Gay activist Keith Boykin kicks off simulated presidential run on new reality show American Candidate

Black gay activist and author Keith Boykin has been selected to be on Showtime's new television reality show American Candidate. Boykin is working with his partner, Nathan Williams, as his campaign manager. Together they will be the first black gay couple ever to appear on reality television. Boykin will kick off his campaign on Tuesday, June 8, in New York City at 6 p.m. at the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center, located at 208 West 13th Street (7th Avenue and Greenwich) in New York City. Speaking to The Advocate, Boykin stressed that this kickoff event is the reality show's first challenge. The object is to see how big a crowd each candidate can generate. The two who draw the smallest crowds may be eliminated from the contest. Boykin, a former special assistant to President Clinton, is president of the National Black Justice Coalition. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he taught at Georgetown and is a frequent guest on television political opinion programs. American Candidate is a new reality television show on Showtime in which 12 contestants compete in a series of tests during a simulated presidential campaign. Over the course of 10 weeks, those 12 will face off against each other in a series of challenges designed to test their presidential mettle and to show viewers what really goes on in the making of a presidential candidate. Week by week the original pool of candidates will be winnowed down. The final episode will be a showdown between the remaining two candidates, and one person will emerge victorious--the "American Candidate." The winner gets $200,000 and a nationwide media appearance after the show so the "American Candidate" can make his or her address to the nation.