Strange Bedfellows
With the issue of gay marriage gaining
momentum as a possible reality, I find that you will find many alliances
between all groups of people who are for or against gay marriage. The fact that members of the Black church are
joining conservatives on this issue seems to be a problem for some. Quite a few people think this alliance is
unhealthy for the Black community, and will take away from the political clout
of Black leaders/politicians as they now have to compete with conservatives on
the issue of gay rights. In the article,
Professor Ron Walters, expresses concern about the alliance of the black church
and conservatives stating that, “it’s a strange partnership.” Honestly I find
it odd that people would call this a strange partnership. If they agree on an issue, then let them
agree on the issue and voice their opinions on the issue as they see fit. However I could particularly see how this
could hurt the Black community if Black voters begin to vote for conservatives
who may not fight for their rights on particular issues. But I don’t see any reason why these two
groups of people cannot stand together on an issue they find important. I’m sure there were people who thought that
whites who participated and collaborated with African Americans in the civil
rights movement was a “strange partnership.”
Reverend Al. Sharpton’s statement that, “he believes in equal human
rights, before the law, for all human beings, and race, gender, disability,
class, or sexual orientation should not be a factor under the law,” was very
interesting to me. While I understand
the desire for gays to have the rights to marry and what not, it also makes me
wonder what then we would have to allow as far as sanctioning marriages –
incestual relationships? Underage marriages of youth to older adults? Etc. What
would differentiate these groups “rights to marry” from gay’s rights to
marry?
Class Discussion on Thursday
The discussion on Thursday was interesting
as far as learning about the differing identities and preferred vocabulary of
the LGBTQ community. I appreciated the
fact that all who came to spoke were of African American descent and members of
the LGBTQ community so that we could truly see how these two dynamics intersect
and conflict. I have been in other
classes in which members of the LGBTQ community came to speak, but this one was
definitely more appropriate in learning about difficulties members of this
population face as members of the African American community as well. The presence of the guest speakers was particularly
important in hearing first-hand how they navigate their unique identities. As noted in the readings, the voice of the
Black church seemed to impact their daily lives in some senses. Or rather one particular speaker, Zach,
expressed his experiences with the church and noted that although he does not
interact with the church as much as he did when he was younger he feels it played
an important role in affecting the lives of Black members of the LGBTQ
community. I particularly appreciated
that he said although he didn’t agree with the church or particularly identify with
its values, he respected it in the fact that he knew there were people who were
members of the Black church and the importance it had in their lives. I think
this is a healthy mindset that members of any contrasting populations could
adopt. Even though one may not agree
with something, they can still respect the people who do believe/identify with
what they disagree with.
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