Jasmyne Cannick - with whom I do not always agree - has an interesting column up that raises an issue that seems relevant in the Hampton Roads area as well as California: undue focus by members of the black community on issues that do not improve the lives of black citizens. Locally, a number of black churches are utterly obsessed with opposing gay marriage and gay rights and expend energy and money better spent on issues that would improve employment and other matters that have a true everyday impact on the black community. Worse yet, these same churches are unwittingly cynically manipulated by the modern day descendants of the same groups that opposed segregation, voting rights, etc. 8Here are some highlights from Jasmyne's column:*
Before you open that bottle of champagne, can of beer, or bottle of Hennessy in celebration of last week’s decision by the California Supreme Court upholding Proposition 8 and the ban on gay marriage, did you ever stop to think maybe the jokes on us?
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I mean think about it. Last November, Blacks voted overwhelmingly in support of Proposition 8, ensuring that lesbian and gay couples, including Black couples, continue to be treated as second-class citizens. Everyone had an opinion from the tennis courts to the pulpit. And no matter whether Black support of Proposition 8 had more to do with religious beliefs or just plain old-fashioned homophobia, the fact still remains that two people getting married, same-sex or not, has no financial impact whatsoever on the rest of us. None. We may not like it, but at the end of the day, gay marriage doesn’t take food from anyone’s mouth, clothes off of anyone’s back, or a roof from over someone’s head. But judging from the way we acted, you would have thought that it did.
I mean think about it. Last November, Blacks voted overwhelmingly in support of Proposition 8, ensuring that lesbian and gay couples, including Black couples, continue to be treated as second-class citizens. Everyone had an opinion from the tennis courts to the pulpit. And no matter whether Black support of Proposition 8 had more to do with religious beliefs or just plain old-fashioned homophobia, the fact still remains that two people getting married, same-sex or not, has no financial impact whatsoever on the rest of us. None. We may not like it, but at the end of the day, gay marriage doesn’t take food from anyone’s mouth, clothes off of anyone’s back, or a roof from over someone’s head. But judging from the way we acted, you would have thought that it did.
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Which leaves me to question if Blacks are more concerned about whether two men or women commit to loving and caring for each other than they are about cuts to vital programs that affect all of us? Because let me tell you, me getting married tomorrow isn’t nearly going have the same impact on Black California as hundreds of thousands of out of work, hungry, and homeless Black people are. You think crime is bad now, you just wait and see. Message!
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Lest I forget to mention that our support of Proposition 8 only ensured that gay organizations fighting for marriage continue to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep the fight going, while many Black organizations are operating on the brink of bankruptcy. Message!
Lest I forget to mention that our support of Proposition 8 only ensured that gay organizations fighting for marriage continue to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep the fight going, while many Black organizations are operating on the brink of bankruptcy. Message!
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I wonder if Blacks would ever think of protesting their first Black President to make sure that he addressed issues relevant not only to middle class Americans but to those Americans living at or below the poverty line. I’m just saying, while I don’t always agree with the gay community’s tactics, they sure do know how to make their voice heard. Message! With all of the issues facing Black Californian’s today—home foreclosures, unemployment, homelessness—gay marriage remains at the forefront of the Democratic agenda for Black elected officials and that’s not by accident.
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And while many of our Black churches were so instrumental in making sure that their congregations supported Proposition 8, I can’t say that the same energy has been put into making sure that we’re aware of the impact by the Governor’s proposed budget cuts on Blacks in California. So I’ll say it again, maybe the joke is on us.
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[O]ur support of non-relevant issues like Proposition 8 while ignoring the real issues that affect us all will ensure that Blacks continue to be at the bottom of the food chain in California—even with a Black President in Office. Black people need to stop focusing on issues that we have no control over and that do not affect our pocketbook and quality of life in the least bit and shift that energy into addressing the issues that do affect all of us and that we can control. . . .
1 comment:
I think, however, that Ms. Cannick had an earlier post where she pointed out that white gays who get too impatient with President Obama are not doing themselves a favor, as most blacks love Obama, and the movement for equal rights needs the support of blacks. Perceived criticism of Obama by white gays could drive blacks away from the equality movement.
What do you think?
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