hear that our love meant nothing.

Suddenly my activism was connecting with people, I was telling a story, my story. I was learning that no matter how many facts and figures, I know there is nothing more powerful than my life.

Once you hear my story, you can’t un-hear it. The next time you hear about marriage equality, I’m there — you hear my voice and see my face.

Every time you tell your story you are an activist. Your story is changing hearts and minds; every conversation is a success, a victory.

In August, I will lead a group on a journey called the Right to Marry. We will walk 98 miles across northern Arizona seeking earnest discussion and cordial fellowship. The 98 miles is a representation of the number of years that Arizona has been a state without full equality for all citizens.

Our goal is to carefully and collectively examine the intersection where scripture and social norms meet gender and human sexuality. And more practically, we hope to share and gain insights about how related policies and doctrines impact the lives of everyone in a community. These conversations are undeniably essential in creating a safe environment for all citizens of Arizona.

As our feet hit the pavement this summer, we will be having dialogue with police, city managers, faith communities, elected officials and individuals in rural northern Arizona.

As we walk, we will be telling our stories — my story as a young cancer survivor, Jimmy and Paul’s story as a couple of 18 years, Stephanie and Diane as a mother and daughter, Tracy and Toni as straight sisters. It will be our stories and our voices that will plant seeds that will cause a ripple effect of love and acceptance.

We will never know the full impact of our conversations, but we do know that with each step we will plant seeds that will be harvested in others and will continue to grow as our society comes to understand the value of affirming the loving, covenanted relationships of its LGBT people.

Whether we walk 98 miles or 98 feet this summer, we are in this together. We need to be strong, to be a community, and gear up for a road that will test our inner strength, our endurance and our commitment to each other.

Meg Sneed is a community activist and can be reached at meg.sneed@yahoo.com.