One could say Wednesday, August 4, was a pivotal day for Clark senior William A. Adams III, of Augusta, Maine, and the work he has done this summer during an internship funded by Larry Franks ’73, Ellen Berelson and the Theodore H. Barth Foundation.

Adams, who has been interning at Equality California in Fresno, Calif., addressed a crowd of 300 at a Marriage Equality Rally in Fresno after Proposition 8, a ballot measure passed in November 2008 that banned same-sex marriages in California, was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge. He’s posted a video of his speech.

Adams has been in Fresno, Calif., conducting community-based research on equality of marriage issues. He has been providing education to help shift the dialogue on same-sex marriage.

“Our victory at the 9th Federal Circuit Court was extremely exciting and emotional. After months of participating in a state wide grassroots public education campaign, all of our hard work was beginning to pay off,” he said. “While the fight is long from over, Wednesday’s ruling reaffirmed the constitutionality of same sex marriage and perhaps more importantly, the influence of the LGBT community in the making of modern American history.”

He wrote in his blog on Thursday, August 5, “without a doubt, yesterday’s ruling will go down in the history books as one of the most significant civil rights cases in the history of the United States.”

Last summer, Adams worked on the No on 1: Protect Marriage Equality Campaign in his home state of Maine. He worked tirelessly to educate friends, family, and members of the community about the importance of marriage for same sex couples.

“Our loss at the ballot box last November was disappointing to say the least,” said Adams, “however, it made me determined and focused to work on this civil rights issue and to protect the rights of all Americans.”

Adams is a member of Clark’s Class of 2011. He majors in political science. He is the son of Bill and Jane Adams and is a 2007 graduate of Cony High School in Augusta, Maine.