Black and Gay: Some Questions

Shay, over at Booker Rising, has an interesting response to a post I made one Tuesday about how straight Republicans need to speak out more against the anti-gay right. In that post I said this:

The reason the GOP started was on the cause of equality for African Americans. It is a shame that 150 years later, this party is making a name for itself by supporting discrimination for another group.

That quote brought this reaction from Shay:

While I support gay rights, to equate the black quest for civil rights with the gay quest is highly problematic. Race is generally quite visible, sexual orientation generally is not. Race is genetic, while sexual orientation is at least partly out of choice. Such leeching off black history also turns off potential black supporters.

Now, I wasn't intentionally trying to link the two together. What I was trying to say is the Republican party was founded on the premise that African Americans were people and should be treated as equals. That has been the heritage of this party. Now, it is being known for discrimination against another group. To me, that seems odd.

Some African Americans get a little peeved when white gay leaders try to tie the two movements for equality. I can understand to a point, because there are some differences. Foremost is the fact that blacks can't hide who they are while gays can.

However, one would be remiss to not see the similarities. Both groups have not been treated as equals by the larger society. Both have been prevented from doing things such as marrying.

Also, I think it's a little hypocritical for African Americans to get all in a huff about gays "leeching" on black history, when we have done the same thing in regards to Jews. How long did we see ourselves like the Israelites slaves of old seeking to be let loose from the shackles of Pharoah? I haven't seen any Jews saying we should stop linking the two.

I also think there is a bit of homophobia involved. This is the dirty, little secret in the black community. Whenever there is a stink about something relating to gays, the race card is used. You will hear a lot about white gay leaders as if black gays like myself don't exist. There are black gays like me, who can see the links. My not being able to marry is similar to my Dad not being able to eat a restaurant or sleep in hotel. They are not the same, but they are similar. I think many blacks still see homosexuality as some kind of evil plan by whites to kill of blacks.

Shay talks about how linking black and gay rights might turn off black folk. But, how are they going to get involved in working for justice if they don't have something to relate to? In my view, those who don't like the linking of gay rights to the struggle for African American rights, are dealing more with their own homophobia. If you think being gay is sinful and dirty, then you don't want to talk about the similarities between the two civil rights movements.

I'm not saying there is no racism in the gay community. It's full of humans and there are a lot of white gays so, yeah, there is some racism. But please, some black people need get over themselves and check yo'self. Gays, no matter their race or color, want to be left alone and not have the government trying to bar them from living their lives. Black folk should get the chips off their shoulders and work with gays for equality or else be honest and say they don't like gay people. But stop this don't-link-black-history-with-gay-rights-talk. This has less to do with the sensitivties of blacks than with some people's homophobia.