After being
promised he'd be allowed to address the massive crowd
at Saturday's Millions More March in
Washington, D.C., gay activist Keith Boykin was turned
away before he could utter a word.
Boykin, president of the National Black Justice
Coalition, was prevented from speaking by the Reverend
Willie F. Wilson, the march's national
executive director. According to Boykin, this came after
Wilson and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan
promised Boykin a spot on the event's schedule
as part of an inclusive march that was to incorporate
gays, women, and whites.
Boykin said members of the NBJC had met with
Farrakhan and Wilson on Wednesday, and an agreement
had been made for Boykin to speak during the
Unity Tapestry section of the program. After heated
exchanges in the VIP tent Saturday morning, Wilson let
it be known that no one from the NBJC would be
speaking that day, Boykin said.
The offer was rescinded because Wilson was
furious about angry calls and letters he received for
writing earlier this year about a supposed
"epidemic" of lesbianism among young black
females, Boykin said. Wilson told The Washington Post, "[Boykin] straight-out lied.
There were certain conditions that he had to meet in order
to speak, and he did not."
On Monday, Boykin
wrote about the experience on his blog and took aim at Wilson.
"Ever since his controversial July 3 sermon in
which he blamed the rise of lesbianism for the
problems in the black community, Rev. Wilson seems to
have developed ill feelings toward the black gay community
for responding to his attack," Boykin wrote. "That was
three months ago, and I had hoped to use my speech
today to extend an olive branch to Rev. Wilson to move
beyond our differences and heal our wounds, but his
actions this morning made that impossible. Today I am
publishing the remarks I would have given at the
Millions More Movement March had I been allowed to speak."
In response to Boykin's being turned away, gay
leaders on Saturday led a protest in Washington of the
Millions More March. "There is no way we're going to
come together as a community if people are shut out,"
said Alexander Robinson of the National Black Justice
Coalition. "Minister Farrakhan has previously kept his
word while Reverend Wilson has been anything but
cooperative. Regardless of who's responsible, it's
time for someone to step up and say 'Enough.' "
"The march's goal was unity, but the result was
division," said Donna Payne, senior diversity
organizer for the gay rights group Human Rights
Campaign and a participant at the October 12 meeting.
"Minister Farrakhan and Reverend Willie Wilson went back on
their word this weekend. It's past time for us to
speak the truth, and that means being honest about the
diversity within the African-American community. We're
owed an apology."
The Millions More March was intended as a 10th
anniversary celebration of the Million Man March as
well an effort to launch a long-term movement tackling
racial injustice and poverty. (Neal Broverman, Advocate.com)
