AS
A
BLACK
and
gay
activist
and
resident
of
Los
Angeles,
I
watched
as
Proposition
8
in
California
was
passed,
creating
a
legal
ban
on
same-sex
marriage
in
the
state.
I
also
watched
how
within
24
hours
many
LGBT
activists
squarely
placed
the
blame
on
black
residents,
70
percent
of
whom
voted
for
it.
I
further
watched
and
read
how
black
gay
protesters
who
were
against
the
ban
and
in
favor
of
same-sex
marriage
were
called
the
“N”
word
during
a
demonstration
march
in
Westwood.
And
finally,
I’ve
read
how
blogger
Jasmyne
Cannick
was
assailed
by
everyone
from
Mayor
Durrant
of
West
Hollywood
to
fellow
LGBT
bloggers
for
her
recent
Los
Angeles
Times
commentary
concerning
race
relations
within
the
LGBT
community
and
their
impact
on
Prop
8.
My
advice
to
the
LGBT
community,
the
organizers
of
“No
on
8,”
the
many
LGBT
donors
and
the
remaining
members
of
the
“Gay
Mafia”
is
that
they
should
take
seriously
the
racial,
ethnic
and
socioeconomic
factors
of
blacks
and
other
people
of
color
communities
as
it
endeavors
further
in
its
marriage
equality
quest.
As
an
activist
and
now
a
consultant
within
the
LGBT
arena,
I
can
tell
you
there
is
a
deep
arrogance
and
belief
among
many
within
the
LGBT
community
that
black
communities
should
instantly
jump
onto
the
civil
rights
bus
for
gays
just
because
we,
too,
are
a
minority.
IN
SOME
CORNERS
of
our
diverse
LGBT
community
there
is
a
blatant
disregard
for
culture,
religion
and
the
oppression
of
other
racial
and
ethnic
groups.
Many
working
class
blacks
and
Latinos
are
struggling
to
pay
rent,
put
food
on
the
table
and
are
dodging
bullets
—
they
don’t
see
a
connection
to
the
white
faced
and
seemingly
privileged
LGBT
people
to
support
marriage
equality.
These
are
points
that
the
LGBT
community
seems
ill-prepared
to
tackle.
In
this
new
era
of
President
Obama,
we
still
need
to
have
a
much
deeper
conversation
concerning
race
relations
that
LGBT
communities
seem
to
quickly
shy
away
from.
So
instead
of
focusing
on
anger
toward
black
communities,
the
LGBT
community
must
take
a
long,
hard
look
at
itself.
Here
a
few
places
to
start:
•
Why
couldn’t
the
LGBT
community
get
the
queen
of
all
American
cities,
San
Francisco,
to
vote
in
higher
numbers
on
such
a
crucial
vote?
And
remember
that
blacks
consist
of
a
tiny
6
percent
of
California’s
total
population.
So
this
means
that
far
more
non-black
people
voted
to
ban
same-sex
marriage
than
black
folks.
•
Why
in
Los
Angeles
were
there
seemingly
six
radio
ads
an
hour
to
vote
“No
on
Prop
8”
during
the
morning
run
on
the
Latino
96
FM
station
but
absolutely
none
on
the
black
102.3
FM
KJLH
station
or
the
black
and
notoriously
homophobic,
106
FM
radio?
•
Why
was
there
only
one
town
hall
meeting
that
I
know
of
that
was
held
targeting
African
Americans
in
Los
Angeles?
And
why
were
there
fewer
than
five
black
people
across
the
entire
state
of
California
trying
to
coordinate
a
“No
on
8”
campaign
targeting
the
black
community?
Black
outreach
has
been
historically
and
consistently
under-funded
and
understaffed
by
the
LGBT
establishment.
Why
not
hold
a
town
hall
meeting
at
a
community
center
in
Compton
with
free
parking
six
weeks
before
Election
Day
with
follow-ups
in
Lemiert
Park,
West
Adams,
Watts,
Gardena
and
other
areas
in
South
Los
Angeles?
•
Where
was
the
door-to-door
neighborhood
canvassing
and
phone
banking
directly
targeting
black
communities?
•
Where
was
the
outreach
to
black
affirming
clergy
to
assist
with
black
churches
in
California?
•
Why
did
the
LGBT
community
expect
to
run
a
few
ads
in
black
newspapers
in
California
just
two
months
before
the
election
to
sway
voters?
REMEMBER
THAT
blacks
went
from
slavery
to
“separate
but
equal”
to
desegregation
to
tolerance
to
gain.
Blacks
still
lag
behind
in
many
areas
of
social
justice,
although
we
have
all
of
our
rights.
From
under-employment,
education
disparities,
income
inequities
to
driving-while-black
harassment,
blacks
still
face
steep
odds,
despite
a
black
man’s
election
as
president.
So
if
the
LGBT
community
would
like
to
continue
to
compare
itself
to
the
black
civil
rights
struggle,
it
may
want
to
readjust
its
timeline
a
bit.
It
has
taken
several
hundred
years
for
blacks
in
this
country
to
go
from
slavery
to
the
White
House.
Could
it
be
that
the
LGBT
community
may
have
to
just
wait
its
time
as
well?
Maybe
not
hundreds
of
years
but
perhaps
a
whole
lot
longer
than
previously
expected?
Herndon
Davis
is
media
consultant
and
author.
He
can
be
reached
at
www.herndondavis.com.
The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by SOVO. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed.
jordan314 on 11/14/0810:08 AM:
I agree, our Community is trying to run before we walk. It won't take 100 years, but we first have to come out to everyone, everywhere. That being said, Herndon, what did you do to "get out the vote"? I agree that our Community is often not representative of the people in it, but where are all of the different people when it comes time to make a stand. I'm finger pointing and that's not productive, what is productive is stepping up, taking personal responsibility for what went wrong (by all people on all sides) and fixing it. So vote, rally, protest, organize, and VOLUNTEER!!
