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President and First Lady Obama recently announced the annual White House Easter Egg Roll to be held Monday, April 13. Tickets are no longer available for this event, which has been celebrated on the White House lawn since 1878. It has more than once been the subject of political controversy. In 2006, Gay and Lesbian families decided to attend in force, by waiting in line for tickets overnight. Their idea was to participate openly as gay families, to help make Americans aware that there are Gay and Lesbian families in America.
A small group of anti-gay protesters objected vociferously with signs and a bullhorn, yelling at all the families attending that their children would be punished for coming to an event that included gay parents. In the right-wing blogosphere, commentators objected to the gay families "crashing" the event and exploiting a children's celebration for political purposes. As it turned out all that the gay families did was to roll eggs along with everyone else, which is what the anti-gay forces objected to.
Actually, it was far from the first time the event had been "politicized." After Congress passed a law forbidding the event in 1877, President Rutherford Hayes (an early unitary executive, or just mischievious?) issued an executive order to permit it. Apparently Congress did not find his actions worthy of impeachment. The event has been celebrated almost every year since. In 1953, First Lady Mamie Eisenhower held the first White House Easter Egg celebration since World War II. She insisted that the event be racially integrated, which was illegal in Washington D.C. at that time. Mrs. Eisenhower hoped that her action would carry symbolic significance, like the Gay parents in 2006..jpg)
This year's event, in another small way, both symbolizes and demonstrates the effectiveness actions such as Mrs. Eisenhower's, as the Obamas host a celebration that their children at one time would not have been allowed to attend. I'm sure there will be some Gay and Lesbian families on the White House lawn this year, rolling their eggs with the rest of the nation's children. One day one of them may be hosting the event.
Comments
Fascinating! I'm glad that the gay families rolled eggs alongside everyone else. Here's to another year of equal opportunity egg rolling!
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