Not One Black Gay/Lesbian Couple in "No on Prop 8" Ads. Why?

Despite questionable exit polling data, the mainstream media and its gay counterparts continue to blame black voters for the recent passage of Prop 8 in California—escalating tensions, prompting scuffles and racial epithets at street rallies  as well as thousands of  mean-spirited comments across the gay virtual community. While gay activists begin to debate the strategy executed by No on Prop 8, the obvious question arises:  How much outreach was done to the black community?

Very little. Jack and Jill Politics slams the racist talking points pushed by revisionist hack Andrew Sullivan and sex columnist Dan Savage.

I followed ‘No on 8′ through Andrew Sullivan’s blog. I clicked on every ad that he posted. I never saw ONE that was pointed towards the Black community. If ‘No on 8′ was serious about trying to address the Black community, they couldn’t come out with an ad with Black gay folks who wanted to get married? With Black gay folks who wanted to be married and had children? California’s a huge state, and they couldn’t find 2 Black homosexuals and 2 Black lesbians with children who could have made an ad?

No on 8's lack of outreach to black voters is the subject of  a much-debated Los Angeles Times op-ed by Jasmyne Cannick. "No on 8's White Bias" was the newspaper's third most popular story emailed yesterday. Cannick says she "wasn't inspired to encourage black people to vote against the proposition."

The white gay community never successfully communicated to blacks why it should matter to us above everything else—not just to me as a lesbian but to blacks generally. The way I see it, the white gay community is banging its head against the glass ceiling of a room called equality, believing that a breakthrough on marriage will bestow on it parity with heterosexuals. But the right to marry does nothing to address the problems faced by both black gays and black straights. Does someone who is homeless or suffering from HIV but has no health care, or newly out of prison and unemployed, really benefit from the right to marry someone of the same sex.

Then there was the poorly conceived campaign strategy. Opponents of Proposition 8 relied on an outdated civil rights model, engaging the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People to help win black support on the issue of gay marriage. This happened despite the warnings of black lesbians and gays that it wouldn't work. ... Putting nearly a quarter of a million dollars into an outdated civil rights group that has very little influence on the black vote—at least when it comes to gay issues—will never work.

Likewise, holding the occasional town-hall meeting in Leimert Park—the one part of the black community where they now feel safe thanks to gentrification—to tell black people how to vote on something gay isn't effective outreach either.

Cannick's position on marriage may be different than yours or mine. But the fact remains there was very little outreach done to the black community that is now being blamed for its loss. There were no black gay or lesbian faces in the television campaign—the initial wave did not feature gay couples and the later spots that did were almost all vanilla. Black celebrities such as Mary J. Blige could have raised awareness in Inglewood or Compton and free news coverage ... but were deployed to pricey fundraisers in Beverly Hills. Few affirmative black clergy were recruited. Black celebs such as Danity Kane, Golden Brooks and Samuel L Jackson were buried in commercial rotation. The Magic Johnson robo-call urging blacks to vote NO was deployed only 48 hours before the election. Black gay bloggers—such as yours truly—were never contacted by No on 8, never included in any strategy, and, took it upon ourselves to raise money for the campaign.

Since the loss, the hurricane of racial finger-pointing, has outraged the entire black virtual community. Ernest Hardy, the influential LA Weekly and Flaunt film critic and author of Blood Beats Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, describes the "gay-ghettos of the blogosphere" as digital "KKK rallies" featuring "relentless, scaldingly racist recrimination and charges that Black folks are the most homophobic in America, the most backward, stupid and ignorant, undeserving even of the right to vote; the word 'nigger' has been freely bandied about on many of those sites, with 'moderators' absent at the wheel."

To be fair, there is more than enough blame to go around. If anyone deserves special recognition for pushing the meme of blaming black voters, and refusing to recognize the lack of outreach to our community, that would be revisionist gay conservative and racial fetishist Andrew Sullivan, whom many progressive and gay bloggers insist upon viewing as their assignment editor. Sullivan once famously wrote "brothers were welcome." We never realized how much.

UPDATE Jasmyne Cannick uploads the No on 8 commercials

No on 8's White Bias [LAT]
Stop Scapegoating Black Folk on Prop 8 [JJP]
F--k Dan Savage [Ernest Hardy] 

Did You Read ...
N-Word Hurled at Blacks During Prop 8 Protest  [R20]
OMG The Gays Are Trying To Get Gangsta With It [Cannick]
Prop. 8 Protesters Target Mormon Temple [LAT]
N-Bomb Is Dropped on Black Passerby [PHB]
WeHo Marriage Rally Attracts "Noah's Arc" Stars [R20]
"Yes We Can" to "YES on 8": Blacks Overwhelmingly Approve Prop 8 [R20]
Anti-Gay, Black Pastors Use Children for Prop 8 [R20]
Blige, Etheridge Raise $3.9M for No on Prop 8 [R20]
"Noah's Arc" Cast Urges "No" on Proposition 8 [R20]
"Noah's Arc" Actor Doug Spearman, Black Ministers Urge "NO" on Prop 8 [R20]
SCLC Leader Criticizes Anti-Gay, Black Pastors [R20]

Comments

[Thomas M]

Wow. That is a very good question.How many boots were on the ground and how much outreach done to black people.

[burnett]

I read that article by Jasmyne earlier. I'm glad she wrote it. As a black person who supports gays rights, I've felt really attacked by all this scapegoating that's been going on lately. Yes, the black community needs to work on its homophobia, but yelling nigger at black "no on prop 8" supporters is not helping.

[Straight Talk]

well, i am straight, and i found that every black person that i knew who voted yes on 8 had some bullshit excuse for doing so , when the real reason was just their own fear of their own homosexuality, and their fear of a homophobic so called christian community. period. so look to yourself before you start declaring others are scapegoating.

[Lee Adleigh]

Well, I voted NO and am appalled at the racism I have seen and the spewing of the n-word as if there are no black gays and lesbians and, as if that ridiculous number that CNN threw out is fact.

The No on 8 should have had grass roots efforts to reach blacks, and also Asians and Hispanics who also voted for it.

They ran a poor campaign and have no one to blame but themselves and all the racial slurs and baiting from some of the bigots of the gay community shows, they really are living above everyone else and need to be blaming the Mormon's and Catholics and that 27% of gay GOP'ers who probably voted for it as well.

[Preston]

You pretty much hit it on the head. While over at DailyKos, I keep seeing Prop 8 opponents blame the Mormons, Evangelicals, Blacks, etc. But ultimately the failure was entirely on them. Did they ever have commercials showing real gay married couples? Did they ever attempt to make straight people see how their marriages were as important to them as the straights' marriages were to the straights?

The failure to keep gay marriage legal was entirely the fault of the gays. Their failure. I hope Cali's gay population learns from this campaign, and mounts a more effective campaign to relegalize gay marriage in 2010.

[Lauren]

There were many progressive black folks like me who voted no, and I do my part to try to spread a progressive vibe & educate folks whenever the topic of gay rights comes up, as does my husband. But blacks folks are steeped deeply in the church, and it will talk a little more time for us as a whole to catch up on this issue. But again, blaming and scapegoating will surely only make attitudes harden--outreach like yours with compassion and understanding and listening is much, much more effective!

[Parsons]

I don't think any rational person can dispute the fact that the No on 8 people had multiple failed strategies for addressing African-American voters in California. I think the pro-gay marriage groups were totally unprepared to face the hyper-funded efforts of the anti-marriage groups. And any racial scapegoating by gay groups is shameful.

But the fact is, Californians voted in favor of the rights of chickens and pigs in this year's ballot questions. Proposition 8 was not a neutral vote to maintain the status quo; it was a reversal of rights. The people who voted Yes on 8 voted to take away rights granted by the state supreme court to their fellow Californians. Voting yes on 8 was not the same as not caring about the issue. It's clearly about feeling personally invested in the outlawing of gay marriage.

[Parsons]

I honestly don't understand why it's a problem for anybody to talk about Black homophobia, insofar as Black homophobia is not so radically different from general homophobia. While some of the more nuanced aspects of homophobia within the Black community are probably best addressed by African-American gay folks (of which, no doubt, California has quite a few), it is way too gigantic a burden to place specifically on Black gay folks to change the impression of their entire racial community. Multi-racial coalitions of individuals who can be productive advocates for gay rights within many different communities seem to me to be an excellent and viable public relations solution.

As a white adult child of gay parents, I am always thrilled to speak to any group or individual who is willing to listen to me about my experiences. And I think that our president-elect has taught us that stories about our diverse roads and complicated family backgrounds actually have a uniting effect rather than a divisive one.

[Ryan]

ooh can we TALK about Andrew Sullivan?

can we talk about his beliefs that HIV/AIDS doesn't REALLY exist and he champions barebacking?

can we talk about his obsessive issues with race but his very obvious lust for black dick?

i mean, i get that the white gurls worship Andrew Sullivan, but he's a problematic hatemonger who should not be given license to speak on these matters.

it's too bad schools can't revoke degrees for idiotic alums, because I think harvard is embarrassed to claim him right now...

[William Crowe]

ROD, WORK IT OUT. I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU TO GO AFTER THAT CRAZY BLACK MAN OBSESSED SULLIVAN. HE IS AWFUL

[Eddy]

Andrew Sullivan is sexual obsessed with black men...that is why he lusts after Obama. Sullivan wants milky loads.

[Derrick from Philly]

Why is it so easy for so many white gays angry over Prop 8 to attack black gays? Because those particular bitches didn't like black folks to begin with.

I still say that black folks have a difficult time believing that marriage rights for gays is a civil right--a human right.

And as Rod said yesterday, you don't put minority people's human/civil rights up for a vote. In the 1960s, I wouldn't be surprised if most white homosexuals would have voted "YES" to ban integration of the public schools, or "NO" to anti-discrimination laws. They certainly would have voted "NO" to integrating gay bars in the 70s.

This issue will go back to the courts--where it should have never been allowed to leave.

[Franco]

so what if there were not any black gay couples, it proves nothing

and you can GO TO HELL for slandering ANDREW SULLIVAN he is courageous and independent

[Topanga Canyon]

Sullivan is not a racist, he supports Obama. And very tacky to discuss his personal life, not very grateful are you people

[O Town]

Most gay conservative have black man fetish. Sullivan is no different

[Henry E]

Franco, you don't know what YOU are talking about. Sullivan was a Bush cheerleader and warmonger. He hated Clinton because she is a woman. He is a tool.

[Topanga Canyon]

O Town and Henry you are fools. Very quick to call anyone a racist. Obama would not be so sad.

[CDG]

#

look m, I’m a white man, whom has only dated black men. I understand the frustration from reading this shit on here. I don’t believe the “black community” need be the only one blamed, in this election. I feel like the churches, whether they are white,black,hispanic,asian, hindu,catholic,christian,jehovah’s witness,budha,mormon,jewish & so on,& so on. These communities of religion, are however guilty of voting yes on prop 8. I don’t live in California, but I do live in Florida, and we are now, never to be considered equal to the straight communities beliefs on marriage.

[TOLBERT]

I am a GWM who always sided with my beautiful black GBM and do think that the black community has and will always have fingers pointed at them. It is extremely sad to see the finger pointers letting loose on here, their beliefs are not shared by all. I will wear my Obama button everyday for the rest of my life, because I believe he is a true man, one whom has had the same experiences that the black communities have had, and are now having from racist,white folk.

[Chas. A. Stevens]

Wow, so much blame to go around, blame the churches, blame the black people, how about a gay rights establishment that has operated through the courts for years instead of trying to presuade the very people that vote on measures like this. No court decision will stand in the long term without public support. Instead of trying to get this amendment overturned again in the court, we should mount a campaign to overturn in with another amendment at the next election. Gay marriage will not be legitmate or safe in california until it passes a referedu

[warren]

blame every white person who did not support the ban. I blame were white gay person that voted for MCain Palin, I blame every gay white person that did not vote and I blame every white gay person on this site that has turned this into a race fight.

[Derrick from Philly]

"so what if there were not any black gay couples, it proves nothing"

Well, FRANCO, it proves that blacks are invisible to the dominant gay culture/gay communities until we do something wrong--or something they view as wrong. Then they notice us.

The support given to gay rights causes from the Black Congressional Caucus, Governors Deval & Patterson--blacks in leadership positions-- seem to mean nothing. Only that 70% of Black Californians voting "Yes on 8"...well, keep it up, next time it may be 90%.

[Andy Niable]

Very strong excoriation, Rod, and careful assignment of responsibility. Thank you.

Time for us to pick up the pieces now and try to fix this. Together.

[Greg G]

'The support given to gay rights causes from the Black Congressional Caucus, Governors Deval & Patterson--blacks in leadership positions-- seem to mean nothing. Only that 70% of Black Californians voting "Yes on 8".'

Speak out, Derrick! Except I am not endorsing that 70% figure.

[Derrick from Philly]

"...not very grateful are you people"

Topanga, are whites who call black gays "niggers" while they're also protesting "Yes on Prop. 8" --are they grateful to Governor Deval Patrick or Governor David Patterson?

And white gays should have been grateful to vote for Obama for their own good. If the issue of marriage rights for gay people ends up in the federal courts--who do you want deciding who sits on those courts, and utimately, the US Supreme Court?

" not very grateful..."
Oh, child, please.