Black Homosexuality and California Prop. 8
I will try to say it my way and in my opinion. I know next to nothing regarding the inter-workings of Prop. 8 other than the fact Blacks were blamed for something about it not passing. Other than that, I repeat, I know nothing. Oh, yes! And it’s about gay people.
In my neighborhood, the young boys learning about homosexuality, (we did not use the word due to the fact we did not know what it was) from the older boys working at the corner Jewish store. They told us one of the sons of the owner liked to do something to their private. There were no lurid stories or in-depth narratives; the sons just wanted to do something to their private. We all knew what they meant. The young guys still worked there, one after another and still had our respect as the older guys who did what older guys do in a poor, Black neighborhood in Washington, D.C.
I do not know if our parents knew. They just knew we had our first jobs and were happy seeing us growing up with another responsibility instead of taking care of our dogs and making skate boards. One after another, the young Black boys took jobs as errand boys at the corner grocery store. I guess it first dawned on me when the owner of one of the various Jewish owned stores sold his business to another Jew. I strongly remember hearing my father saying “He did not offer to sell his store to any of the (Black) people in our community”. I was about twelve or thirteen then and I am now seventy one. I am mindful Pres. Mugabe saying the British colonizers bought homosexuality to Africa as I am sure it was bought to American slavery.
I learned you can own a store, have your son do things to Black boys, nobody talks about it and you sell your store to another Jew. The victimized Black youth is left behind. Stuck on the same social ladder and his parents are looking for him to move out of the house, get married and bring to them grand-children so they can talk about it to their church members and friends. “Don’t bring me no bad news” was the unwritten law of the day. If you are gay, keep it to yourself. If you liked what that Jewish body did to you, keep that to yourself, too! There is nothing out here for a gay Black boy. Nothing.
As I grew older, I found there were other white employers taking advantage of their mostly un-educated Black male employees without helping them to elevate their social and financial conditions. Later, the guys my age did hear the word “Homosexuality” and knew what it meant. We heard homosexuality occurred a lot in the prisons where a lot of us Blacks were. When we would read about or know a Black person who had come out of prison, we had our private thoughts but the man would re-integrate into the community, had a family and gave his parents grand-children. No bad news! The Black community is so socially fragile and the last thing we want is to have a large Black gay community coming out for our children to identify with. Our community could not sustain a Ellen DeGeneres, Rachel Maddow, Rosie O’Donnell or Suze Orman. We could not sustain a Boy George, Liberache, Gary “North by Northwest” Grant, Milton Berle, Barney Frank or being a cross-dresser as the Ex. Mayor of New York City, Rudolph Guliani and I am sure there are more male public homosexuals on the contemporary scene. I speak from my era. I guess what I am really saying is there is no advantage whatsoever for a Black to expose his homosexuality. If there is an advantage, I do not see it. I know it is said all behavior is purposeful. No bad news, please!!
Fighting for the dignity of my Ancestors,
God bless Bill Gates, WPFW, C-Span and the spirits of the unborn for the help,
BB
In my neighborhood, the young boys learning about homosexuality, (we did not use the word due to the fact we did not know what it was) from the older boys working at the corner Jewish store. They told us one of the sons of the owner liked to do something to their private. There were no lurid stories or in-depth narratives; the sons just wanted to do something to their private. We all knew what they meant. The young guys still worked there, one after another and still had our respect as the older guys who did what older guys do in a poor, Black neighborhood in Washington, D.C.
I do not know if our parents knew. They just knew we had our first jobs and were happy seeing us growing up with another responsibility instead of taking care of our dogs and making skate boards. One after another, the young Black boys took jobs as errand boys at the corner grocery store. I guess it first dawned on me when the owner of one of the various Jewish owned stores sold his business to another Jew. I strongly remember hearing my father saying “He did not offer to sell his store to any of the (Black) people in our community”. I was about twelve or thirteen then and I am now seventy one. I am mindful Pres. Mugabe saying the British colonizers bought homosexuality to Africa as I am sure it was bought to American slavery.
I learned you can own a store, have your son do things to Black boys, nobody talks about it and you sell your store to another Jew. The victimized Black youth is left behind. Stuck on the same social ladder and his parents are looking for him to move out of the house, get married and bring to them grand-children so they can talk about it to their church members and friends. “Don’t bring me no bad news” was the unwritten law of the day. If you are gay, keep it to yourself. If you liked what that Jewish body did to you, keep that to yourself, too! There is nothing out here for a gay Black boy. Nothing.
As I grew older, I found there were other white employers taking advantage of their mostly un-educated Black male employees without helping them to elevate their social and financial conditions. Later, the guys my age did hear the word “Homosexuality” and knew what it meant. We heard homosexuality occurred a lot in the prisons where a lot of us Blacks were. When we would read about or know a Black person who had come out of prison, we had our private thoughts but the man would re-integrate into the community, had a family and gave his parents grand-children. No bad news! The Black community is so socially fragile and the last thing we want is to have a large Black gay community coming out for our children to identify with. Our community could not sustain a Ellen DeGeneres, Rachel Maddow, Rosie O’Donnell or Suze Orman. We could not sustain a Boy George, Liberache, Gary “North by Northwest” Grant, Milton Berle, Barney Frank or being a cross-dresser as the Ex. Mayor of New York City, Rudolph Guliani and I am sure there are more male public homosexuals on the contemporary scene. I speak from my era. I guess what I am really saying is there is no advantage whatsoever for a Black to expose his homosexuality. If there is an advantage, I do not see it. I know it is said all behavior is purposeful. No bad news, please!!
Fighting for the dignity of my Ancestors,
God bless Bill Gates, WPFW, C-Span and the spirits of the unborn for the help,
BB
posted by BB at 4:45 AM
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