10/17/2005
Gays Welcome Unwelcome at Millions More Movement March
After months of negotiations and a promise that Keith Boykin would be allowed to speak at the Millions More Movement March as a representative of the National Black Justice Coalition, Boykin was blocked from speaking by Rev. Willie F. Wilson, the march's national executive director.
Boykin: After I arrived at the VIP tent shortly after 8 in the morning, my colleague Donna Payne spoke directly to Rev. Willie Wilson backstage, and he informed her that no one from the National Black Justice Coalition would be speaking today. Donna told Rev. Wilson that he was violating our agreement, and Wilson replied that the agreement was void because the Coalition had not responded by Friday. That was not true. Rev. Wilson's excuse seemed a mere pretext to prevent us from speaking. Sadly, I am not surprised." More, plus full text of Boykin's prepared remarks...
So much for inclusivity.
Posted 9:00 AM EST by Andy Towle in Current Affairs | Permalink
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This is a fortunate turn of events. Farrakhan's insistent remarks on cable and broadcast news stations last week claiming that the levees in New Orleans were blown up during hurricanes Katrina and Rita have permanently branded him as a lunatic. Anchors on Fox News calmly presented video tapes of the levees beginning to breach with no evidence whatsoever of any explosive force. After presenting the video evidence they attempted to reason with him. Farrakhan countered that the explosions occurred below the surface of the water. I emailed Fox before the end of the segment demanding that they give him no further airtime. Inane statements like Farrakhan's do nothing to further the healing process and are in-fact destructive. All parties should distance themselves from Mr. Farrakhan on the record and permanently.
Posted by: Johnny Lane | Oct 17, 2005 9:49:09 AM
The Million Man March and the Millions More Movement: Irrelevant.
Posted by: Andy W | Oct 17, 2005 10:21:59 AM
Q: What's the greatest thing about the Million Man March & the Millions More Movement day in D.C.?
A: Only three people missed work.
Posted by: Satan's Lapdog | Oct 17, 2005 10:23:01 AM
Nothing new... The leaders of the black civil rights movement in the 60's did everything possible to distance them selves from gay african americans.
Posted by: Barry | Oct 17, 2005 12:28:22 PM
as a general observation, ive found in my nearly 30 years that black people--while based upon their history should be unabashedly open to new ideals and inclusivity in general--are among the most divisive. certainly not all, but most.
Posted by: CriticalRN | Oct 17, 2005 12:28:50 PM
I believe a lot of what the "black community" is going through right now can be said to be both self inflicted and the affects of Slavery, Jim Crow, etc. I believe that, in this journey to find a new communal identity that would free them from the curse of inferiority, they only dug themselves deep into the ground.
But I do believe that once they begin to see the bottom of the well, many will come to their senses. Already many black people know what's wrong but that group consists of mostly black women.
Posted by: Damon | Oct 17, 2005 2:29:35 PM
At the same time, get on any gay personal ad service whether it's for dating, sex, or just finding friends and you'll see some of the gay community isn't to friendly to gay black men either.
Posted by: Damon | Oct 17, 2005 2:31:45 PM
Thank God Farrakhan and his thugs have perfomed true to form. We are saved from being embarrassed by Boykin, and Boykin is saved from embarrassing himself.
No one has ever elevated his social standing by means of prostitution, and Boykin is clearly a whore. He spread his legs for Farrakhan, and got screwed by the entire Nation of Islam.
Who'd have guessed?
Posted by: Jay Croce | Oct 17, 2005 6:20:56 PM
Johnny Lane, why were you watching Fox News anyhow?
Posted by: Steve | Oct 17, 2005 6:44:49 PM
Before much more 'black community' stuff gets said, it wasn't a million, and it sure as hell wasn't a community. There's a million gay tweakers out there (half of them here in Palm Springs) and they aren't representative of the whole gay community. Farrakhan and Wilson represent the extremist religious communities more than anything else, no matter what name they call themselves.
Posted by: PSMike | Oct 17, 2005 7:10:03 PM
Steve, I work from home and have a wall of TV's tuned to CNN, Fox and CNBC while I work on my computer. Call me a news junkie but there is little I am not current on. I just happen to catch this nutcase on Fox, but I found out that he committed the same atrocities on most cable and broadcast networks. I will go on the record and say that I pay much closer attention to CNN as of late. It is rare that I miss Anderson Cooper and Lou Dobbs as they stay with important stories to their logical conclusion. Lou Dobbs “Broken Borders” series is, in my view, one of the most important daily segments on CNN.
Posted by: Johnny Lane | Oct 18, 2005 5:36:40 AM