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

The injection of race into the analysis of Proposition 8's passage is extremely disappointing. A battle for equal rights has now turned into an issue of whites versus blacks. But while some black gays think marriage shouldn't be a priority and that outreach to African-Americans should have been stronger, journalist Clay Cane says he has a vested interest in inequalities related to both race and sexual orientation ... and he doesn't need someone to hold his hand to believe that marriage equality is important. 


The injection of race into the analysis of Proposition 8's passage is extremely disappointing. A battle for equal rights has now turned into an issue of whites versus blacks. It's sad to see the smoke screen of racism when rights are being denied from Americans who pay taxes and have served their country.

In the beginning, I wanted to stay out of this racialized debate on Proposition 8. However, after I read Jasmyne Cannick's opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times, "No-on-8's White Bias," I felt compelled to speak up. Cannick is someone I deeply admire and highly respect, and she is black and gay like me; however, there is another side of this debate from the black gay community.

In her piece she states, "I don't see why the right to marry should be a priority for me or other black people. Gay marriage? Please." Cannick adds, "Some people seem to think that homophobia trumps racism." She explains, "There are still too many inequalities that exist as it relates to my race." Cannick lists important issues in the black community such as dropout rates, poverty, and incarceration.

As a black gay man, incarceration rates are as important to me as gay marriage. Dropout rates are as important to me as the fact that, according to the CDC, 46% of black men who have sex with men are HIV-positive. Poverty is as important to me as the fact that there are 30 states where gays and lesbians can be fired from their job with no protection from their government. As a black gay man who has endured the words "n****r" and "f****t", who lives in this duality of gayness and blackness, I have a vested interest in both inequalities.

Cannick argues that the white gay community "never successfully communicated" to blacks why gay marriage is an important issue. I agree there was a poor strategy on Proposition 8; however, I don't need white people to hold my hand into believing gay marriage is important. Black people are not docile bystanders who require whites to communicate that discrimination is wrong. Just like I don't need outreach from black heterosexuals to know that poverty is important.

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Reader Comments
  • Name: IssuePlatter
    Date posted: 12/27/2008 3:02:00 AM
    Hometown: Indiana

    Comment:

    wrong

  • Name: IssuePlatter
    Date posted: 12/27/2008 3:01:00 AM
    Hometown: Indiana

    Comment:

    "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

  • Name: IssuePlatter
    Date posted: 12/27/2008 2:58:00 AM
    Hometown: Indiana

    Comment:

    "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

  • Name: IssuePlatter
    Date posted: 12/27/2008 2:56:00 AM
    Hometown: Indiana

    Comment:

    "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

  • Name: Stacey
    Date posted: 11/29/2008 10:52:00 AM
    Hometown: Philadelphia, PA

    Comment:

    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!)

  • Name: Dijah
    Date posted: 11/29/2008 9:49:00 AM
    Hometown: Va Beach, VA

    Comment:

    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.

  • Name: Dijah
    Date posted: 11/29/2008 9:48:00 AM
    Hometown: Va Beach, VA

    Comment:

    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.

  • Name: edweird
    Date posted: 11/26/2008 8:50:00 AM
    Hometown: Dallas, Texas

    Comment:

    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.

  • Name: Chad
    Date posted: 11/26/2008 12:54:00 AM
    Hometown: Sacramento

    Comment:

    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.

  • Name: Arthur L. Little Jr.
    Date posted: 11/25/2008 5:20:00 AM
    Hometown: Los Angeles

    Comment:

    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.

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