Prejudice And Pride In Manhattan

In celebration of June as "Lesbian and Gay Pride and History Month," a series of events has been scheduled at various locations on the West Side of Manhattan.

Chief among them is a wonderfully mounted exhibit of photographs and memorabilia called "Prejudice and Pride: The New York City Lesbian and Gay Community, World War II--Present" that runs until June 30 [1988] at the Tweed Gallery*, 52 Chambers Street, behind City Hall.

This exhibit, which is sure to fill its spectators, particularly if they're gay or lesbian, with pride and awe, and at times fear and anger, is divided into 16 categories, ranging from the black-and-white photos of "Circles of Friends" ("Gay Beach at Riis Park, 1955" from the Frank Thompson collection, is one of them) to the glass-enclosed examples of "Homophobia" (newspaper headlines, handwritten hate letters, and weapons used to assault gay men, such as an assortment of knives.)

Two years in the making, and co-sponsored by four gay organizations, under the auspices of the mayor's office, "Prejudice and Pride" shows us a community emerging from the shadows of invisibility; refusing to be persecuted anymore, and announcing, with head held high, that "We are everywhere."

Although the curator, Allen Ellensweig, in the exhibit brochure, freely admits that the show can "make no claim to all-inclusiveness," I still wish there had been more representation of gays and lesbians of color, helping to destroy the myth that homosexuality is a "white disease," a notion quite prevalent in the black community.

Aside from this shortcoming, I see "Prejudice and Pride" as playing an important role in emphasizing the necessity of documenting and preserving gay history.

"If the world defines you," says the black lesbian poet Audre Lorde, in an interview in American Poetry Review (March/April 1980), "it will define you to your disadvantage. So either I'm going to be defined by myself or not at all."

*Note: The Tweed Courthouse, where the Tweed Gallery was located, now houses the city's Department of Education.


This article was originally published in the West Side Spirit (June 20, 1988).

The Black Press's Role in Homophobia

The following is a letter-to-the-editor that I wrote (but never sent) to Elinor Tatum, publisher and editor-in-chief of the New York Amsterdam News regarding an article by then executive editor Jamal Watson about the promised participation of gays and lesbians at the tenth anniversary of the Million Man March in Washington, D.C. The letter, dated October 27, 2005, underscored the lack of consistent coverage of gay and lesbian issues in the black press (print and electronic).

Dear Ms. Tatum:

Jamal Watson's article "Ten Years Later...Another Million" (October 13-19, 2005) is a prime example of the poor journalism that is practiced at the Amsterdam News with regard to gay and lesbian issues. At the tail end of the article, he wrote: "For months, the organizers of the event have been dogged by allegations that Black gays and lesbians would be excluded from the gathering. In an interview with the Amsterdam News, Minister Louis Farrakhan dismissed the charges , saying that Black gays and lesbians would not be denied a role." Nowhere in the piece does Watson quote anyone from the black gay and lesbian community. He takes Farrakhan at his word.
Later I heard an interview with a representative from the National Black Justice Coalition on "The Laura Flanders Show" (on Air America Radio) say that black gays and lesbians were denied access to the podium. So what Farrakhan said was a lie. But I doubt the Am/News will follow up on the story.
I think the NBJC should expand its campaign against homophobic black preachers and include the black press which is as complicit in the perpetuation of homophobia in the black community as the black church. The Am/News should be at the top of the list of publications targeted in a letter and e-mail blitz. A picket line shouldn't be overlooked either.
It's time that the voices of black gays and lesbians are consistently heard from in the black press. As the black lesbian poet Audre Lorde once put it: "There is no hierarchy of oppression." Homophobia is just as bad as racism. Both stem from hatred and ignorance.

Author's Note: When John Davis, an openly gay man, was the executive editor of the Amsterdam News (for a short time), he wrote an editorial supporting the passage of a gay rights bill in the New York City Council. This would be around 1983. Since then I have not seen any pro-gay editorials in the paper.