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The "Selma" of which Mrs. Obama spoke refers to a 1965 march in Selma, Alabama, when police beat back civil rights activists trying to march to Montgomery as a protest to a black teenager's shooting. The event immediately became known as Bloody Sunday. The "Stonewall" of which Mrs Obama spoke, of course, refers to the Stonewall Rebellion of 1969, widely seen as the launch of the contemporary gay rights movement. With that geographical reference, Obama sought to - and succeeded in - linking the civil and gay rights movements. The crowd - and the press - went wild, but not everyone agrees with Obama's optimism. Racism and homophobia, some believe, are so completely and utterly different that drawing a comparison between the two amounts to a mortal political sin. That’s a perfectly reasonable argument. Race and sexuality have exceedingly divergent histories in the United States, and thus result in entirely different emotional experiences. White people can't understand anti-black sentiment anymore than straight people can comprehend homophobia. Black, gay people have felt both, of course, which puts the National Black Justice Coalition in a precarious position. |
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The twenty-six year old and his band mates were in Spain for the Summercase festival. Milling about backstage, Okereke saw former Sex Pistols vocalist John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon, one of his favorite artists. Eager to meet the legend, Okereke walked on over and began to chat him up. That's when the trouble began… |
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CALLER: Hello. I want to know how the Republicans [think they] don't need Christians and conservatives, and they think we're 30 percent. Twelve percent black people in the population. Ten percent — they claim — homosexuals in the population. Rush, honey, when did 30 percent get to be a small number? Limbaugh later boiled down his reply to one word: "money." |
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Nevertheless, Republicanmarket.com printed up the “Orange you glad I didn’t say banana?” of racist political jokes on a bunch of pins and sold them at the Texas Republican Convention last weekend. Of course, after photos of the pin hit the press yesterday, the state GOP representatives were shocked and appalled, vowing to never again invite the vendor to an event. |
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The New Jersey-born activist acted as the Recording Industry Association of America's chairman for five years, acted lesbian social networking site Ourchart's president, served as Human Rights Campaign's interim executive director back in 2004 and currently serves as Huffington Post's political director, a gig she accepted earlier this year. With all that experience under her belt, you can be sure Rosen, who previously endorsed Hillary Clinton's campaign, has scads to say about the current electoral climate, including the increasingly "blurred" lines between press and politics, her feelings on Clinton's departure, sexism in the press and how the lived experience shapes one's political views. And, thankfully, Rosen shared her thoughts - and many more - with our trusty editor. Before getting into all of that, however, the duo start things off at the "beginning" of Rosen's queer career: her coming out. Read all about it, after the jump… |
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New York-based Hillary Clinton supporter Harriet Christian definitely agrees with Geraldine Ferraro's reverse racism argument. |
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The failed vice-presidential candidate stepped down from Hillary Clinton's campaign in March after alleging that rival Barack Obama had a leg-up because of the color of his skin. Well, now that the race is winding down, Ferraro has now blasted fellow Democrats for their sexism and - wait for it - reverse racism! And, as she did before, Ferraro feeds on "affirmative action fears" - black power threatens white dominance. |
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The Scotland based man had met 59-year old Alan Wiseman on Gaydar, invited him over, but ultimately didn't hook up with him because, as he says, Wiseman was much older than he claimed online. Perhaps that's why Wiseman ended up sending him racist, homophobic messages: After the disastrous rendezvous, the pair exchanged one more e-mail and then stopped contact. Wiseman, who has done this before, must serve 200 hours of community service. We hope they don't put him near anyone of color lest he reveal his dark side again. |
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The t-shirt at right is for sale in a bar in Cobb County, Georgia; in Indiana, one Obama campaigner was told by a citizen: “Hang that darkie from a tree!“; and it is widely accepted that part of the reason Obama was defeated by such a huge margin in yesterday’s West Virgina primary is because of the color of his skin. |
» Spotlight!
Fellow blogger and friend Andres Duque of Blabbeando shines over at BBC, where he chats about Latino marginalization in gay communities: "For example, on the issues of immigration and political asylum the traditional gay organisations say that's not something they should be dealing with or focusing on." Wait, gay non-profits prefer white folk? Our world just crumbled… [BBC] |
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Oh, Bill, Bill, Bill. If you're going to tell someone they're misquoting you, make sure you're right. Reporter Mike Memoli caught up with Mr. Clinton today in Pennsylvania and asked him about his remark that Obama played the "race card" after the Jesse Jackson debacle last January. And, like Hillary's Bosnia memory, Bill's remains a bit hazy. |
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Timing aside, Obama offers Eleveld some more details on his gay policy, like how his Joint Chiefs of Staff won't necessarily have to come out against Don't Ask, Don't Tell… |
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» Shocker!
Oily oil heir Brandon Davis surprised absolutely no one last night when he referred to a paparrazo as a "faggot." Oh, and he calls a black photog a "nigger." Classy! [Towleroad] |
» Black Is, Black Ain't
Our pals over at Stereohyped, Cord Jefferson and Lauren Williams, ask the eternal question: Am I Black Enough For Ya?" Also, if you don't understand the headline, it's the title of the late, great, gay Marlon Riggs' seminal, cinematic exploration of race. You should watch it, own it and love it. |