Get our most popular stories once a week!
Even young ones are suffering because of this economic crisis that verdict financial crisis. More..."
Posted by Jonas Z in Economic Crisis Hits Schools
muruch posted in Free Association: Sound of Silence
fratman1906 posted in There's No Place Like Home: A History of House Ball Culture
zumbi1165 posted in Silence Broken: How Not to Spoil Obama's Victory
The Blame Game
(This post originally appeared on Mervyn's blog)
I poured myself a glass of rum and coke, on the rocks. The networks hadn't called it, but i did. When Pennsylvania and Ohio went, I thought, “it's over.” I looked across the room, filled with black folks that I loved, everyone waiting. Waiting to suspend the disbelief that hung over the room that evening. We were a jaded crew -- organizers, communications staff, writers. Born and raised of military families, black panthers, royalty, and southern decadence.
Then the networks finally called the presidency for Obama. We rocketed from our seats, cheering and hugging, some were crying. you could feel the energy in the room, expended from years of working so hard. We were tired and re-energized, weary but triumphant.
The next day, the world hadn't changed all that much. California’s Proposition 8 passed into law, effectively banning gay marriage. White gay men were up in arms, blaming black folks for the stinging loss. Unfortunately, Black voters voted overwhelmingly in favor of the ban. I struggle with the level of racist vitriol that comes from those folks. They are in many ways like my father, a liberal white gay man. I want to be mad, but all I can do is laugh it off. This time, though, I have to speak up.
While many groups voted for the passage of Proposition 8, black folks are being singled out for not caring about civil rights during such an historic moment. The irony is thick, but I’m used to it. It was, as the president-elect would say, more of the same. And here's why.
The gay advocacy groups have not built up a ground game in black communities. No field offices, big rallies, nothing. Plenty in San Francisco and in West Hollywood. But when I drove in East Oakland, they were absent.
They chose instead to run ads toward the end of the campaign, when they knew they were losing, highlighting key moments in the civil rights movement. They hired Samuel L. “Snakes On A Plane” Jackson to narrate these pithy ads. Those ads did nothing but beat the civil rights movement into black folks' heads, as if they didn't know what it stood for. As if their parents hadn't fought it. In short, they were incredibly patronizing.
Read the rest of the post »
Mervyn Marcano is currently the Training Director at the Center for Media Justice. He has previously worked with ColorofChange.org and The League of Young Voters.