“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
–Martin Luther King, Jr.
In my “baby” activist days in the early 1990s, I resisted accepting these words from Dr. King. I was certain social change could and should happen quickly. Fast forward a few decades, and now I am a “veteran” activist who has lived enough to know this statement is true.
North Dakota is illustrative of this theory of social change. Rewind to 2004, when 223,572 North Dakotans (73% of those voting) approved a discriminatory constitutional amendment declaring marriage as only between a man and a woman. In the 21 years since, the nation, and yes, even our state, has bent toward justice—albeit not at the speed many of us prefer.
What happened over the past few weeks in North Dakota is ground-shifting. It begins with a mean-spirited resolution introduced in the North Dakota House that urges the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its 2015 decision making marriage equality the law of the land and ends with a resounding affirmation for fairness and equality.
But this isn’t the whole story or even the most meaningful part. For me, the evidence of this shift toward fairness and equality is found in Rep. Matt Ruby publicly regretting his support for the resolution and testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee urging them to reject the measure. It is found in the thousands—yes, thousands—of queer allies signing (and publishing in two newspapers) a statement that reads, in part:
“To our family, friends, and neighbors in the LGBTQ+ community, we see you. We love you. And we want you to stay in North Dakota. We are here to fight alongside you for your right to thrive in your own communities. Whether you grew up here or made a choice to move here, you belong here.”
It is found in two openly gay legislators showing us why representation matters. It is found in the Senate defeating the measure 31-16, and it is found in 387 people submitting testimony opposing the resolution (compared to 29 supporting it).
For the first time in my life, I believe that the arc of North Dakota’s moral universe is finally bending toward justice.
Carrie Evans is North Dakota’s first openly queer woman to be elected. She served on the Minot City Council from 2020-2024.
