(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Looking back at my DK birthday 10 years ago this week: the fight for marriage equality in France [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-19 Justice Minister Christiane Taubira speaking before the Assemblée National upon the passage of the marriage equality bill in February 2013. Since I write about French politics, I thought it would be fun to look back at what was happening in ‘the Hexagon’, 10 years ago this week, when I signed up as a member of Daily Kos. There was one unforgettable moment . . . Christiane Taubira, the first black woman to serve as Justice Minister in France, was on the floor of the Assemblée National, single-handedly carrying the fight for marriage equality while facing enormous opposition from over 200 right-wing MPs. To say the least, they hated her for who she was and everything she stood for. In 2001, as an MP representing the Overseas Territory of Guyane, Taubira introduced a resolution declaring France’s role in the slave trade a crime against humanity. At the time, the history textbook that kids were using in school, said, “France, in all of its goodness, would not allow slavery in any of its possessions.” Even against this climate of denial, Taubira prevailed. With her knowledge as a historian (she had written a landmark book on slavery and the slave trade, ‘L’esclavage raconté à ma fille’ [‘Slavery Explained to My Daughter’], with her political skill, and with her unique talent as an orator, the resolution was passed. One thing the Taubira Law mandated was a change in the school curriculum so that kids would learn France’s real history regarding slavery and the slave trade. (To read about this, scroll down, at the link, to the last few paragraphs in this US Library of Congress article → blogs.loc.gov/...) Fast forward to February 2013. It was time for François Hollande to fulfill a campaign promise he made when he ran for President in 2012. He said he would deliver marriage equality. Justice Minister Christiane Taubira brought the bill to Parliament where she ran into a solid wall of opposition on the right. On the floor of the Assemblée, MPs like Marion Maréchal Le Pen (Marine Le Pen’s niece) pleaded for little French boys and girls to have a mommy and a daddy. Hundreds of amendments were introduced to obstruct the proceedings. One racist right-wing MP, Hervé Mariton, stood out for the way he mocked and insulted the Justice Minister during Questions for the Government. One day, he asked Taubira whether she had ever heard of Léon-Gontran Damas. “He was a writer from Guyane, just like you. But he said that there are differences between people, differences that justify treating them unequally. I have some of his work here and I’d like to read it to you.” Taubira replied: “Yes, of course I know Léon-Gontran Damas very well.” (She knows poetry and often includes a few lines from famous poets in her speeches.) Taubira continued. “Yes, Léon-Gontran Damas was Guyanese. He was also a member of Parliament. He sat right here in this very Chamber. And what you’re saying has to be the worst misappropriation of his writing that I’ve ever heard in my life. Damas spoke about differences between people. But never as an excuse for people to be treated unequally.” Mariton, the right-winger interrupted. “I have it right here. Let me read it to you.” Taubira cut him off. “No, no. Don’t trouble yourself. I know all of his poetry by heart. ‘Black-Label.’ She began reciting it. “We the beggars | We the nothing | We the nobody | We the dogs | We the poor | We the Blacks | What are we waiting for?” Here, I must stop because I don’t want to make a mess translating Damas from French into English. There’s a reason why it’s hard to find good English translations of his poetry. It’s practically impossible to translate without taking liberties. The words he chose have endless layers of meaning. For example, look at the two English words he chose as the title for his book of poetry, ‘Black-Label.’ Why these two words? Look at the line Taubira quoted, “What are we waiting for?” It’s meant as an imperative: Do Something! But the same words in French also mean, “What do we expect?” which cuts a different way. It’s hard to translate all of what Damas was getting at. Taubira delivered a performance, emphasizing the words that punctuate the poem, “What are we waiting for.” When she was done, she added a personal explanation for MP Mariton. If Damas were here today, he would say that it doesn’t matter whether you want to give people their rights, or not. Because people are going to ask, what are we waiting for, and they’re going to have their rights, even if they have to take them, whether you like it or not. Mic drop. Standing ovation, mainly from the MPs on the left side of the Chamber. This week in 2013, the bill was put to a vote in the Assemblée National and it passed 331 to 229. Final passage came in April. A month later, in response to a challenge from the right-wing, the Constitutional Council (Supreme Court) validated the marriage equality law and declared that it was Constitutional. For anyone who’s curious to see what this moment between Justice Minister Taubira and the right-wing MP Mariton looked like, there’s video. At 1:38 Taubira starts reciting: “Nous les gueux | Nous les peu | Nous les rien . . . “ [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/19/2153800/-Looking-back-at-my-DK-birthday-10-years-ago-this-week-the-fight-for-marriage-equality-in-France Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/