Saturday night Holidazzle, the day of its last run (Sunday was canceled), Philip Knoll gathers a crowd of a dozen who have heard the emails and Facebook blasts about a silent rally inside the IDS Tower Crystal Court. Knoll comes prepared with electric candles and oversized T-shirts stating such phrases as “2nd Class Citizen” and “Light Up the Night with Equality.” They gather anxiously, though mostly because of the -4 degree temperatures. A security guard kindly asks them to turn their T-shirts while inside the Crystal Court. Apparently no one can “look like” they are protesting but most will know immediately by the signs why they are there.

Some are tired of hearing about it already, California Proposition 8–what does it mean to me or my friends? Can I just please get back to playing Guitar Hero? Well we know exactly what it is by the legal jargon that Californians passed but as for the national picture of civil rights, no one knows and that might be scary. While other established LGBTQ rights groups continue their slow response to Proposition 8, there is one being born as we speak across several cities including Boston, Seattle and nearly every major and minor city in California.

Come 6:30pm the small group exits out to Nicollet Mall and somewhat silently (perhaps we can say they were chattering instead of chanting) move to the corner of 8th and Nicollet where they would stand. Knoll tries a solemn look on attendees. The parade begins. A costumed character jollily struts down Nicollet Mall and turning his head upon the rally visibly switches to an “oh snap” pace. Holidazzle ends so soon it hardly begins, likely cut short by the organizers for the cold, and by 7:00pm the streets are already filled with cars of suburbanites heading home with family in tow. Knoll and friends move to the skyways, continuing to hand out fliers and talking to those who do. The night’s events end quickly and the group retreats to Brit’s Pub, calling it a success. I sit down with them over a pint to Guinness to find out why.

[img_assist|nid=41|title=Proposition 8 |desc=|link=node|align=right|width=200|height=172]There isn’t really a history to Join The Impact other than it began as a website to promote a November 15th march, rally, or protest (however you consider it) against the passage of Proposition 8. Enter Dan DiMaggio, an activist who began his days fighting for living wages at Harvard in his undergraduate years. Now at the U of M, he caught wind of the protest movement which encouraged every major city in the U.S. to throw their own. With an environment like Minneapolis, much government bureaucracy would need to be cleared for fear of a RNC-style beatdown.

Nov 15 at Government Plaza happened with political figures from Rybak to Klobuchar with estimates ranging from 200 to 1,500 people. Soon DiMaggio passed the baton to Knoll who took on the role of organizer and by all accounts now is the leader of Join The Impact Minneapolis Chapter with the website and mailing list owned by him. Over fish and chips, Knoll is alright with the situation, even though he is basically the figurehead.

[img_assist|nid=45|title=Local versus national|desc=Knoll and a local participant|link=node|align=left|width=400|height=319]I press to know if a national organization is going to come through. Will this become a permanent movement? How will it be organized? Will we suddenly hear reports out of Washington? Knoll emphasizes the grassroots, ground nature of Join The Impact. There are core organizers in the Twin Cities and across the state of course. Nationally, the discussion about how to involve varying viewpoints into the direction of the movement has just begun. This continuing test of the LGBT community to seek attention to their civil rights has brought about other ambitious projects such as Day Without a Gay.

In the skyway, the Light Up the Night group tries to make eye contact because Minnesotans naturally pretend you’re not there. The electric candles were handed out to enthusiastic supporters who in turn would tell anyone curious how and why they received the candle. Mostly encouraging words and glances were exchanged as far as they can tell. And it didn’t matter if only a handful were actively present. Light Up the Night was a success according to them because they were out there, visible, and that gave a rippling effect.