NPR.org covers the protests led by african-american ministers in D.C. after the city council voted 12-1 recently to recognize same-sex marriages (the one opposing vote being by councilman Marion Barry). The article states that “Among the most vocal proponents of the effort to roll back gay marriage in California were Catholic organizations; members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which poured millions into the battle; and leaders of many black churches — some of whom had been active in the civil rights movement.”
The article quickly gets more interesting when Marion Barry chimes in to say that he opposed the council’s measure because almost all of the people who live in the city ward he represents are black, and “we don’t have but a handful of openly gay residents.”
Wait a minute.
So, amidst all of the ignorant reasons that many people will not support gay marriage, there lies the fact that many members of the LGBTQ community of color are NOT OUT to their families and friends. And we are not agreeing with Marion Barry when we say this, but it would seem that coming out is something that we ourselves could do to force some members of our community out of denial; and into realizing that “these people” (us) do not exist solely in the white community. It’s easy to spew scripture and hate at someone you cannot relate to, but when someone you know is openly gay, the game changes.
This is not to say that it’s not difficult to come out of the closet - it is. Especially when you know you’re going to be faced with adversity. However, it’s something that we must do to ensure our visibility. To ensure that we are counted. Then, perhaps people will think twice when they generalize and say something stupid like “Blacks hate gays”. Um…We are black AND gay, and we’re your neighbors, your teachers, your children. So, just as the feminist movement could never completely address the needs of women of color (because they had multiple hurdles and very specific issues), perhaps the gay rights movement cannot completely address those of people of color.
Maybe it’s time we pushed through a revolution of our own…and televised that shit.
