St. Wanda

No-one likes it when their dirty laundry is aired. Skidmarked and soiled garments are everyone’s secret shame. But now that it’s out flapping in the breeze, we might as well deal with it. Many liberals are just now realizing that people of color are not inherently progressive, and the link between the gay and African American civil rights movements isn’t a fait accompli. Much has been made about the scapegoating of the African American community by the gay community, because 70% of African American voters in California voted yes for Prop 8. I feel that the scapegoating came about for a simple reason: there is a (liberal) myth that oppression ennobles people, and imbues one with wisdom. That simply isn’t true, and that fact never fails to disappoint me. The Balkanization effect of identity politics makes people not see the forest for the trees. Over the years, I have overheard relatives who were a veritable treasure trove of Civil Rights era history express homophobic and Anti-Semitic sentiments without the slightest trace of irony.

Some people, like ex football player, minister and professional homobigot Ken Hutcherson, are all too eager to exploit this notion this divide. He once said,

"You tell me what I went through as an African-American, when they talk about discrimination, compared to what gays go through with discrimination - it's the difference between night and day, not even close. I even get upset when people say, 'Well, you got to understand what they go through.' Not when they've chosen to do what they do. They can stop choosing what to do what they do, and they can hide it anytime they want. They can hide their homosexuality. Could I take a 'don't ask don't tell' policy as an African-American? I could try even to pretend I was Puerto Rican, but I'm still going to get blasted for my skin color."

Hutcherson has a very large church that’s been very active in limiting gay rights. Like a juggernaut bully, Hutcherson staged boycotts against Microsoft because they have an anti-discrimination clause. The lynch pin of his argument is that blacks and gays are incompatible and the comparison between the two struggles is manipulative and exploitative. In the early 90s, author and “raptivist” Sister Souljah came to my college, expressing the same ideas and ended up insulting one of my black lesbian friends to her face. There’s an idea that homosexuality is a “white disease” foisted on the black community, in an effort to destroy the black family.

Hip Hop and homophobia seem to go hand in hand. The latest assault on gay people comes from an associate of Enimem’s, Trick Trick. He recently said in All Hip Hop Magazine,

“I’ma [sic] go on the record right now with this. Homosexuals are probably not gonna like this album, I don’t want your fagot money any goddamn way. I don’t like it [homosexuality]. Carry that shit somewhere else….It’s just that every time that you turn on the TV, that sissy shit is on. And they act like its fucking okay. The world is changing for the worst [sic] when shit like that happens. And I address that issue. I address it hard as hell.”

Shades of Eldridge Cleaver’s infamous insult of James Baldwin (whom he called a “schoolmarm”) come to mind. In this world view, the fight for gay civil rights is seen as a destructive mockery of the struggles of African Americans.

Black gay people are the invisible stepchildren, viewed as defectors from the true cause, as the black communities secret shame. (The racism of the mainstream gay community needs its own column). That is why it is significant that Wanda Sykes came out of the closet. For a woman of her popularity and standing in the black community gives us stepchildren visibility, and rips apart the false black vs. gay dichotomy. I can only imagine the hate mail she will get. Sykes’ bravery inspired me to write my first and only fan letter. Now, if we can only get someone in the hip hop community, (I’m leaning towards LL Cool J for prurient reasons) to take one for the men….