I May be A Lot of Things–But A Sellout I am Not
So earlier today, I get a rash of frantic emails from producers of ABC’s Good Morning America show. It seems they wanted to pop over to my place for a quick interview for Monday’s show and they wanted me to talk about…drumroll please…Proposition 8. Oooh big surprise there.
As is the case with most television shows, producers like to do what they call pre—interviews—making sure the guest can stay on the script we want them to.
So I am talking to this producer who is asking me questions about Black people and Proposition 8. What she wanted me to say was that Black people were homophobic and were wrong for their support of Proposition 8. That’s what she wanted. What she got was me saying that there was a reason why Black people supported Proposition 8 and it had less to do with them being homophobic and more to do with a poorly run campaign by the No on 8 side.
Me no think she liked that answer.
No sooner did the words roll off my tongue did the producer make up an excuse about a meeting she had to get to. Which was weird considering they did everything but send out an APB on my whereabouts.
I laughed when I got off the phone and turned to my BFF Alan-Michael and said, I think I’m too Black for them.
By the time producer called me back to tell me what I already knew, I was on the tennis courts involved in a fierce battle against Alan-Michael. I told Alan-Michael I’d gotten “the customary callback.”
Then I looked at him and said, and that’s how people like the Sad Professah and GLAAD’s Black talking heads end up on Good Morning America. Because people like them have NO problem selling out their people on behalf of their sexual orientation—quite frankly because they identify more with being gay than being Black in the first place. However, I am not the one. I could have played the game, sold out my folks for 1 minute more of national fame and acclaim—but for what? In the immortal words of Homey the Clown, “Homey don’t play that.” And that my friends is that.
And as for me at 10 a.m. tomorrow when the Prop. 8 decision is supposed to be announced, well I’ll be on the tennis courts where I belong. Not in the streets protesting, demonstrating, or celebrating—but taking care of me. When I am done doing that and back at my desk—if the mood strikes me, I’ll write something about it—if not, I won’t.
I feel an addition to my For the Record coming on…
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well, Prop 8 stands for now in CA as we celebrate the appointment of another person of color, a WOMAN to superme court by Obama. Is white gay mafia watching…watch how country has become so diversified as you hoard powers with in your good old boy/girl networks by keeping people of color out from your hoods, jobs and everything else. The prop 8 saga has lifted the lid from that ugle truth of racism that white gay org had been hiding for ages. And tokens of color appointed by whites are not gonna do the job. YOu need to let a true leader of color flourish who has the guts to challenge racism that white gay orgs indulge in against people of color and only such a leader can have any credibility to speak to masses of color.
White gay organizations need to learn to open up and be tolerant of communities of color and Jas, no people of color can smell traitors like Mad professor, a spokesperson for white gay, from mile and miles. He is so ineffective in appealing to blk or pepole of color communities. Ofcourse white gays can’t see that as in their view of colored folks they only see a blk man speaking and think that is enough.
Read Jas’s guide for white gays and hopefully you will learn in time.
And this is one of the many reasons why I love you Jas, you keeps it real for better or worse.
Keep doing your thing girl! Keep doing your thing.
LOL J Boogie want us to forget her tragic interview on FOX l
white racist gays are all over blogsphere again blaming blacks and now latinos too in CA for prop 8. One commentator on one blog even called for boycott of black owned businesses. good luck to white gay mafia if they think these ugly tactics would be successful at the ballot and mobilizing grassroots communities of color. And, Jas, they failed in the past and they would fail again and I am quite sure that white gay mafia worked hard to make sure you don’t hit the airwaves with a different perspective. But, that Sad Professor has no credibility among blacks and we know he is just a token mouthpiece that white gays use when they want to.
I think Prop 8 should be amended to read that no black gay people should be married. After all, if it’s not that important to the black gay community (whatever that is – perhaps they share office space with the white gay mafia), then why should it matter?
Racism sucks, no matter who’s perpetrating it. Perp on, sista, perp on!
Why dont white gays leave blks and other communities of color alone the way you had done it in the past before you needed votes/support especially now with changing demographics in the US.
Why don’t you go and scream at white leaders in gay orgs for failing to use your dollars wisely and not jsut distrubiting it to their white cronies and then blaming blks for their own failures in running campaigns. But, nah you need scapegoats and we people of color make really good ones.
And yes show me one leader of COLOR in gay community who heads any of these “gay orgs.” show me one!!!!! You are all part of that good old boy network but that network is now falling apart. Tomorrow belongs to people of color and white gays should start reading Jas’s guide for white gays so that white gay mafia can learn to interact and work with blks, latinos, asian, native indians and so on.
Big Sistah – if that “good old boy / white gay mafia” is falling apart, why were so many people rallying yesterday IN 30 STATES against Prop 8? Why were so many willing to be arrested for protesting? And why were so many of them people of color, both gay AND straight?
Oh. I know, you’ll say they’re black but not really black. Not YOUR kind of black. Not black enough.
*shrugs*
Perhaps you deserve to be left alone. As in, REALLY alone and not benefiting by the work that people like you and Jasmyne are disinclined to do.
“One commentator on one blog even called for boycott of black owned businesses.”
Big Sistah, do you have a link for that?
to Joe who said:
“Perhaps you deserve to be left alone. As in, REALLY alone and not benefiting by the work that people like you and Jasmyne are disinclined to do.”
Thanks, Joe, we will just do fine without the “BENEFITS” of the work — marriage rights — so please leave blacks, latins, asians, native indians and all non-whites alone and stop sending your token messengers of color that you have recently hired to our communities to sell that white gay message. Do you really think that masses of people of color can’t see through that shallow shit that you and some in the media are suddenly putting out?
And I truly hope that as you say those “people of color — straight and gay” who showed up at your white rallies show up at the ballot box too. Perhaps your “work” is done in people of color communities so please stop invading our spaces which I don’t think white gay mafia really understands.
Ofcourse that good old boy network of white gays has shaken and that is why now you see them hiring some people of color to be their tokens. Sad Professor is a good example but then those tokens would have their asses kicked the moment white gays got what they want and that is why Jasmyne feels “sorry” for him and so we do.
To chamblee:
I read quite a few responses like that on the net on different blogs. I quoted only one but there were plenty more about “how blks must be happy now” and so on. It is actually a good thing so people of all colors can see the ugliness of racism in gay community that white gay mafia had been hushing for decades before it blew off in their faces with prop 8 saga.
You white gays don’t know how to respect other communities or different perspectives then yours. Ofcourse then you are not used to being discriminated because of your whiteness. You live with a sense of self-entitlement. But, welcome to the world of bigotry that we have been facing for centuries. White gays were not turned into slaves at least. So, be thankful for that. Your status is still way higher then ours and even you white gays discriminate against people of color. Gay marriage is not a priority for so many POC. If you are HIV+, unemployed living in a rough hood and facing police violence on a daily basis, please dont come in and tell us how “marriage” will just solve all our problems.
And finally to both commentators — so what happened to your answer to my question: show me one person of color as Executive Director of a major gay org? Do you not care to respond or are you still looking for that person of color???? Ofcourse we know what silence means.
So, show your guts and acknowledge how racist white gay mafia is for systematically excluding people of color and discriminating against us and how they have institutionalized racism in gay institutions. You dont raise hell when our people are attacked and put out white faces to portray the entire gay community as if we don’t exist.
Get your own organization, Big Sistah. We do not welcome racists of any kind in ours. Keep your spaces too. It sounds like you’re very comfortable in your self-imposed isolation. What a sad, sorry way to live.
Also, being ignorant of the facts isn’t helping your cause: http://www.geocities.com/ninure/black_gblt002.html
http://rodonline.typepad.com/rodonline/2009/05/feds-charge-former-director-of-colours-with-embezzlement.html
http://michaelallanmoore.blogspot.com/
That’s the problem with what labels, you put one before the other then you are asked which are you more.
I refuse to play that game with any group.