The Dark Side of the Rainbow

Imagine two, middle aged African American women walking down the street. One is an English professor, and a philanthropist. The other is a self-publishing author and pediatrician. They may be the epitome of what it means to be successful in America; they may have contributed more than ay other woman in a fifteen mile radius, but for most people, the one attribute that they have that stands out against all the others, is that they are homosexual. Gay. Society has twisted and manipulated this orientation into something viewed as dreadful and ugly because of a deep unsettling fear of deviations from the mainstream, and sheer ignorance. For this reason, the women may be ostracized in their sororities, in their neighborhood, and even their own workplace. The wound is cut the deepest, however, when they are rejected by their own people: the black community.

Each person is left vulnerable to their family, friends, and community, in which they thrive off of their love, understanding, and acceptance. What happens, however, when a community fails to support their own? When they label their reflections as disgusting? When they reject their friends for being “different” or refuse to show up at a sibling’s wedding because they do not agree with who they are? Black homosexuals face these questions everyday because our community has turned them into lepers. Untouchable. Factors that are paralyzing the fibers of our community, such as gangs, drugs, and guns, are overlooked or seen as parts of life that people have become accustomed to. Yet, homosexuality is condemned on a daily basis. There may be reasons erroneous to homophobia in the black community, but the underlying causes are the importance of masculinity, the structure of family, and the black church.

For decades, the black male has acted as the strength and the backbone of a family. They have been looked upon to endure hardships and retain a facade of infinite resilience that masks ongoing emotional trials. Recently, this facade has evolved into an intensified, hypermascunline trademark that is a black male cultural reflection of the market materialism of American society. Somehow, homosexuality threatens this trademark. However, homosexuality is not the threat to the black male race when 60% of the jail population consists of African American men. It is not the threat when 47% of African American males drop out of high school. The hatred of homosexuals is only adding to the degradation of the stereotype of black males. It might be time to reverse that trend.

Homophobia is escalated when it comes to the structure of the black family. The family each person is born into and the environment they are raised in contributes to the type of person they will become. There is a contention that homosexuality is a detriment to a family. Perhaps it is assumed that because homosexuals cannot have their own children, they should not be having children at all, or that two males and two females cannot raise children as well as a family with one male and one female can because there is no role model of the opposite sex. With 66% of African American children in single parent homes, it is not appropriate to question the competency of homosexuals in raising children. Homosexuals have had to overcome obstacles on a universal level as well as challenge authority just to love one another; if a family is built off of love, caring, stability, and nurture, then they are more than competent in this task.

The greatest participant in homophobia is the black church. Based off of the values and teachings of our Lord, the black church is hardly a stranger to understand and steadfast love. With homosexuality, it is a different case. The same Bible that pro-slavery supporters distorted to condone the evils of slavery is being abused against homosexuality. Each person conveys the message of God differently, but one message is clear: God created humankind in his image. If we were all created in his image, we were then made to love and honor one another the way God loves us, despite sexual identity. In this way, the black community is called to support their own.

Remember that not so long ago, the black community was not acknowledged as citizens but rather as a destitute class incorrigible and incapable of having rights. Not so long ago we struggled to overcome the repressive nature of this country and battled to gain the privileges owed to every human being. Not so long ago we fought the injustices of a close-minded nation so that we could be recognized as more than just a skin color but inventors, innovators, and intellectuals. Members of our own community are going through a similar struggle, and calling out for the same recognition. As a race constantly growing, evolving, and thriving, only we can help free our own from the oppressive, dark side of the rainbow; thereby taking one more step towards unity.