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“font-family: Verdana;”>With the recent strides made in advancing the rights of gays, some may be thinking that this country has entered a post-homophobic period. The Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
paper. In the last decade, nearly a quarter of the states have
passed same-sex marriage, civil union or domestic partnership laws.
The recent cover of Black Enterprise magazine features
Sabin Blake of General Motors in its story about black gays in
corporate America.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>But just like some people prematurely proclaimed a post-racial America with the election of the first black president, we now see that we are closer to looking like the segregated America prior to 1964. White supremacists have been fanning the flames of racism, and black folks are feeling the heat. Literally. The recent incident of white men beating and driving over the body of James Anderson in Jackson, Mississippi is just one shocking example, this one captured on videotape.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>Homosexuals in this country are often the target of hate crimes. Gay-bashing and bullying are no strangers to a society where white, male and straight have been deemed the norm. This patriarchal view means that the majority of us don’t fit into that narrow mold. It also means that we must constantly be challenging the system that is discriminatory, exclusionary and oppressive.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>Those of us who believe in equal rights for all must be about just that and not singling out who gets human rights and who doesn’t. It is slicker version of divide and conquer; it’s about the “other” and you will always be in someone else’s “other” if you are poor, a person of color, female, gay, etc.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>Black gays have always been an integral part of our communities and made vital contributions to this country. The sexual orientation of people like Langston Hughes, Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin, Bayard Rustin, Audre Lorde and a host of other literary geniuses and civil rights activists is still hidden as part of their human existence. More contemporary figures like Wanda Sykes, Sheryl Swoopes, Alice Walker and, recently, CNN’s Don Lemon still have societal hurdles. The sports arena and the black church present special challenges due to the macho nature of sports and because of the claim that the Bible condemns homosexuality.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>The Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgendered (LGBT) community is always seeking genuine allies in their fight for fairness and civil rights. Well-meaning people who are struggling to understand a lifestyle that’s often demonized, misinterpreted and ridiculed should go straight to the source: the organizations and writings of the members themselves. They are our family members, our co-workers and our friends. They are in our churches, workplaces, unions and in our sororities and fraternities.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>Don Lemon made the decision to “come out” when he was writing his memoir Transparent. He cited one of his reasons was due to the “hostile world” and difficulties that gay and black youth face as they struggle with their identities. For sure, the bullying and gay-bashing among young people is alarming, but they are learning their attitudes from biased grown folks. The suicide rate among gays is an anguished cry for help that is still falling on the death ears of parents, schools, faith leaders and youth organizations.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>As the St. Louis Black Pride puts the finishing touches on its 14th annual Black Pride weekend, consider it an opportunity to reach out and raise your own consciousness about prejudice towards this sector of our society. August 19-21 will be a celebration of the human family. We are family.
