'When We Rise' A Powerful Examination Of Gay Rights Movement

If there's anything that's garnered much examination since the advent of the United States under President Donald J. Trump, it's the LGBTQ movement. In spite of claims to the contrary, it would seem as though the 45th president of the United States could be backtracking on his professed support of LGBTQ rights. When We Rise is then a well-timed, powerful miniseries that highlights the push for equality that those living in the LGBTQ spectrum are still fighting for.

Though the star power of Guy Pearce, Mary-Louise Parker, Rachel Griffiths, Michael K. Williams and others really doesn't arrive in full force until the last two episodes of the seven-episode miniseries, that's not the full reason people should tune into the series. Not by a long shot. This is a part of history that society needs to take a close look at in order to realize that when backlash happens against a cause, that's the time to rise again, and again, until the cause is won.

The miniseries is based upon the lives of real-life LGBTQ activists Cleve Jones (Pearce), Roma Guy (Parker), and Ken Jones (Williams), and it is a profound history lesson wrapped in the emotional upheaval that humanity can cause to one another. Writer Dustin Lance Black turns in another powerful script, and audiences should go and watch Milk to get a feel for Black's Oscar-winning skills as a screenwriter. It's the second time that Black has teamed with When We Rise executive producer Gus Van Sant; the duo teamed as screenwriter and director respectively for Milk, the movie for which Black won the screenwriting Oscar and Van Sant was nominated for directing.

When We Rise serves as a stark reminder that it's important to keep fighting for civil rights for all, and that the battle for equality is not over. While many have referred to the time since the Stonewall Riots as the "last leg" of the US civil rights movement, if there's anything recent times have indicated, it's that the fight is far from over. It would appear as though President Trump is well on his way to setting civil rights for all back at least 50 years, between the removal of protections for transgender students in schools, the building of a wall between the United States and Mexico, and the travel ban that he is reportedly reworking. When We Rise is topical, timely, and a gripping reminder of the sacrifices that people made in trying to ensure that those who identify as LGBTQ are seen as the people they are: equal to all of us.