[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/conspiracy-of-silence-being-gay-in-the-black-community\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/conspiracy-of-silence-being-gay-in-the-black-community\/","headline":"Conspiracy of Silence: Being Gay in the Black Community","name":"Conspiracy of Silence: Being Gay in the Black Community","description":"Conspiracy of Silence: Being Gay in the Black CommunityIn a culture that thrives on religion, being gay is viewed as taboo for many African Americans,...","datePublished":"2012-03-01","dateModified":"2021-07-08","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/#Person","name":"Equally Wed","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/","identifier":787,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jason-carson-wilson-headshot.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jason-carson-wilson-headshot.jpg","height":100,"width":110},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/conspiracy-of-silence-being-gay-in-the-black-community\/","video":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2l7JE2bw5rs#VideoObject","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2l7JE2bw5rs","name":"Tyrone Smith Reflects on Philly\u2019s Black Gay Community Coming Together During the HIV\/AIDS Crisis","description":"Tyrone remembers the onset of the AIDS epidemic and the pain it caused, but also how it brought the black LGBTQIA+ community closer together than ever.\n\n(Gay | HIV\/AIDS | Community | Philadelphia) [TV-PG]\n\nwww.imfromdriftwood.com aims to help lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people learn more about their community, straight people learn more about their neighbors and everyone learn more about themselves through the power of storytelling and storysharing.","thumbnailUrl":["https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/2l7JE2bw5rs\/default.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/2l7JE2bw5rs\/mqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/2l7JE2bw5rs\/hqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/2l7JE2bw5rs\/sddefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/2l7JE2bw5rs\/maxresdefault.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2012-02-09T00:05:41+00:00","duration":"PT5M17S","embedUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2l7JE2bw5rs","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCY28mIo-PA7CP_q8pAp6Jog#Organization","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCY28mIo-PA7CP_q8pAp6Jog","name":"ImFromDriftwood","description":"I'm From Driftwood collects and shares true LGBTQ stories from all over the world to help our youth feel not so alone.\nI\u2019m From Driftwood envisions a world where every lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer person feels understood and accepted, and every straight person is an ally.\nI\u2019m From Driftwood aims to help LGBTQ people learn more about their community, straight people learn more about their neighbors and everyone learn more about themselves through the power of storytelling and story sharing.\n\nIncreasing empathy and empowering individuals is accomplished by creating an apolitical forum for LGBTQ stories from every age, race, gender, background and culture. 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By Jason Carson WilsonCivil rights are for everyone. The Rev. Delman Coates of Clinton, Md., put that belief into action. Coates, Mount Ennon Baptist Church\u2019s senior pastor, joined a small group of other African-American clergy supporting marriage equality, and even spoke alongside Maryland Gov. Martin O\u2019Malley during a recent hearing at the state Capitol. Coates credited his gay, HIV-positive cousin for inspiring his commitment to civil rights of gay and lesbian Marylanders. Coates spoke with him, after 20 years of quiet support, more than two weeks ago. \u201cI apologized for participating in this conspiracy of silence,\u201d Coates said. That conspiracy of silence has survived  and thrived in the black community for generations. What fuels homophobia and self-hatred? Religion. And, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, African-Americans are more religious. Per the research, African-Americans are the most likely to report a formal religious affiliation, compared to other racial and ethnic groups, with a full 87 percent describing themselves as belonging to one religious group or another. Faith-based silence mingled with denial continues, prompting black men to perpetuate the \u201cdown low\u201d phenomenon. The harsh reality of AIDS pushed many black men out of the closet in the early 1980s, including a group in the city of Brotherly Love. Gay activist Tyrone Smith, 70, reminisced about courageous black gay men in Philadelphia in a YouTube video, recalling Unity Inc., the city\u2019s first organization devoted to HIV\/AIDS among African-American men, and its founding members. \u201cAll of these young men made a contribution. They all made a great contribution by giving their lives. Out of that forged what we have now,\u201d Smith said. \u201cPeople are in rooms where differences are being made, openly affirming their gayness. Prior to this epidemic, that was not happening.” Today, Coates is in their ranks\u2014openly affirming gay and lesbians\u2019 right to marry. However, he holds his views on homosexuality close to the vest. Sharing them, he believes, muddies the waters. \u201cIt is not a question of private belief,\u201d Coates said, \u201cbut whether all citizens of this state have the same rights.\u201d A black minister has become a straight ally. If that isn\u2019t heroic, this writer is unsure what is. Coates weathers attacks on his religiosity, motives and character. Emmett C. Burns Jr., D-Baltimore County, an anti-gay black lawmaker opposed to same-sex marriage, pondered whether O\u2019Malley rewarded Coates for his marriage equality support. With that said, comparisons of the black and GLBT experience breeds contempt. Reaction to CNN pundit Roland Martin\u2019s homophobic tweet prompted a terse tweet from his wife, the Rev. Jacqueline Martin Hood. \u201c@glaad uses our history to gain their equality & then stabs the point man in the back. Don\u2019t ask us for nothing else!” Martin Hood tweeted. Calling the supportive husband of an \u201cex-gay\u201d therapist a \u201cpoint man\u201d on gay rights is a stretch. An excerpt from a 2006 column displays his level of support. \u201cMy wife, an ordained Baptist minister for 20 years, has counseled many men and women to walk away from the gay lifestyle, and to live a chaste life. \u2026 For her, the obligation is to her calling as a minister of the Word, rather than bowing to societal pressures,\u201d an excerpt reads, according to Michelangelo Signorile.As a gay and black writer, I’m cognizant of my black history. The black and LGBT communities, respectively, have definitely trod different paths. Most LGBT Americans weren\u2019t rounded up, shackled, shipped and enslaved. Some people could tally the African-Americans beaten, lynched and murdered and compare it to the LGBT citizens attacked, tortured, killed or driven to suicide. Go ahead. However, neither group has deserved the animosity or disrespect. Given our common bond, the African-American community\u2019s homophobic tendencies baffle me. It wasn\u2019t that long ago\u2014before 1967, to be exact\u2014when blacks couldn\u2019t love anyone they wanted. Remember Richard and Mildred Loving? Richard was white. Mildred was black. The Lovings\u2019 faced 25 years in prison for violating Virginia\u2019s interracial marriage ban. Their successful fight resulted in the historic Loving v. Virginia U.S. Supreme Court decision. Coates apparently realizes gay and lesbians deserve the same rights once denied to black Americans. Unfortunately, some in the black community are too blinded by religion to acknowledge that reality.Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed within the confines of Viewpoints, our opinion-based forum, are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Equally Wed, Palladino Publishing, LLC, its affiliates, or its employees. "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Conspiracy of Silence: Being Gay in the Black Community","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/conspiracy-of-silence-being-gay-in-the-black-community\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]