My Civil Rights are better than yours… Blacks, Gays and Prop 8
activism, lgbt, politics Add comments
Jasmyne Cannick, a sometimes controversial lesbian writer from LA has spoken out on Prop 8, and you might not like what she has to say, particularly about us “white gays.”
“I am black. I am a political activist who cares deeply about social justice issues. I am a lesbian. This year, I canvassed the streets of South Los Angeles and Compton, knocking on doors, talking politics to passers-by and working as I never had before to ensure a large voter turnout among African Americans. But even I wasn’t inspired to encourage black people to vote against the proposition.
“Why? Because I don’t see why the right to marry should be a priority for me or other black people. Gay marriage? Please. At a time when blacks are still more likely than whites to be pulled over for no reason, more likely to be unemployed than whites, more likely to live at or below the poverty line, I was too busy trying to get black people registered to vote, period; I wasn’t about to focus my attention on what couldn’t help but feel like a secondary issue.”
And…
“There’s nothing a white gay person can tell me when it comes to how I, as a black lesbian, should talk to my community about this issue. If and when I choose to, I know how to say what needs to be said. Many black gays just haven’t been convinced that this movement for marriage is about anything more than the white gays who fund it (and who, we often find, are just as racist and clueless when it comes to blacks as they claim blacks are homophobic).
“Some people seem to think that homophobia trumps racism, and that winning the battle for gay marriage will symbolically bring about equality for everyone. That may seem true to white gays, but as a black lesbian, let me tell you: There are still too many inequalities that exist as it relates to my race for that to ever be the case. Ever heard of “driving while black”? Ever looked at the difference between the dropout rates for blacks and for whites? Or test scores? Or wages? Or rates of incarceration?”
This isn’t the first time Jasmine Cannick has run across our radar. She successfully ran a campaign against Shirley Q. Liquor — a white man doing drag as a southern, black, not-so-well-educated woman — getting him banned at several night clubs/events throughout the country. Liquor has a large fan base, both black and white.
I get the sense that Cannick would like us “white gays” to get to the back of the line and wait our turn. Perhaps a better analogy is for us to get to the back of the civil rights bus. While she makes a “few” valid points, I couldn’t disagree more. What do you think?
November 12th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
All I see, just as I did when she went on her “Anti-Shirley” campaign, is a person so blinded by color lines that she can no longer see the forest from the trees. Wait, she would probably see that comment as racist too!
November 12th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Dearling!
I am grateful to live in the United States of America, where we are ALL free to express our ‘own’ opinion. So, I think Ms. Cannick is entitled to her opinion. I do not, however, agree with her. Yes, there IS homophobia in the black community. And yes, there IS racism in the white community. My question though is this, what do civil rights have to do with phobias and prejudice? Seriously people, THINK about it. What OTHER rights must we ALL lose for you to STAND up and say, NO! No more of this! We live in a FREE country, dammit!
Alright, I’ll get off my box and take a deep breath! Whew… Don’t ‘get’ me going, now…
OK, OK… I’ll admit it, short-sighted idiots that vote for things they don’t understand drive me crazy. LOL. Not a long drive anyway, but I digress.
These religious and social conservatives would deprive us of simple, humane, civil rights. They twist and warp common good into ‘dark and evil’ activities. And don’t mention “IN OUR SCHOOLS” even, well, that got ‘em voting!
Oops, I was going to calm down now… TTFN!
November 12th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Wow, she really has a chip on her shoulder. I like how she viewed Prop 8 as secondary and as such saw no reason to talk about it. Funny, I can walk and chew gum at the same time… I wonder how she’d prioritize facing 2 crises at once in her personal life? She’s certainly no King Solomon.
November 12th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Ditto on Mark’s comments. Quite a bitter woman too.
November 14th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
I don’t really have the urge to see how her interview with B.O. went. I just know that from the perspective of this individuals she’d rather see the LGBTQ community drink from a different fountain and I don’t really want to drink out of the same fountain that this sad and pathetic individual drinks out of.
Nothing sad that a gay individual who harbors a lot of self-hate. A sad case indeed. Thanks for the post.
November 17th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
I’m sorry Ms. Cannick but: ‘I am a political activist who cares deeply about social justice issues.’ sounds disingenuous to me when you add: ‘Gay marriage, Please.’
To fully understand the African American experience in America is something I can never fully appreciate having grown up in a predominately white culture. But to the extent that I can empathize with your struggles, I try to be mindful that ‘equality for all’ means just that, whether African American, gay, or any other group that cannot fully and freely live the American experience.
My sense is that you view the issues of racism and gay equality as a zero sum game, where freedom for both groups cannot coexist.
Marriage is a terrible idea, whether straight or gay in my point of view. Signing a contract, and making vows about how you feel about another person for the rest of your life seems silly to me.
That said though, I recognize that other gay people have different views on this. And the legal consequences of not being able to marry will trump the vows issue for many gay people.
To me the injustice is not that gay people can’t marry, rather that marriage confers rights. Rights that are status-based mocks the notion of equality.
Given the chances that marriage will return to the religious domain as a sacrament, and civil marriages for everyone that confer legal rights are nearly nil, I support the notion that all people -gay or straight- should be able to marry if that is their choice.