It was one week ago that Georgia State Rep. Rashad Taylor announced that he was gay. Taylor became the first openly gay male serving in the Georgia legislature and the state's third openly gay state lawmaker. The Atlanta representative also became only the sixth openly gay or lesbian Black state legislator in the country.
Taylor was outed in dozens of emails to legislators and staff, accused of misusing his office and trading jobs for sex. The ugly outing was orchestrated by the former boyfriend of Taylor's current partner. Taylor discusses the 24 hours leading up to historic announcement with Jim Galloway at the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
At 1:10 p.m., an email arrived, forwarded from Atlanta. The message was written by a former friend of a friend, and had been sent to many of Taylor’s colleagues at the state Capitol. It contained serious assertions — only one of which was rooted in hard fact. Taylor is gay.
Personally, Taylor had come to grips with his sexuality three or four years ago. Yet only a few friends in Atlanta knew. Taylor immediately called them for advice. It quickly became clear that he would have to step out of the closet. But there were things to be done first.
"So while I’m on the phone with my friends trying to assess the situation, I’m essentially racing to Washington, D.C., to have a face-to-face conversation with my mom. What I did not want to do was have this conversation over the phone," Taylor said. "But it went well. She chided him for not telling her sooner. He said he didn’t want to be a disappointment. She said he never could be — the only right answer.
Taylor has denied the allegations. The man behind the email campaign, Jermaine Callahan, admits there is "no" proof to authenticate his claims and that he was "only repeating secondhand stories," reports WSB.
The story behind Taylor's coming out is a must read. Read the column HERE.
Taylor is the youngest member of the GA General Assembly. The political strategist and Morehouse College graduate just turned 30 years old.
Taylor's mother joined him on stage for the press conference. If you didn't catch the emotional speech last week, watch it AFTER THE JUMP ...
Why do we ("gay community") continue to call these queers who only come out because they are blackmailed, scandalized, rejuvenating a career or have a book to sell brave and courageous?
It is not right. We need to, have to and must support the wonderful, courageous and indeed brave men and women and truly the youngsters who are living and surviving "out" successfully without political, celebrity or wealthy status.
As Taylor's mother said, "Why didn't you tell me sooner!?" The sooner this happens, the quicker we all can put all of this ridiculousness in the rearview mirror and move forward to real issues. Being in or out, closeted or DL is so very 1980s. Let's move on gay people!
Posted by: kirk | 04 June 2011 at 15:43
Being closeted is often tied to safety (physical, emotional, or otherwise) for many people.
Kudos to those who come out on their own terms , but not everyone has the privilege of being out as they may want to be. Everyone has their own journey and comes out in their own time.
I'm happy that Taylor's coming out story had a fortunate outcome.
Posted by: UnequivocalDOB | 05 June 2011 at 10:31
i still don't understand how you are living an authentic life if you are buried in the closet.
i would think it would make someone physically and emotionally ill to pretend to be something that they are not.
people accept what you project. if you project that you hate yourself because you are gay or lesbian, others will pick up on that.
donald trump is a creep, but he has his admirers because he projects that he is worthy of being admired. what donald trump doesn't do is go around and apologize for being alive and being who he is; which is truly nothing to brag about.
black gay men especially always seems like they are meekly asking someone else for permission to be themselves. when you ask someone else for permission, you are giving them the opportunity to deny and usurp your power.
Posted by: aaronthemoor | 05 June 2011 at 15:05