Love and Let Love

It is with great love and pride that I quote my daughter, Caroline, from an article she wrote for YWCA Columbus -“Y Now: The time is right for ACTION”

As we enter June, a month that honors a rich legacy of social justice, we encourage our supporters to recommit to advancing positive social change that supports and protects people sitting at the intersections of gender, race, and sexual marginalization, and we would like to recognize and celebrate both Pride and Juneteenth – and their respective calls to action for us this June (and beyond!). 

In our pursuit of justice, YWCA Columbus has called upon our community to reckon with the United States’ history of codified oppression, which perpetuates inequity and marginalization to this day. As a nation founded on the unpaid labor of enslaved Africans and on stolen land, it is imperative we collectively act to right the wrongs of our past and embrace a future where everyone has the autonomy to live a life of freedom and authenticity. 

Those in positions of power have long oppressed [people of color] LGBTQ+ people, and today, lawmakers continue attempts to legislate trans, non-binary, and other queer people out of existence. We affirm the lives, value, and dignity of LGBTQ+ people and vehemently fight against these harmful attacks. 

Yours in the Movement,

Caroline Woliver

Director of Leadership and Social Justice

YWCA

Why can't mankind/womankind embrace the mantra live and let live? Because persons in power, often hypocritical religious figures, decreed a controlling moral code that set social boundaries and stifled private acts of desire and love. Pro-choice in a broad sense should include not only a woman's right to choose abortion, but also an individual's right to choose: sexual partners, contraception, spouses, euthanasia, government representatives, class improvement, and military service. As for (LGBTQI+) rights, for those who want to look to biblical teachings, I offer, "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three: but the greatest of these is love"- 1st Corinthians 13:13 (NKJV).

It is past time for us to, not only choose Live and Let Live, but to proclaim Love and Let Love!

CPW