TheLoop21.com

By: Brooklyne Gipson (Add to your loop)
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 00:00

After the Prop. 8 mess died down, LGBT issues have disappeared.

Earlier this year, gay rights issues made waves in the black community, when blacks in California were blamed for the passage of Proposition 8, which outlawed gay marriage. Issues of religion, homophobia and racism, tied in with the LGBT issues, were raised in an argument that seemed to do nothing more than use the black community as a scapegoat.

As soon as that fracas died down, the black community went back to ignoring LGBT issues.

CNN’s controversial Black in America special touched on problems plaguing blacks, from high teen pregnancy rates to poor education systems, yet made no mention of homophobia; Black AIDS Day (Feb. 7) came and went without much fanfare; and there hasn’t been much coverage of recent developments in the gay marriage rights saga from the minority perspective.

“It's hard to believe, given the explosion of HIV/AIDS in the black community, that the 10th annual State of the Black Union (SOTBU) symposium ... had not a single guest on to discuss that topic — or the controversy over Proposition 8 and homophobia,” wrote Pamela Spaulding of the Pam’s House Blend blog.  

It’s doubly surprising since this year’s 10th anniversary symposium broke away from the tradition of focusing on one topic and examine how to make America better as a whole. The panels featured everyone from spiritual leader Iyanla Vanzant to environmentalist Van Jones, yet somehow there was not one leader from the black LGBT community.

With the California Supreme Court considering challenges to Prop. 8 and the ongoing cries of racism that the black community continues to suffer, it seems that these issues are important enough to get some recognition.

So why aren’t they on black America’s agenda?

Jasmyne Cannick, a black and lesbian journalist, wrote a controversial opinion piece in late 2008 where she admitted that gay marriage wasn’t even at the top of her own priorities.

“I don't see why the right to marry should be a priority for me or other black people,” she wrote. “Gay marriage? Please. At a time when blacks are still more likely than whites to be pulled over for no reason, more likely to be unemployed than whites, more likely to live at or below the poverty line, I was too busy trying to get black people registered to vote, period; I wasn't about to focus my attention on what couldn't help but feel like a secondary issue.”

And while Cannick may feel this way, others on the opposite end are pointing fingers at leaders like her.

"Where is lesbian-identified publicist and writer Jasmine Cannick?," wrote Cleo Manago in Dallas Voice, a community newspaper for gays and lesbians in Dallas. "I believe this silence results from the fact that white gays are the philosophical parents of many blacks who have defined themselves as gay or lesbian leaders. Consequently, I understand why people in the black community question the relevance, safety and value of 'gay' as a viable identity in the black community. Not that I agree with any form of oppression, I merely understand the suspect. This is because the so-called 'black gay community' has yet, itself, to effectively address the black community. It has rarely even been present in the black community in progressive ways, only showing up when it’s time to call someone black homophobic."

It's no secret that the black lesbian and gay community is lacking adequate leadership to push its unique issues to the forefront of both the broader gay community or the black community. But why?

"Marriage in the black gay and lesbian community is a few rungs lower than the mainstream's belief that Obama could become president," said Elder Kevin E. Taylor of Unity Fellowship Church New Brunswick, "(Many) are afraid to fully invest in it. We think, 'What if if doesn't happen? I've outted myself and I didn't even get the thing that I've fought for.'" 

For African Americans, who live within a culture where the stigma against gays is so strong that homophobic comments are as commonplace at a family gathering as good food and conversation, to be gay and black has been somewhat of a paradoxical lifestyle. Holding up the black power sign means, for some, that you have to put down the gay pride flag. Many feel pressured to choose one identity over the other.

"How will people ever know our issues are important if we’re not acting like they’re important?," Taylor said. "We quiet ourselves in our own community. We say it’s more important to be black. It becomes impossible to keep conversations going if we haven’t even gotten them started." 

"We need to build a place that is staunchly placed in the gender-identity concerns of the overall gay community and the overall black community. We can't put down one for another because either way it doesn't work. Our black family doesn't bring our issues to the table, and our white gay family doesn't bring our issues to the table either." 

Gay African American writer and blogger Rod McCullom agreed.

“The black LGBT community has to be a lot less complacent,” he said. They need to “stand up and be counted." As far as leadership, the black LGBT community "can’t work on the problem of leadership if more of us aren’t going to want to come out.”

McCullom, along with Cannick and Spaulding, represent a new type of leader within the black gay community who Taylor said is integral to its progression. "We need to sit down and figure out who our leaders are," he said. "Most are online writing."

More Resources:

The Black AIDS Institute

The State of Black Aids in America

Brooklyne Gipson is The Loop's editorial assistant. She writes Across the Afrosphere and Post-Race? blogs.

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Maybe, it depends

No, it's not enough

No, he should allow gay marriage