A Win for Lance Black
Is a Win for Marriage

In the days following the passage of California's anti-gay marriage measure, Prop. 8, gays and lesbians took to the streets to fight back. Some were angry. Some were hurt. All felt somehow empowered to make their voices heard. And yet everyone seemed to offer up the same frustrations. Despite millions of dollars poured into both sides of the marriage battle, no one had stepped up to the podium and emerged as this fight's Harvey Milk.

We had leaders -- Lorri Jean knows how to move a crowd to action, the lawyers for Lambda Legal surely deserved our respect and gratitude, and the millions of grassroots organizers managed to get out the youth vote like we've seldom seen before. But there was no clear-cut leader. No one carrying the torch and saying, "Follow me. This way to victory."

When Dustin Lance Black took to the stage Sunday night to accept the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Milk, he did more for the advancement of equal rights than the millions of dollars pumped into the No on 8 campaign. He reached more people than any phone bank could ever hope to. He had 30 seconds -- a minute, max -- to drive a simple point home. Gay people are worthy of equal rights.

In the heat of that moment, his first Oscar win, no one would have thought twice if his speech had dissolved into a rambling chain of incoherent thanks -- grasping at straws to be certain he got to everyone on his list. But centered and collected, with just enough emotion on his face to make it real, Black did something on Sunday night that groups full of media-savvy political strategists were never able to accomplish during the No on 8 campaign.

He made it personal.

He talked about his childhood, growing up Mormon. He talked about his mother, who, despite disapproving looks and pressure from the outside world, loved him for who he is. He talked about Harvey Milk, his hero, his lifesaver who showed him that with love and determination, anything is possible -- even, one day, marriage.

And then he paid it forward. He spoke directly to those kids out there who, like him growing up, need someone to look to -- someone to let them know it's all going to be OK one day.

"If Harvey Milk were alive today, I think he'd want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian children out there who have been told that they are less than by their churches or by the government or by their families that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures who have value," he said, looking straight into the camera. "No matter what anybody tells you, God does love you and that very soon I promise you ... you will have equal rights federally across this great nation of ours."

After months of ads featuring the parents of gays and lesbians who would be affected by Prop. 8, teachers and politicians who were against Prop. 8, and a random sprinkling of celebrities lending their influence to the cause, Black made it personal. He humanized it.

In the weeks following the passing of Prop. 8, a group of gay families got together and cut a series of ads called Get to Know Us First. Instead of hiding gay families from voters, the ads let them come out, front and center, and share their stories.

Lance Black was out front and center Sunday night -- in front of millions of people. No matter how much money the No on 8 campaign managed to raise, that's an opportunity no amount of money could buy. In the audience, Kate Winslet raised her hands above her head and cheered him on. Josh Brolin, nominated for Milk, cheered with his wife, Diane Lane, a white knot in support of marriage equality pinned to his lapel. According to the Los Angeles Times, Jennifer Aniston cried in the wings. And at home, my mom watched and picked up the phone to call. Her response? One word. "Wow."

Later in the night, Sean Penn made a similarly moving speech -- to hear a Best Actor winner make a plea for marriage equality, and to see an audience full of people give him a standing ovation for it, is a milestone, to be sure. But Lance Black's speech was so deeply personal -- so from the heart and spontaneous while managing to hit all the key points and then some -- that it became more than an Oscar speech. For that moment, every gay man and woman watching from home felt like they'd won an Oscar. Black put in the work and wrote one hell of a script, but his win was a score for the entire community.

The political campaigning is done. Now the fight becomes about getting Prop. 8 overturned and, if that fails, shifting our focus to the next stage of the battle. And whether Lance Black ever leads a rally or reaches for the bullhorn to motivate a united gay army, on Sunday night he stepped out in front of this battle.

For his moment in the spotlight, Lance Black didn't just honor the legacy of Harvey Milk. He made him proud.