At the rate we are going, marriage equality will be achieved for gays long before equality is achieved for Black America.” (Ocky Williams 4-18-2012).

So my prediction came true.  Wednesday June 26th the Supreme Court of the United States has decided that DOMA (The Defense of Marriage Act) was unconstitutional.  This was a day after the same Supreme Court invalidated Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act which designates which parts of the country must have changes to their voting laws cleared by the federal government or in federal court.  This was the result of racist and discriminatory acts against blacks (in much of the southern US states) that prevented them from voting in elections during and after the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s.

Over the last two elections cycles we have seen Republican officials across the country attempt to implement new voter ID laws and requirements all in hopes of surprising the minority vote which usually votes Democrat.  With all the nonsense we have seen in the last 10-15 years with hanging chads, electronic votes vanishing into thin air from voting machines, paper and absentee ballots missing or destroyed or simply not counted, the ridiculous long lines, etc.; it is obvious we need more regulations to help fight the shenanigans of certain (usually Republican) precincts and counties around the country.  There is a clear reason why Republicans are so happy with this decision.  With Section 4 being nullified, they have now been given a pass to disenfranchise within the legal limitations of the laws they themselves created and lobbied to get passed.

Be sure to check out the original post below where I made my prediction and as always feel free to leave you feedback.


 

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 For a couple of weeks now, I have been reading articles via the internet that mentioned the leak of internal strategy memos from the conservative group National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and their opposition to gay marriage initiatives across the US.In a nutshell, a strategic goal of the NOM group was to drive a wedge between two key democratic constituencies, gays and blacks (as if the wedge already there was not big enough) in hopes of gaining additional opposition against support of gay marriage and pushing forward conservative agendas.I want to briefly discuss the feedback and comments from some white gay readers that were in response to the articles written by black bloggers or journalist.  Hopefully my words can help the white LGBT community understand where others could not. The overall consensus from the black gay journalists and the black gay blogosphere was that even though gay marriage equality is something that is needed, it is not high on the totem pole for the majority of the black LGBT community.
The black community as a whole is a lot more concerned with the ills that affect our community, such as…High unemployment, disproportionately high numbers of diseases and ailments like high blood pressure, obesity, hypertension, and cancers. Police brutality. Disproportionate numbers of black men in jails and prisons. Discrimination in housing, pay wages, education, banking and loan interest rates. Gun violence and gangs. Inequalities in public school suspensions rates and school funding.  Inequalities and discrimination in the US justice system and our disproportionate high numbers concerning HIV/AIDS infections and treatment.So you see the push for gay marriage equality (while important) is not one of black society’s main objectives and goals.Many of the articles and blogs from the black writers pointed these things among others in their posts. Many in the white gay community responded angrily in the feedback and comments sections on these websites.  Some of their anger was directed at President Obama and they were confused as to why the black community, primarily black gays cannot put marriage equality first and foremost, front and center.  You know like the same way the white gay community put our issues front and center (sarcasm).
 
The white gay community can’t seem to understand even though black homosexuals are a minority in a minority…we are still a minority.  Our melanin and pigmentation is obvious while our homosexuality not so much so.  When I was racially profiled by a Virginia State Policeman and made to get out of my car with my hands in the air; it wasn’t due to any illegal moving or traffic violation or because I was homosexual, it was because I was black. Likewise when I was 10 years old and spat on by a neighbor, he didn’t call me a “faggot” after I punched him in the mouth, he called me a “nigger”.

Which reminds me; let us not forget all of the racist comments that came from some in the white gay community after the Prop 8 passage in California?  For the most part the black community received a severe tongue lashing from the white gay community as though we were the reason for the passage

Weekly you hear or see stories of black men, young and old being gunned down by the police for some “justified” reason. We see or hear stories in the media of over-hyped, overcharged, and heavy sentences being handed down to blacks in our unequal for profit Justice System for similar crimes that whites get light sentences or slapped on the wrist for. I know that plenty of members of the white LGBT community have experienced discrimination, harassment, beatings, bullying and acts of murder.  LGBT life can be a difficult one for many if not all; however white LGBT culture (especially white gay males) has the benefit of still being able to do something that blacks can’t. That is take part in the spoils and benefits of white privilege in America.

White America may be in the minority decades from now but up until that point comes, white America is the majority that rules our land.  Again black gays and lesbians might be able to conceal our sexual orientation but not our skin color and believe me…gay is not the new black.  To the white LGBT community, it is not that we don’t understand the discrimination you are going through and how you are suffering.

We understand because we have suffered for centuries and still continue to face discrimination to this day.  I am happy and envious that the white LGBT community was able to model their movement after the Civil Rights movement by organizing, marching, voting and doing something that the black community as a whole has forgotten how to do…and that is come together with their economic power to enforce change.

At the rate we are going, marriage equality will be achieved for gays long before equality is achieved for Black America.

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