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Official Statement by leading BLACK LGBT organization on this weekend's political action supporting the repeal of Proposition 8
LOS ANGELES, CA -- Ron Buckmire, Board President of the Barbara Jordan/ Bayard Rustin Coalition, released the following statement regarding the Black GLBT March and Protest planned for Leimert Park on the morning of Sunday, November 23, 2008.
"African-American Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Americans have something unique to add to the multiple activities attempting to repeal Proposition 8. The Jordan/Rustin Coalition supports, endorses and will participate in any and all peaceful and lawful actions involving our own communities which support this goal. We are excited to announce our participation in the community grassroots organized rally for LGBT rights this Sunday at 11am in Leimert Park (corner of Vernon and Crenshaw).
"The event is organized by 'Love at Work -- The Exchange' and Reverend Freda Lanoix. Starting at 11:30am on Sunday, Black LGBT people will march in solidarity in a predominantly African American neighborhood to peacefully protest the passage of Proposition 8. We call on all fair-minded Black people to join us!
"As we await the California Supreme Court's decision on the legal status of same-sex marriages entered into between June 17 and November 4, the Jordan/Rustin Coalition will continue to work in the many communities we are part of to engage in discussion about equal rights for all LGBT Californians. We encourage our many allies in the LGBT and African American communities to join us in grassroots activism in hopes of change."
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ABOUT the Barbara Jordan / Bayard Rustin Coalition
The mission of the Barbara Jordan / Bayard Rustin Coalition (or Jordan Rustin Coalition) is to empower Black same-gender loving, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and families in Greater Los Angeles, to promote equal marriage rights and to advocate for fair treatment of everyone without regard to race, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.
24 Comments:
What a joke. Can anyone say "too little, too late?" We could have used you guys six months ago. The horses haven't just left the starting gate... the race was called weeks ago! The black community could have used the "Bayard Rustin" history months ago. It is way, way too late. Thanks for nothing.
posted by Chris L., at
11/22/2008 3:59 PM
Um excuse me Chris, but Americans in general are lazy, complacent, selfish fuckwits who don't get off their asses to solve a problem until the eleventh hour when they're knee deep in it.
If I were to adopt your attitude, I'd have to tell pretty much everyone in CA and everywhere else who's bitching about Prop 8 to go ahead and fuck off.
My state went through this already two years ago. All the pain and suffering and confusion Californians are going through - um yeah, been there, done that.
Only when we had to suffer through it, there was no public outcry, no protests, no national response. We all suffered through it alone and nobody, not in CA or anywhere else, gave a shit about all us fags in Wisconsin and the other states who passed these already, now did they.
I can be resentful of that, or I can grow up and look ahead to the future. There's a lot of work to be done and we need everyone who can help.
Don't go attacking people when they're just starting to come together, save your criticism for the people who want to keep us divided, namely the right wing, and misguided people like that idiot Cannick.
posted by Ryan Grant Long, at
11/22/2008 5:44 PM
Sorry, but when it comes to the black community, I have just grown too tired from their "being gay is like being white" nonsense, their "faggots" music and their total disregard of my humanity as a gay person. Even in light of Proposition 8's passage, they condemned us as not "understanding" them as an excuse for their failure to do the necessary work that only they can do within their own community.
Even now, they rant that "it's not the same" as they accuse us of trying to "hijack the civil rights movement." They demean our suffering by saying that "gay people were never denied the right to vote," as though there exists some sort of scorecard on the matter of equal rights for all.
To me, their support of Proposition 8 was the last straw. They ruined what should have been one of the happiest days of our lives as Americans; the election of Barack Obama.
I no longer hold out hope that they will ever do what is necessary to turn their community into an ally. They have made themselves our enemy in this battle, and while I will always unconditionally embrace any black person who chooses to join us, the black community as a whole has failed us. They are not our friends, and we should stop considering them our friends. They are on the other side; they are against us. And those are my most honest feelings on the matter.
posted by Chris L., at
11/22/2008 6:20 PM
So you're letting yourself fall into the exact false dichotomy that people like that Cannick bitch are trying to create, and making the same types of racist generalizations. Congratulations. You've taken her bait.
Dizzying!! I welcome any attempt to heal the rifts. It is overwhelming for people to feel they are on the sidelines of all extremes. Moving forward as one is the solution that makes most sense. I think this statement is an attempt at implying exactly that.
posted by Spouse Walker, at
11/23/2008 6:50 AM
Its never too late. Yes, they should have spoken up before marriage equality and Prop. H8, it would have made a huge difference. However, our fight is far from over. We need every bit of help we can get. This is a positive step by this group to reach out within its own community, something that should have been done long ago. We have learned from our mistakes, its time to re-arm and do a better job with or without the aid of HRC, NGLTF, GLAAD, ACLU, and every other equality organization. We've just seen how innovative the new generation of our young people have become as evidenced by the current demonstrations taking place nationwide. We need to tap into that new found resource. They will be the ones who will effect the most change.
posted by Anonymous, at
11/23/2008 8:47 AM
You can call me a racist all you like, but you're completely wrong. If I'm a racist, I'm one who voted for Barack Obama and had tears in his eyes during the man's acceptance speech. Maybe instead of calling me names you might want to factually refute what I've written, but you can't, because it's all true, and you and others like you deliberately choose not to see it. You are too sold on your warm, politically-correct bullshit fantasy that says blacks and gays are on the same side in the gay equality fight. Guess what? WE AREN'T!
On gay issues, the black community votes as badly as the fundamentalists do! THEY DON'T LIKE US! Wake up already...they are NOT on our side. There are wonderful, inspirational exceptions, like Pam Spaulding and Charles Barkley, but they are exceptions, and black culture in general is decidedly homophobic. The quicker you and others realize that, the better.
They are against us, and we need to spend our time, energy and limited funds on getting the 48% who voted against Prop. 8 back to the California polls in 2010, and the black community, sadly, is not among that crowd that we want showing up.
Why do you make excuses for black homophobia? When we see numbers like 70% voting against our rights in the evangelical community, we properly call them bigots and view our anger as righteous and justified. Why are you giving blacks a pass?
posted by Chris L., at
11/23/2008 10:18 AM
Chris, I am with you. The political correctness bullshit has long bugged me. The black community seems to be sacrosanct when it comes to criticism. Say ANYTHING critical and you are IMMEDIATELY labeled "racist".
Black culture is to a large extent ANTI-GAY. If any performer used the n-word in a song, he would be taken to task, roundly criticised and rightly so. But let a rapper use the word "faggot" and, hey, "he's just expressing his opinion."
Wake up! The black community is anti-gay. They showed in in November 4th. They voted to take a civil right away. Had the whites voted to take away their civil rights, there would have been riots in California--and I can't say I would have blamed the black community at all. Civil rights are civil rights and not subject to the votes of the electorate.
However, when we just pointed out the overwhelming bercentage of the black vote on Prop H8, people began screaming "racist"!
I am sick to death of everything in the way of criticism and analysis being called "racist" ridiculous and tiresome.
Racist is when people deny you housing or jobs, or even your right to live because of the colour of your skin. But the black community appears to be so thin-skinned that even a reference to the 70% black vote IN FAVOUR of Prop H8 is being called racist.
I want to know WHY it is perfectly OK for rappers and others to call us "faggots" and other perjoratives and in some cases, call for our extermination, but it is NOT OK for gay people to analyze and criticise a vote that took away our civil right.
People like Ms Cannick need to STFU and do the work of educating the black community.
posted by Merlyn, at
11/23/2008 11:35 AM
Thank you. Personally, I would like nothing more than for all marginalized people and communities to come together, but it isn't happening and we aren't doing our movement any favor by pretending. Black advocates like Al Sharpton have himself have said that there is a homophobia problem in the community which must be addressed. This march is a good start, but it is not enough.
As for WHO is racist, one sign of "hidden" or subconscious racism is in secretly thinking so little of black people that you expect so little from them. I not only expect more from them, but I demand more. When I see more, I'll change my opinion, but until then, I see no difference between them and the evangelicals.
posted by Chris L., at
11/23/2008 12:02 PM
I mentioned this whole topic over at Democratic Underground and got called "divisive". Why? Because I called bullshit on political correctness. Some woman made a comment that I was late to the party and that "we are moving on TOGETHER". Uh huh. Let's see what she has to say if the chance to vote down our civil rights occurs again.
posted by Merlyn, at
11/23/2008 12:36 PM
There are some people who are so skittish about discussing race that they apparently believe that anything negative you say about a black person is "racist." The most ironic thing is that when I criticize the black community to the black folks that I know, they are fine with it; it's only the whites who become unglued. To me, it's absurd, like saying someone is "sexist" if they criticize a female or "a Jew hater" if they criticize someone who happens to be Jewish. It's total nonsense.
posted by Chris L., at
11/23/2008 1:32 PM
Chris, the problem is not that you are saying something negative about one black person, but you are labeling an entire community as the enemy, that's racism. There are white homophobes, white racist, black homophobes, black racist. Are you white and Christian?Because if that's the case I could also label you the enemy.
posted by PabloJ, at
11/23/2008 2:01 PM
The RRRW is feeding this blacks vs gays divide in hopes of turning us against one another. What they want us to forget is it is they, the RRRW religionists, who have fueled the war agaisnt us for over 20 years.
My comment was an olive branch to Black LGBT organizations. I could care less about black evangelicals and any other people of any background who voted to discriminate against me. They can burn in hell for all i care.
posted by Spouse Walker, at
11/23/2008 4:30 PM
I'll take more votes next time wherever we can find them. It's a mistake to write off the AA community and it's a mistake to antagonize it. If we can move the 70-30 split to 66-34, it helps us get over the finish line to equality just as much as convincing people in other communities.
There are lots of reasons for the anti-GLBT attitude of the AA community; it's not just religion. The legacy of centuries of oppression, especially of the men, plays a huge role.
Does anyone suspect that GLBT support is growing in the AA community? The vote might've been more against us four or eight years ago. I expect this will improve in the future, the same as for all groups. Next time we probably won't have the President-elect making weasel-y statements that can be so easily used against us with the AAs (hopefully he won't have to). Next time we also might have a more astute campaign that will pay a bit more attention to minority communities.
posted by Cacau, at
11/24/2008 2:23 AM
Javy150: No, I said, in my post, that there are definite exceptions, but that as a whole, the black community is homophobic. You simply cannot deny this; no one can, because it's a fact. Is Al Sharpton racist because he too said that there is a homophobia problem in the black community?
Black culture is decidedly homophobic, and you cannot deny this. No one on this blog can. The best you could do was to call me racist, a laughable response which shows the bankruptcy of your delusion. It is a "politically-correct" delusion which claims that we're in this together. It simply isn't true. Whatever happened to having a "frank discussion on race"?
posted by Chris L., at
11/24/2008 11:17 AM
Chris, your generalization about African-Americans is as ugly as the generalization that marriage equality is a "white issue."
Sometimes we have to realize that things like this happens to test us. So are you going to succumb to the easy way out and start throwing bombs or are you going to be just a little more intelligent and work to bridge the gaps we see in front of us?
I swear, as a black gay man, I sometimes get exasperated with both the lgbt and heterosexual African-American communities on their stridency and unwillingness to see each other's side of the issue.
posted by BlackTsunami, at
11/24/2008 10:04 PM
So Al Sharpton said there's a homophobia problem in the black community, big news. There's a homophobia problem in the white community, in the hispanic community, in the christian community. Yet, I don't see you labeling any of those groups as the enemy. I don't need to call you a racist, you are proclaiming yourself as one. I am not delusional by trying to keep my community together instead of giving up to prejudice and division. You are the enemy Chris.
posted by PabloJ, at
11/24/2008 10:36 PM
JAVY150: Oh, I'm the enemy now? It's amazing, I'm on a blog full of some gay men who apparently think SO LITTLE of themselves that they'd turn their back on one of their own, a fellow gay man, myself, instead of having the backbone it takes to condemn the black homophobes for their appalling 70% support of Proposition 8. I think you should truly be ashamed of yourself. And I'll even say it again: Wake up, the black community is NOT on our side, and you can't deny it. Shame on you for turning your back against your own...in favor of homophobic blacks!
posted by Chris L., at
11/25/2008 9:45 AM
JAVY150: And if you've ever paid attention to any of my posts, you'd know full well that I've called Christianity the enemy for years.
posted by Chris L., at
11/25/2008 10:10 AM
My guess is that the AA community is no more homophobic than the German-American community (or take your pick of ethnicity) was 50 years ago. And by the way, I do acknowledge that there is more homophobia in the AA community than in most others, and I do not excuse it. Understanding the source of homophobia is not the same as excusing it. Furthermore, I would never issue a blanket condemnation of a group whose views are far from monolithic.
It's easy to blame fundamentalist religions for homophobia and these religions in a very important sense are our enemies. But poverty and lack of education are deeper causes associated with homophobic views (as well as with simplistic fossilized religions, in my opinion).
If persistent poverty and lack of education in the AA community are not attributable in large part to racism and the legacy of centuries of oppression, let us know what the real causes are. Regardless of who is President, I think racism remains a deep scourge in this country and if you don't understand that and empathize with the people affected by it, I can't help you.
It would be best to hear what black GLBT persons say about the origin of homophobia in their community. Those I have known simply point to "the culture" but it would be useful to hear some elaboration. We might not hear any elaboration if we engage in rank stereotyping.
The vicious circle in any community is: people aren't likely to grow out of their homophobia if they personally don't know many GLBT folks, while GLBT folks are unlikely to leave the closet when there is so much homophobia around them. I suspect this is/was true for any ethnicity in this country, probably in the world. There eventually comes some kind of tipping point where enough GLBT people in a particular group come out. For European-Americans this happened some time ago. I think it's necessary to take the long view of inevitability and not succumb to irrational scapegoating.
posted by Cacau, at
11/25/2008 5:38 PM
CHRIS L U are a sick white Bitch. The problem with you is that like all white superemacists you are hardly able to hide you racial attitudes and it just shows in your rant against people of colour.
i am a south asian guy and i find your talk against black people shocking and reprehensive. i migrated to canada recently and am appauled by the racisim i encounter in the gay bars because i am a non-white in this supposedly more liberal-tolerant country . i can only imagine what its like for black gay and lesbian people in the white dominated lgbtq community in the US. shame on you for having such a racist attitude.
no one owes you anything. learn to fight for rights without trying to steal black peoples stories and struggle. i guess that would be hard for someone who has slaveowning in his background; Instead of trying to think that u can try to talk down to black people i think u could begin with trying to put your own house in order and ask your own race brothers to perhaps start with practising non racial attitudes in lgbtq spaces.
This could perhaps help black lgbtq people spread the story of how gay people are truly deserving of the legacy of the black rights movement in their own community and thus avoid situations like Propostion 8 in Calafornia. By talking down to black people you closeted supermacist you are not going to achieve anything. this is not the South of the 1870s. but as sadly some people never change do they.............
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