Stepping Off the Bus: Three Monologues in celebration of MLK Day, 2013

Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
An adaptation of her words as recorded in an interview for the Eyes on the Prize documentary
Performed by Melissa Paul

Well, you know, you can take things, and take things, and take things, but you know we were dealing with a new generation. And they, this new generation, had decided that they just had taken as much as they could. So they decided they wouldn\’t ride the bus until there be Negro bus drivers and something could be done about the way that the people would be treated. They decided that they was tired of it and they wouldn\’t do it anymore.

And yes, I walked. Sometime I walked by myself and sometime I walked with different people. I began to enjoy walking because for so long I guess that I had, had this convenient ride and until I had forgot about how well it would be to walk.

I walked a mile, maybe two miles some days. Going to and from. Well, yeah you know a lot of times some of the young whites would come along and they would say, “Don\’t you know it\’s better to ride the bus than it is to walk?” And we would say, “No, cracker, no we rather walk.”

No, in fact it was really something that was a good experience for me. Because you know for so long I’d gotten where I had depended on certain things and I felt like I couldn\’t do without them. But after awhile I became acquainted with what was in it for me and I decided that I would just do it.

And I prayed and the Lord opened so many ways for me. Because I felt like that I had come up in the world, going to the mass meetings, and listening at Reverend King tell us how to be and not to be mean and hateful and to always pray and ask the Lord to give you spirit whereas you wouldn\’t do things that you would regret later. And listening at him changed my whole life because I was the kind of person who would be fiery. I made a lot of friends that I never thought that I would have, white and black.

Kansas Minister Refusing to Sign Marriage Licenses
Written by Jeff Levy-Lyons
Performed by Gregg Schaufeld

I love performing weddings. It’s one of the great joys of my ministry. Ushering a couple into the commitment of joining their lives; seeing them so in love; everyone looks so happy. It gives me hope for the world. Some of my weeks might include a funeral, counseling a troubled member of the parish, or peacemaking at a cantankerous board meeting. Believe me, I need that hope wherever I can find it.

I’ve also done a number of commitment ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples over the last few years. (It’s raised some eyebrows in my very mid-western Presbyterian congregation.) But I’ve enjoyed those as well. And why not: they’re equally joyous occasions. They’re about love and commitment. But a couple months ago, I started feeling a bit ill at ease after doing a commitment ceremony. The couple, and later a friend of theirs, shared with me that it was a nice ceremony but it didn’t feel complete without a legal marriage license. It really hit me. It isn’t complete. And it isn’t right.

So, I came to a decision. I realized that by continuing to be part of a dual system – signing a license that makes a marriage between a man and woman legal while being unable to do so for same sex couples – I was condoning that system. And I don’t believe there should be two systems –any two loving, committed people should have the same legal rights. So I decided that I couldn’t remain engaged (so to speak) in that system. I decided that I would no longer agree to sign any marriage licenses until such time as I can do it for every couple that wants to marry.

I didn’t think this would be a big deal – people can still get their legal paperwork done down at city hall. Boy, was I wrong. It’s a huge deal. I’ve lost wedding business, which is an important part of my earnings. It’s also not gone down well with my congregation. Members accuse me of taking a political stand and claim that this is not my prerogative as their pastor. It looks like I’ll actually lose members of the congregation who don’t believe in same-sex marriage. The board tried to talk me out of it. The finance committee tried to talk me out of it (since we make a lot of money renting our sanctuary for weddings). Heck, my own niece is pulling her hair out because she was planning to have me officiate at her wedding in the spring. I tried to explain to her and her fiancé, that I’ll still marry them. I\’ll do for them what I would do for a gay couple: a religious wedding before God but not a legal wedding before the state. But, it’s their big day…

I hate disappointing people. And I’ve had my share of doubts that I’m accomplishing anything… other than being annoying. I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights over this, hearing the voices of the people who are angry at me. People I respect; people I love. I don’t know if it makes any difference. But I just feel that my conscience is guiding me and I feel like my faith is guiding my conscience. If I’m in a position to be a moral leader, then I guess I have to lead. And so, that’s my policy, come what may: no marriage licenses until everyone can have one.

Brooklyn Teenager Becomes a Vegetarian
Written by Jeff Levy-Lyons
Performed by Nora Kenny

I love hamburgers. I’ve always loved hamburgers. If you asked me what my favorite food is, I might just tell you, “hamburgers”. But you know what? I don’t eat hamburgers any more… at least not the kind you can get at the places where I used to go to get them… like McDonald’s or the diner. So, why don’t I eat hamburgers anymore?

OK, here’s what happened: I was on my friend’s Facebook page and I saw this post about how badly animals are treated… the ones that we eat… like cows. I usually just scroll past that stuff, but for some reason I opened the link and read some really gross stuff that I won’t even tell you about… but it was pretty gross.

Afterward, I was pretty bummed out… partly because of feeling so bad for the animals, and partly because I realized that I can’t be a part of that. If those animals are suffering just so I can eat a hamburger, then I can’t really keep on eating hamburgers…
and did I tell you how much I love hamburgers? So, I wished I hadn’t seen the link and hadn’t opened it and hadn’t read it and hadn’t realized that now I can’t eat hamburgers any more… but I did and now I can’t. Big bummer.

I don’t know if me not eating hamburgers from animals that have been treated badly will change anything. After all, I’m just one person… and I can’t even vote yet. But not eating hamburgers, and not going to places that sell them, and dealing with all the whining I now get from my friends who I used to go to the diner with, is a kind of voting when you think about it.

And now I’ve got a link on my Facebook page about how the animals we eat are treated, so now maybe I can make a few of my friends as miserable as I am when they click on it. Anyway, that’s my story. Oh, and by the way, I’m never putting Tofurkey in my mouth… not ever.