I saw this on Twitter and thought is was a joke.
Macklemore’s “Same Love” retained its position in the Billboard Hot 100’s top 20 this week. His poignant song promoting marriage equality has topped the charts all summer.
The song was penned and released in 2012 for the explicit purpose of helping the Washington Marriage Equality movement. In a somewhat surprising and invigorating turn of events, Washington went on to win equal marriage rights.
“Same Love” has defied all expectations, rising to a peak of No. 11 on the Billboard charts. The song is being played everywhere from parties to car radios and now on MTV’s Video Music Awards.
“Same Love” challenges the right-wing conservatives who think it’s a decision to be gay, and it doesn’t hesitate to slam those people for “playing God” by trying to turn gay people straight. It tasks America for her failure to learn from her past mistakes in denying human rights, then offers up a solution with marriage equality: “a certificate on paper isn’t gonna solve it all / But it’s a damn good place to start.”
The song is not original in its call for equal rights. Fifty years ago this week, a man named Martin Luther King, Jr gave his most famous oratory “I Have a Dream.”
MLK declared, “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children,” as he called America to peacefully demand rights for all of her citizens and to end racial discrimination.
In the same way that MLK dreamed that “my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,” Macklemore dreams that one day “my uncles can be united by law,” and there will be no more “kids … walking ‘round the hallway plagued by pain in their heart / A world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are.”
MLK’s honest and beautiful vision of fairness propelled the Civil Rights Movement to the place we are today – a country that is far from perfect, but one where people of all races can vote and intermarry, and one that has twice elected an African-American president.
The message of equality and love resonates with our generation – a generation that has grown up having friends of every race, religion and sexual orientation. We know that love is love, and discrimination is discrimination.
Macklemore challenges us in “Same Love,” just as MLK challenged America 50 years ago. He challenges us to not just listen to the song and admire its aesthetics. He implores us to not smile and applaud his musical prowess as we go about our usual day. He asks us to do something about it. He challenges us to look deep inside ourselves, uncover our own bigotry and tear it out.
“No law is gonna change us / We have to change us / Whatever God you believe in / We come from the same one / Strip away the fear / Underneath it’s all the same love / About time that we raised up.”
When you hear someone use the word “gay” in a derogatory way, call them out. When you see someone being bullied for his sexual orientation, take a stand. As MLK once said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
In West Virginia, not only is there no marriage equality but it is actually legal to fire someone from his or her job simply because he or she is gay. This level of inequality is unacceptable. Write your representatives. Donate a few bucks to Freedom to Marry. Wear a “No H8” shirt to go shopping. There are many easy ways to be a straight ally. You could even write a song.
In the words of MLK, “When we allow freedom to ring… from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’”
DIRECT LINK TO ARTICLE:
"The Parallels Between Macklemore And Martin Luther King Jr."
This is the author plea copping comment:
"Kaitlyn O'Neal · Morgantown, West Virginia
I wrote this article, and I would just like to say that the article was in no way intended to compare Macklemore and Martin Luther King, Jr. No one could ever compare to what MLK did for our country. My original title said that the song "Same Love" was an echo to MLK's "I Have A Dream" in a way. The title was changed, which changed the tone of the article. I am sorry if anyone was offended, and I am especially sorry that people read into the article things that were not there. Martin Luther King is my hero, and Macklemore is a singer who has created a positive social movement. There is no question the two people are not comparable; I merely wanted to create a parallel between the two individual pieces of work."
Thoughts?
Macklemore’s “Same Love” retained its position in the Billboard Hot 100’s top 20 this week. His poignant song promoting marriage equality has topped the charts all summer.
The song was penned and released in 2012 for the explicit purpose of helping the Washington Marriage Equality movement. In a somewhat surprising and invigorating turn of events, Washington went on to win equal marriage rights.
“Same Love” has defied all expectations, rising to a peak of No. 11 on the Billboard charts. The song is being played everywhere from parties to car radios and now on MTV’s Video Music Awards.
“Same Love” challenges the right-wing conservatives who think it’s a decision to be gay, and it doesn’t hesitate to slam those people for “playing God” by trying to turn gay people straight. It tasks America for her failure to learn from her past mistakes in denying human rights, then offers up a solution with marriage equality: “a certificate on paper isn’t gonna solve it all / But it’s a damn good place to start.”
The song is not original in its call for equal rights. Fifty years ago this week, a man named Martin Luther King, Jr gave his most famous oratory “I Have a Dream.”
MLK declared, “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children,” as he called America to peacefully demand rights for all of her citizens and to end racial discrimination.
In the same way that MLK dreamed that “my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,” Macklemore dreams that one day “my uncles can be united by law,” and there will be no more “kids … walking ‘round the hallway plagued by pain in their heart / A world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are.”
MLK’s honest and beautiful vision of fairness propelled the Civil Rights Movement to the place we are today – a country that is far from perfect, but one where people of all races can vote and intermarry, and one that has twice elected an African-American president.
The message of equality and love resonates with our generation – a generation that has grown up having friends of every race, religion and sexual orientation. We know that love is love, and discrimination is discrimination.
Macklemore challenges us in “Same Love,” just as MLK challenged America 50 years ago. He challenges us to not just listen to the song and admire its aesthetics. He implores us to not smile and applaud his musical prowess as we go about our usual day. He asks us to do something about it. He challenges us to look deep inside ourselves, uncover our own bigotry and tear it out.
“No law is gonna change us / We have to change us / Whatever God you believe in / We come from the same one / Strip away the fear / Underneath it’s all the same love / About time that we raised up.”
When you hear someone use the word “gay” in a derogatory way, call them out. When you see someone being bullied for his sexual orientation, take a stand. As MLK once said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
In West Virginia, not only is there no marriage equality but it is actually legal to fire someone from his or her job simply because he or she is gay. This level of inequality is unacceptable. Write your representatives. Donate a few bucks to Freedom to Marry. Wear a “No H8” shirt to go shopping. There are many easy ways to be a straight ally. You could even write a song.
In the words of MLK, “When we allow freedom to ring… from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’”
DIRECT LINK TO ARTICLE:
"The Parallels Between Macklemore And Martin Luther King Jr."
This is the author plea copping comment:
"Kaitlyn O'Neal · Morgantown, West Virginia
I wrote this article, and I would just like to say that the article was in no way intended to compare Macklemore and Martin Luther King, Jr. No one could ever compare to what MLK did for our country. My original title said that the song "Same Love" was an echo to MLK's "I Have A Dream" in a way. The title was changed, which changed the tone of the article. I am sorry if anyone was offended, and I am especially sorry that people read into the article things that were not there. Martin Luther King is my hero, and Macklemore is a singer who has created a positive social movement. There is no question the two people are not comparable; I merely wanted to create a parallel between the two individual pieces of work."
Thoughts?
Last edited:
fukking white privilege 
