HRC Blog

This is a guest post from HRC Family Project Director Ellen Kahn: I remember a social studies class years ago in which I learned the term “melting pot,” referring to America as the place where people come from all lands, all backgrounds, all belief systems, and somehow melt (after simmering for a long time) into one common ingredient---Americans.  While I understand the concept of the melting pot, there is a significant problem with it---in a true melting pot each of us would be required to give up, or lose some “key ingredients” which make us unique as individuals or as families, and to blend in with “dominant culture.” So I took a liking to a concept I learned just a few years ago.  Instead of a melting pot, America is more like a big salad bowl: each ingredient maintains its identify, its shape, texture, and uniqueness but is made better when added together with other ingredients.  In a salad, it’s the dressing that connects us all together.  In America, the dressing is the shared experience of living in our country and sharing the core values of freedom, diversity, and respect and dignity for all people.

Yesterday, at the White House Easter Egg Roll, we saw evidence of that salad bowl on the South Lawn.  For the first time in my life, the White House grounds were visited by a truly diverse mosaic of families---including LGBT-headed families.  Compared to previous years under Bush, LGBT families were asked by the White House to be a part of the event.  My partner and I marveled at the level of inclusion and the authentic appreciation for diversity that was apparent at the event: there were families from every ethnic and racial backgrounds, two-mom and two-dad families, military families and families from every corner of the country.  HRC National Field Director Marty Rouse also took his handsome sons Sasha and David to the White House Easter Egg Roll.  Here's his take on what it meant to be a part of the event on Monday: Several HRC families were lucky enough to receive tickets from the White House for the White House Easter Egg Roll today.   Yes, the kids were excited, so excited to be invited onto the White House lawn by President Obama and his family.  But we must admit that the parents were excited as well. It was great to know that the Obama Administration wanted to make sure that families of all backgrounds were invited, including those with two moms or two dads, but today, it was all about seeing the Easter Bunny, hunting for eggs, and for my son, seeing snipers standing on top of the White House!   What a day! For the first time in history, our families felt as welcomed as any other family.  We could own our LGBT identity proudly and shine along with all other parents as we watched our children hug the Easter Bunny, dye their eggs, or kick soccer balls around.  I hope that for all LGBT families in attendance yesterday--and the hundreds of thousands who were not there--the gratifying experience of being a recognized an essential part of the American salad bowl will continue as we move along the path toward equality.