Why Gay Is Not The New Black
Thursday July 16, 2009
The criticism of President Obama by the gay community has gone too far, says award-winning ESPN columnist LZ Granderson. In his special CNN.com commentary, Granderson calls to question the validity of LGBT rights comparisons to the Black civil rights movement and the continued alienation of LGBT people of color.
"In recent weeks, one would have thought the nation's first black president was also the nation's biggest homophobe. Everyone from Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black and radio personality Rachel Maddow to Joe Solmonese, the president of Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest gay advocacy group, seem to be blasting Obama for everything from 'don't ask don't tell' to Adam Lambert not winning American Idol," writes Granderson.
Tensions between LGBT activists and the Obama Administration have heightened over a recent Justice Department brief in favor of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and slow action on the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy banning gays in the military. Although President Obama should stake his sign either on the queer lawn or out on the sidewalk, he hasn't ignored a key LGBT constituency. The president issued a memorandum last month extending benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees, right on the heels of Secretary of State Clinton's offer of federal benefits to the same-sex of diplomats. And under the radar of most news wires and activists, a growing number of asylum cases for LGBT-identified individuals, such as the one endorsed by Sen. John Kerry will inevitably balance immigration protections.
But checklists aside, murmurs of an associations between the LGBT rights movement and the Black civil rights movement continue to be claims of convenience. Gay continues to be the new black when votes and empathy are needed, but black stands alone when ballots come in.
As Granderson points out, the LGBT rights movement is in its infancy compared to civil rights for African-Americans in this country. He writes: "The 40th anniversary of Stonewall dominated Gay Pride celebrations around the country, and while that is certainly a significant moment that should be recognized, 40 years is nothing compared with the 400 blood-soaked years black people have been through in this country. There are stories some blacks lived through, stories others were told by their parents and stories that never had a chance to be told."
The numbers from the Proposition 8 vote in California had yet to cool when eager fingers were pointed towards not some, but all African-Americans, when–as Granderson explains–blacks made up less than 10 percent of total voters. Black bloggers and activists reported several incidents of racist remarks at same-sex marriage rallies immediately following accusations that African-Americans were to blame for the passing of Prop 8.
"So while the white mouthpiece of the gay community shakes an angry finger at intolerance and bigotry in their blogs and on television, blacks and other minorities see the dirty laundry. They see the hypocrisy of publicly rallying in the name of unity but then privately living in segregated pockets," Granderson continues.
And that stained laundry that few like to hang in the presence of guests is that our national "priorities" are ones of privilege. LGBT people continue to suffer from economic disparity, flood our homeless shelters and lose housing and employment. Our youth are exposed to more abs than opportunity and yet we point towards our president as if allowing our queer military personnel to serve openly will eradicate all other issues we face.
Of course, one equal right leads to another. I should be able to serve in the military if I so choose or marry my partner in whatever state I reside. One small sign of acceptance leads to broader understanding. But, we are all riding on this rainbow together—the black, the latino, the asian, the poor, the average bellied, the factory worker, the barista, the son, the wife and the father. No longer can we afford to dump the perceived weight of coach to save first class.
Read LZ Granderson's commentary Gay Is Not The New Black
Image © Paul Simcock/Getty
Comments
Whether we are talking about Rick Warren.
The luke warm response to prop H8.
The defense of DOMA and using the lies of the Westborough Baptist church to do it.
Waiting until Hillary shamed him into doing something about fed benefits. Doing nothing about DADT. Pres. Obama has done nothing but give LGBT people the back of his hand since taking office. All within his first 200 days.
While I don’t think he’s a homophobe. I do think he’s a Politician and as such he will take as few risks as we let him. So Mr. Johnson I think I’ll hold his feet to the fire until I see some real change.
PS. Let’s start counting blood soaked years from the writing of Leviticus.
After all that’s what they use to justify their hate.
Much more work must be done, especially in the black and latino communities to bring about equality. I am married to a latino and we have done much to change his family and extended family. I believe only black GBLT can truly make the difference in their community.
Brian why did you need to change his family, in itself that sounded racist. Like you needed to make them white or Black, so that they fit in. Be mindful of the way you write something or say something. What changes did you have to make to your family.
It’s a shame that people feel the need to nit-pick on words when so many LGBT are working with their families to become more tolerant of their lifestyles. EEEK, I loathe the word tolerant, but that is the best description. Also, the LGBT rights that are being fought for on a daily basis are for all LGBT last I heard, or are black and latino LGBT not interested in the rights that the rest of LGBT are striving for. I think it’s sick to say one movement is something more than the other. If anything, the LGBT movement is still in motion and getting little to nowhere while the black movement moved and went. Blacks have more rights than most these days, free education, benefits, jobs, etc. You can be fired from your job or killed for being LGBT and nothing happens, maybe a slap on the wrist. If a black person suffers from the above or less, it’s splatted on the TV for months if not years and the book is thrown at those who commit such horrible crimes. I’m black LGBT and I believe that we should stand together instead of trying separate ourselves. Obama has done little to nothing promised and he’s had to be pushed to do what little he has done.
Why does Granderson compare 40 years since stonewall with 400 years of slavery? Does he not recognize that gay oppression goes way back to the days when gays were burned at the stake?
A lot of racial minorities have taken a long time to realize that gays exist in their communities. So, yes, it does work both ways. There are racists in the gay community and homophobes in racial minorities.
Most churches accept blacks but the same cannot be said of gays.
Blacks can marry each other… gays cannot in most places in the world.
All I can say is this… gays are not the new blacks… gays just aspire to, one day, have the same rights and privileges as blacks.
I think disenfranchised people should be careful of criticizing the validity of the pain and suffering of another set of disenfranchised people. 40 years vs 400 of suffering… 40 years is still too long a period to be discriminated against. THIS from Gore Vidal:
” In the German concentration camps, Jews wore yellow stars while homosexuals wore pink triangles. I was present when Christopher Isherwood tried to make this point to a young Jewish movie producer. “After all,” said Isherwood, “Hitler killed six hundred thousand homosexuals.” The young man was not impressed. “But Hitler killed six million Jews,” he said sternly. “What are you?” asked Isherwood. “In real estate?” “
There is no doubt that bigotry of whatever stripe continues to be a facet of American life, either overtly or covertly. We have a long way to go before we have genuine equality, before reaching the time when persons are treated without regard to such factors as race, faith, sexual orientation, and so on. That is the salient point of my recently released biographical novel, Broken Saint. It is based on my forty-year friendship with a gay man, and chronicles his internal and external struggles as he battles for acceptance (of himself and by others). More information on the book is available at http://www.eloquentbooks.com/BrokenSaint.html.
Mark Zamen, author
I read Granderson’s article and thought it rancid, inaccurate, drivel. Although a commentary, it lacked any objectivity and was completely self-serving. It amounts to racial (or here, black) exceptionalism bordering on elitism. Ironically, dare I say, it was ultimately both racist and homophobic. Offensive.