Clarence Page: Gay Pride, Black Prejudice
December 8, 2008 by blackgirlgrown
Filed under engage, life, politics, race
“Gay is the new black,” declares the Dec. 16 issue of The Advocate, a leading gay-oriented magazine. Well, not quite. How about, “Gay is the new gray?”
The gray area for a lot of black Americans like me is not in the issue of gay rights but in the comparison some gay activists make between that issue and the movement for racial equality.
I don’t oppose same-sex marriage. After years of arguments from the other side about perceived threats to the sanctity of marriage, I have yet to see any impact by gay marriages on my marriage. Nor do I expect to see any.
Besides, single parenting has become so pervasive in the past half-century, especially in black America, that I am delighted whenever anyone still wants to get married. But gay rights leaders should think twice before drawing too many comparisons to the fight for racial equality. They are tragically correct to point out the murder, beatings, arson and other hate crimes that continue to be perpetrated against homosexuals. But the history and nature of our oppression is so different as to serve to alienate potential allies instead of winning them over. Read More.
blackgirlgrown
