An Unpopular Opinion: Blacks, Gays, and Prop. 8

wrong

"You can't have it both ways -- either black Californians needed outreach because they were a big enough voting bloc or they didn't. " WRONG! No matter how small the minority everyone should be reached out to

"You can't have it both ways -- either black Californians needed outreach because they were a big enough voting bloc or they didn't. " WRONG! No matter how small the minority everyone should be reached out to

"You can't have it both ways -- either black Californians needed outreach because they were a big enough voting bloc or they didn't. " WRONG! Even if blacks weren't as great of a voting block we should still have been reached out to. Obama reached out to NATIVE AMERICANS and they are the SMALLEST racial population in America

For the record Tiffany is wrong. Black MEN had the right to the vote during reconstruction (black women never did and the article doesn't specify black men or women)- if you want to call it that. Black men were getting beat, hung, and killed at voting booths. They "lost" the right to vote because of Jim Crow laws then it wasn't till the voting rights act of 1965 (August 6th, 1965) did every black person across the nation have the right to vote. What do you think people were getting hosed down in the street for? (rolls eyes!)

I really enjoyed your piece Clay. Before I fully read it I followed the link to Jasmyne Cannick's piece. WOW That woman is really crazy. Who does she think she is? I don't see how she can blame white gay people for prop 8 passing. I also do not understand why she's convinced that gay marriage needs to be more important than wages or incarceration rates. More than one thing at a time can be of high importance. As an African American lesbian, I am actually ashamed of her and her views. She is not trying to address problems. She is assigning blame and being divisive. To truly be successful in our fight for equal rights, we as gay people need to come together and pool our resources. Instead of sitting around complaining that white gays needs to convince African Americans that equal marriage matters above everything else.

I really enjoyed your piece Clay. Before I fully read it I followed the link to Jasmyne Cannick's piece. WOW That woman is really crazy. Who does she think she is? I don't see how she can blame white gay people for prop 8 passing. I also do not understand why she's convinced that gay marriage needs to be more important than wages or incarceration rates. More than one thing at a time can be of high importance. As an African American lesbian, I am actually ashamed of her and her views. She is not trying to address problems. She is assigning blame and being divisive. To truly be successful in our fight for equal rights, we as gay people need to come together and pool our resources. Instead of sitting around complaining that white gays needs to convince African Americans that equal marriage matters above everything else.

I'm sorry Clay but the exit poll data reveals that in the black or African-American community, there is a high level of opposition to marriage equality. Barack Obama campaigned along side homophobic religous zealots as part of his campaign. These are facts, not just opinions. I went to lecture once on the impact of HIV/AIDS on the black community. The word GAY never came up once! There is still much work to do in the African American community.

Right on Clay Cane! This is hands-down one of the best pieces that I’ve read in the post-Prop. 8 discussions and controversey. Good politics, sharp arguments – only thing missing is to quote Frederick Douglass, the black abolitionist: “they divided each in order to conquer all.” And to the unprincipled types who would rather conduct these navel-gazing arguments about which minority group can claim the mantle of being the most authentically and historically oppressed and discriminated against – well I’m really sure that this passionate debate has got Bush and Dobson and all of our common enemies just shaking in their boots. No, for my money, Cane’s arguments here for unity and solidarity are what will provide the kind of leadership we need to build a diverse and multiracial movement powerful enough to win justice and equality for all.

I'm shocked that Eddie thinks the gay community here in Los Angeles (and probably elsewhere from what I've gathered and experienced) isn't steeped in racism. Of course it is. And not inviting the discussion--a difficult one to be sure--only guarantees its perpetuation. When it's really time to move on I have every confidence such demons will be faced the gay community--white, black, brown, yellow, red...sorry if I forgot anybody.