Fleeing the Margins...?

A few days ago my hometown, San Antonio, passed an ordinance protecting LGBTQ and Veteran communities from discrimination in the workplace. This ordinance comes on the heels of much national debate regarding same sex marital rights. As could be expected, there has been much response from various communities surrounding this debate. The (conservative) religious and political communities especially have provided commentary on their disdain for these advancements. Yet, amid all of this discussion there has been a silence in many black communities. In fact, this silence has been persistent for some time now; perhaps many years. I'm not suggesting that there are no black communities talking about it, but I have yet to encounter a conversation that is both constructive and reciprocal, especially in the black religious community. What little commentary I have come across has been one sided at best, destructive at worst. This, coupled with several of the readings I have encountered lately, makes me wonder if black people's silence on this issue is more a matter of identity than anything else.

To provide some context, we have been marginalized in this country since its foundation. From being seen as only 3/5 human beings, to slavery, to segregation and so on... black people in American have had it rough to say the least. And while things have seemingly improved in certain areas, racism is still so engrained in the ethos of America that blatant manifestations show up in a myriad of ways (injustice system, penal system, unemployment, etc). One of the most prevalent ways that this negative mindset toward blacks in this country is reinforced is through media, and the many negative images that are etched into our North American consciousness. If that's not bad enough, having a Black president paints the false reality of equality, causing the privileged to view the cries of the oppressed as unfounded complaining. Don't get me wrong, I celebrate having Obama as president. But this is not an indication that racism is over, by any stretch of the imagination.

Understanding this context is important because blacks have had an identity crisis since coming to the U.S. We have tried to fit in, and it has become clear in many ways that assimilating to white privileged culture is sometimes our best option for upward mobility (sadly enough). Yet, no matter how much we ignore our historical and cultural roots, we can never truly become anything other than black. As long as the pigment of our skin is what it is, we will always be seen differently; as Other. Resisting the negative images perpetuated in the media, and the stereotypes with which we are labeled, it is extremely difficult to feel appreciated as an integral part of this country (which we are!). We often live marginalized lives, and many of us have adopted a deep desire to be 'normal' / mainstream. 

It is at this point that the theory of intersectionality may be informative. Instersectionality deals with power relations, (White) privilege, and the marginalization of minority groups (LGBTQ, women, economically disadvantaged, etc). Perhaps most poignant, though, is that this theory exposes the plight and reality of multiple oppression; those living at the intersections of oppressed, minority groups (I.e. black women, poor black men, etc). That is, if it's not bad enough just to be black, to be black and a woman and gay, causes one's existence to be all the more marginal. Perhaps black people have had this sense for years though. Perhaps blacks have known that living openly gay or lesbian lives will only complicate our (black) existence that much more. I am not suggesting that I have this connection figured out, but it is a question that I'm raising this semester. Is our silence on the issue of LGBTQ relations evidence of our own desire to flee the margins of society? Does it have to do with our own struggles with identity in America? Could it also have something to do with wanting to avoid the already negative sexual stereotypes that are placed on us (black men are predators and overly aggressive sexually; black women are loose, overly sexual, etc)? Could it perhaps be, because of the stigma on this topic with black communities (religious especially), that we don't talk about it for fear of being ostracized with our own black community? Or, could it be a mixture of all these dynamics? 

Whether we will admit it or not this is an issue in the black community, but it is something that we need to begin to talk openly and constructively about. No matter where you are personally regarding this area, open conversation is something that we will al benefit from.