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Jan 05, 2009 at 10:45 PM
Front Page arrow News arrow Local arrow Are Gay Rights Civil Rights and Are Blacks More Homophobic? In the Aftermath of Prop 8
Are Gay Rights Civil Rights and Are Blacks More Homophobic? In the Aftermath of Prop 8
Written by LA Sentinel Staff Writer, on 11-20-2008 00:00
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Are Gay Rights Civil Rights?” is the topic up for discussion this Saturday (November 22) at a town hall meeting being hosted by the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper in light of the aftermath of the passing of Proposition 8 on Nov. 4, which banned same-sex marriages in California. Being held at Los Angeles Trade Tech College from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., the community will get a chance to weigh in and discuss whether the gay rights movements is the same as the 1960s Civil Rights Movement for Blacks. Also up for discussion will be whether Black America is more homophobic than other races and are Black voters to blame for the passing of Prop. 8.

“I felt it was important to host a meeting on this issue after seeing the troubling reports of Blacks being accosted in the streets of Westwood during a protest,” said Sentinel executive editor Danny Bakewell Jr. “Since the election there have been several reports of Blacks being called the n-word and harassed by gays upset over Prop. 8.”

Jasmyne Cannick, Sentinel columnist and author of “No-on-8’s white bias” which appeared on the Op-Ed page of the Los Angeles Times Saturday, Nov. 8 is a co-organizer and moderator of Saturday’s town hall meeting.

“I think that before African- Americans can address the issue of same-sex marriage, we need to have a family discussion around homophobia in our community,” commented Cannick. “Very little has been heard from the Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community on this issue and we need to come together as a family.”

Black Californians makeup 6 percent of California’s population. On Nov. 4, 10 percent of voters were African American and in the most recent exit poll date, voted 56 percent in favor of Proposition 8.

Participants in Saturday’s event will include elected officials, Black clergy, community activists, as well as the voices from the Black same gender loving community.

The town hall meeting will take place on Saturday, November 22, 2008 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Los Angeles Trade Tech College (400 West Washington Blvd.). This is a free event with first come first served seating. For more information, please call (323) 299-3800.


Last update: 11-26-2008 18:03

Published in : News, Local
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Users' Comments (25) RSS feed comment
Posted by Heterophile, on 11-20-2008 12:15,
Cmon - a "Town Hall" meeting about this would merely just reiterate the obvious. African Americans (overwhelmingly spiritual) overwhelmingly denounce homosexuality. No town hall meeting is going to change that. I balk at the notion that any disdain African Americans have towards this proposition is somehow disproportionate or abnormally significant, as if it's unique to the psyche's of African Americans to shun homosexual behavior! That's a universal philosophy! UNIVERSALLY, homosexuality is considered a deviant behavior, and this doesn't necessarily have anything to do with God or any religion.  
 
Black people are NOT obligated to allow gays the opportunity to ride on the backs of the civil rights movement to propel their agenda. Why can't they find a different way to "market" it? 
 
It really irritates me that the gay population goes on now as if the majority of people on this planet are gay, and as a consequence are obligated to accept their behavior unchallenged on any level!  
 
Gays didn't get their way with prop 8, so they feel they can "manhandle & muscle" the Black political community & clergy at large until they do - while hanging the civil rights movement over it's heads? Excuse me, but the civil rights movement was about human rights - not behavioral rights, and the audacity to equate the two is offensive. The backlash against gay marriage by many blacks is not about suppressing or discriminating against another person's civil rights, it is about discouraging or disassociating itself from what most consider deviant sexual behavior - prevalent or not. It is my opinion that there is no need to have a "town hall" meeting for us to discuss something so fundamentally obvious.
 

Posted by Early Times, on 11-20-2008 17:12,
It could be that these conversations are timely. Sometime ago, while attending a series of lectures at Stanford University, I was struck by a posture announcing an up and coming symposium entitled, "Racism and Sexism in the Gay Community." But whatever the case, it should at once be established that the black vote is not automatically in anybody's pocket whatever the previous condition of servitude.
 

Posted by Early Times, on 11-20-2008 17:32,
My apologies and correction: poster, not posture.
 

Posted by No on 8, on 11-20-2008 19:55,
I am a black lesbian who was legally married 08-08-2008. I will be at the town hall meeting. Most of my family and friends were confused by the Yes on 8 ads. They were so worried about kids being taught about same sex marriage in our California schools. Give me a break. I have a 10 year old daughter in school. She can't go to the zoo without me signing off on it. Just this past Halloween, those parents who didn't want their kids marching in the Halloween parade, had their kids sent to the library. It's a crying most of my people believed thier lies. I pay my taxes and deserve the same rights as straight couple. Who in the heck wants to call their spouse "Domestic Partner."? It sounds like a business partner not the love of your life.
 

Posted by No on 8, on 11-20-2008 20:06,
Oooppss... "It's a crying SHAME most of my people believed their lies."
 

Posted by Heterophile, on 11-20-2008 22:32,
A question to the likes of Ms "No on 8" (or any other gay mother who cares to respond) - What unsuspecting surrogate (boyfriend or husband) did you have to deceive in order to fulfill your desire to have a child DESPITE knowing you were attracted to women?  
 
Ok ok... in all fairness, I can't assume your daughter was not conceived through a bank... but inquiring minds would like to know... was she? 
 
In your quest to understand why so many can be opposed to the lifestyles of people like yourself, can you first try to understand the hypocrisy many find in things like... wanting/having children? Better yet - did the tribulations of your lifestyle get superseded by your selfless desire to ensure your daughters right to have a relationship with her father? Many proponents of the heterosexual lifestyle take greater issue when kids are involved and have the perception that you just want to have your cake and eat it too. 
 
Please offer whatever explanation you can in a way that helps living this lifestyle, and involving children more palatable. I'm sure it's difficult enough without them.
 

Posted by No on 8, on 11-21-2008 09:11,
WoW... "Are Blacks More Homophobic?" You went there. You were so quick to assume my wife or I laid down with a man and deceived him. What planet do you live on? My wife and I planned our daughter. We went to the bank baby. It's an open bank that allows the kids to contact their donor at the age of 18. We have been together in a committed relationship for 15 years ( How many of my sisters can say their man has stayed around long enough to have a 15 year relationship?) Oh I see... No one is raising up their hands.. We attend our Non-Homophobic church in Long Beach. My church was not covered with Yes on 8 signs. I bet yours was. Prop 8 is about human rights. End of story. Get off your high horse and see it that way.
 

Posted by Sister Mary, on 11-21-2008 09:20,
No on 8... I will see you at the Town Hall meeting. I too will be there. I only hope Ms. Jasmyne Cannick holds a great form. I am so over the violence prop 8 has brought to California. I want to tell my brothers and sisters they were lied to with those tv ads. Thanks you again... From a straight single black woman who voted No on 8 as well. Oh and your part about raising our hands if our man has been around for 15 years.. Priceless LOL I couldn't raise my hand. LOL
 

Posted by Question, on 11-21-2008 10:17,
WHAT HURT THE NO ON 8 SUPPORTERS?:  
1.WHY WAS THIS TOPIC OF GAY MARRIAGE EVEN ALLOWED TO BE ASKED BY GEWN IFILL? ASK YOURSELF THIS VERY QUESTION. THE V.P. DEBATE IS NOT THE FORM TO BRING UP THIS MATTER. EACH INDIVIDUAL STATE DETERMINES THEIR LAWS. NOT THE V.P... GET REAL. WERE THE LOBBYIST AT IT AGAIN?  
When asked by moderator Gewn Ifill, “Do you support, as they do in Alaska, granting same-sex benefits to couples?”  
1. Biden replied, “Absolutely. . . . Look, in an Obama-Biden administration, there will be absolutely no distinction from a constitutional standpoint or a legal standpoint between a same-sex and a heterosexual couple.” 
He added: “The fact of the matter is that under the Constitution we should be granted - same-sex couples should be able to have visitation rights in the hospitals, joint ownership of property, life insurance policies, et cetera. That’s only fair. It’s what the Constitution calls for. And so we do support it.” 
“We do support making sure that committed couples in a same-sex marriage are guaranteed the same constitutional benefits as it relates to their property rights, their rights of visitation, their rights to insurance, their rights of ownership as heterosexual couples do,” he added. 
But when the question was put to Republican Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor skated around the question. 
“Well, not if it goes closer and closer towards redefining the traditional definition of marriage between one man and one woman. And unfortunately that’s sometimes where those steps lead,” Palin said. 
“But I also want to clarify, if there’s any kind of suggestion at all from my answer that I would be anything but tolerant of adults in America choosing their partners, choosing relationships that they deem best for themselves, you know, I am tolerant and I have a very diverse family and group of friends and even within that group you would see some who may not agree with me on this issue. She might as well said, "I have black friends."
 

Posted by Question, on 11-21-2008 10:24,
Cont... WHEN BIDEN WAS ASKED ABOUT "GAY MARRIAGE" he said he was opposed, as is Sen. Obama. Do you guys have any clue how much that swayed the black voter to Vote Yes on 8? It sure swayed a lot of my black friends. What better person to sit in that chair to ask those questions that should have never been asked. Yes, a black woman. If you don't think the lobbyist were at it again. You are so very wrong. Remember, Ms. Ifill did get her book published right before the debate. And who do you think paid for it? Open your eyes and look outside your little world. The black community was once again dupped by the white man.
 

Posted by Heterophile, on 11-21-2008 10:43,
Not sure if you're addressing my post "No on 8" - I suspect you are (You addressed a poster named "Are Blacks more Homophobic?".) Your response is admirable and gives a little more insight into a world that's very foreign to me. 
 
However, despite your response and although I appreciate your candor, I question it's sincerity. Additionally, and as a matter of point, I submit that there are many sisters out there that can say their long term relationships work. You should be able to say that, just as the likelihood exists that there are gay sisters out there who can say their relationships don't seem to last 6 months. 
 
Just so you know a little about me - I am NOT a bible thumping, church every Sunday going, right-wing conservative anything - who wants to condemn homosexuals to hell for their lifestyles. I am just a concerned "traditional" single brutha out there who finds frustration in not only having to compete with men - but also with the likes of you when looking for a mate! All that in a climate where being gay is not a birthright - but FASHIONABLE!!!! I am also vehemently against kids being raised in this lifestyle - mainly because their participation in it becomes a huge contradiction. 
 
That said, I mentioned I question your sincerity for two reasons. 1. I have a suspicion you're being deceitful in acknowledging your daughters need to interact with a father. How likely would it be that a kid like your daughter would turn 18, and then seek the sperm donating father they've never met or have no possible way of knowing anything about? You may have gone to a sperm donor, but the likelihood of your being concerned about her "need" to have a father in her life (especially if she's "heterosexual" - is at best questionable if waiting till she's 18 was the plan. Second, "Sista Mary's" post has a striking resemblance to your diction. Was that posted by you in an attempt to gain some sort of validity for your argument?
 

Posted by No on 8, on 11-21-2008 11:10,
First, why do you think I am sooo deceitful. What in the heck to I have to gain. I am just giving you the low down of what's up in our lives. My daughter is straight. She loved thos darn Jonas Brothers. And as far as her having a father in her life. Listen up my brother, she does not need one. she has two loving mothers, 3 loving uncles, two grandfathers. She has loving men in her life who love her and her mommies very much. Ask yourself another question ... How many single black women are out there raising kids all by themselves? My daughter is not suffering in her life. She is a very normal 10 year old. You really need to just come to the realization us black lesbians are out there raising our kids in loving families. A LOT of us are just afaid to be themselves in public or at work for this very reason. Most blacks just don't get it. And no.... Miss Mary is not me. But I sure am glad she came out to support a sister. Are you going to the town hall meeting?
 

Posted by No on 8, on 11-21-2008 11:13,
Heterophile.... Hope to see you at the Town Hall Meeting. It's men and women like you in our black community that need to be educated. If you don't want to go.. That's fine. I will continue to educate you on this site LOL :)
 

Posted by Heterophile, on 11-21-2008 12:40,
I won't probe any further with relation to your daughter. That's a sensitive area, and I'll respect that. What you've given thus far is appreciated, if for no other reason to minimally offer understanding. Even though I COMPLETELY disagree, I won't press. I'm happy she has good men in her life. 
 
But shouldn't I expect you to highlight the positive? Wouldn't any person in your shoes do everything possible to validate in SOME way how great their alternative family lives are? Given the WORLD view of the gay lifestyle, surely children have to endure (to some degree) an amount of negativity as a consequence. At some point many of them may resent (maybe) their "mothers" or "fathers" for it. Despite your assertion, ALL children DEFINITELY need their fathers, and so does your baby. Sure, in your situation everything seems dandy given the substitutes available to your child, but how many other couples have that convenience? Many gays might suggest that a homosexual couple IS an ideal situation for kids, and despite any objection the child might have to it once they can understand what's going on. I know studies suggest kids raised in these families tend to be more "accepting" of others, but that hardly fills the voids for those kids yearning for fathers (or mothers.) My suggestion you're being deceitful might have been a bad choice of words. Let's rephrase - I wonder if you're being true to yourself about the impact your lifestyle has had on your daughter. What you have to gain by being deceitful is validation for your way of life. 
 
Listen - you are a gem for being the best parent you can be and for raising your daughter in an environment likely full of adversity. I applaud you for that. But your lifestyle is not more ideal for raising kids than in a home with a mom and dad. I can chuck up the loss of two potential suitors, but I'm not willing to dilute the potential for the traditional family just yet. 
 
Yes - I will likely attend the "Town Hall"
 

Posted by No on 8, on 11-21-2008 13:09,
Heterophile... You may not believe it's an ideal situation for my daughter. But if you were to ask her. She wouldn't want anything different. I guess that is why she is in school in Long Beach. We have several same sex couples at our school. And it's our school that deserves the biggest slap on the back. "Fremont Elemen." is the school. Gays and Lesbians out there who live in Long Beach.. Send your kids to Fremont Elem. At least they get it. You say you were going to keep my daugter out of it but yet you went on and on about how she needs a father. Ok.. are you done with that now. I have heard enough. May God bless you and maybe I will see you at the meeting. Are you going to ask questions? if you do.. Just say you are "Heteophile" and I will know it's you. :) Until then.
 

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