NBJC and NAACP Leaders Condemn NOM Race Baiting Tactics

Wasn't surprised by the recent revelation that the National Organization for Marriage was attempting a cynical strategy to split African-Americans and Latinos from the coalition supporting same gender marriage and LGBT rights.

“The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks — two key Democratic constituencies,” read the NOM memo that outlined a plan to recruit African-American spokespeople to speak out against gay marriage, then organize a media campaign around their objections.

Of course, NOM is unrepentant about getting busted and went into damage control mode, with NOM president Brian Brown boasting that they proudly bring together people of difference races, creeds and colors.  

"We have worked with prominent African-American and Hispanic leaders, including Dr. Alveda C. King, Bishop George McKinney of the COGIC Church, Bishop Harry Jackson and the New York State Senator Reverend Rubén Díaz Sr., all of whom share our concern about protecting marriage as the union of one man and one woman."

Let's be real for a moment and cut the conservabull.  It's more like you work with sellouts and human rights oppressors from those communities.

African-American leaders from the NAACP and NBJC began calling out NOM for their reprehensible tactics.  NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous stated in a press release:

“This memo only reveals the limits of a cynical agenda,” stated Jealous. “The truth is that no group, no matter how well-funded, can drive an artificial wedge between our communities. People of color understand what it is like to be the target of discrimination. No public relations strategy will make us forget that.”

It followed up a statement by former NAACP chairman Julina Bond in The Hill in which he called out NOM, stating the strategy memo "It confirmed a suspicion that some evil hand was behind this.”

National Black Justice Coalition Executive Director Sharon Lettman-Hicks also blasted NOM and expressed her concerns about their attempts to exploit the African-American faith community to push their reprehensible agenda..

"These documents expose NOM for what it really is--a hate group determined to use African American faith leaders a pawns to push their damaging agenda and as mouthpieces to amplify that hatred.  NOM is fighting a losing battle. With these memos made public, the black faith community must refuse to be exploited and refuse to deny their fellow brothers and sisters equal protections under the law."

Now can we get some other African-American leaders to step up to the plate and condemn this hate group?

Naomi Sims Birthday

Today would have been the 65th birthday of pioneering supermodel and businesswoman Naomi Sims.

She had an interesting admirer in someone she sang in the all city choir in Pittsburgh with in the late Phyllis Hyman, who mentions her in this interview.



Naomi is definitely missed.

Gay Men Just Don't Understand Transwomen

Guest post by Pamela Hayes

Janet Mock crafted a well-written article about how Don Lemon, a black gay man, a CNN correspondent had no grasp of trans people because of dumb questions he asked Chaz Bono. And she is absolutely correct. Don's questions were stupid, juvenile and cursory. But I doubt if he meant a bit of harm. From my experience, a lot of gay men usually don't get us. Gay men, like many straight-identified people think trans women are simply gay men, who refuse to accept that they are gay. So we take hormones and "mutilate" ourselves to mimic women and buy vaginas to justify having sex with a man. And some gay men go positively bonkers when they see trans women with handsome, worthwhile men.

I remember reading where southern writer, William Faulkner-- author of such short stories as A ROSE FOR EMILY, DRY SEPTEMBER, to name a few--said that it was the responsibility of white people to bring black people along, to teach Negroes the importance of manners and education so they could comport themselves effectively and prosper in a democratic society. I don't know when Faulkner uttered these bothersome words because many (blacks) had no chance of prospering or receiving adequate education prior to the Civil Rights struggle.

But I digress. Trans women should take Mr. Faulkner's advice and tweak it to meet our needs. We have to bring gay people along, let them know who we are, our likes and dislikes, our dreams, hopes and aspirations. And make no mistake some gay folks will be impervious to our tutelage.

And in all candor, I doubt if that would be fruitful because the sad truth is, SOME gay people don't give a damn about trans people for a variety of reasons, one of which is envy.

Over the years, I've heard countless gay men tell me that they wouldn't do what I did (switch sexes) because they would make an ugly woman. What an incredibly shallow comment.

I and other trans women have had gay men fight us, out us, embarrass us, disrespect us and I've gotten negativity from lesbians as well. So trans women cannot bring those types along because they are unwilling to learn, but I still say try. And it's unfortunate that gays and lesbians don't believe in the old adage about there being strength in numbers. If we all worked together, we could accomplish plenty.

Christine Jorgenson Hour Magazine Interview

Video of a Christine Jorgenson interview in the 1980's with Gary Collins on the Hour Magazine talk show.

The CeCe McDonald and Trayvon Martin Cases; How Are They The Same Or Different?

Guest Post by Cheryl Courtney-Evans of the abitchforjustice blog

First, I feel "honor bound" to say that I am NOT a separatist; I believe in respecting and caring about ANYONE (be it man, woman, child, black, white, gay, straight...etc.), as long as I get the same treatment from them. By that same token, I am not one to close my eyes to truths and calling 'em like I see 'em. And after the last few days of watching the Trayvon Martin case unfold (and being angry as hell about it), it occurred to me that there was another case that seemed as important but hasn't gotten (in my opinion) enough attention, so I decided to post this.

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I don't know what is going on in this country, but it seems to me that since the advent of President Obama's election, the ugly animal of racism, who had been thought by many to have been thoroughly "slayed", has only been sleeping; an atmosphere that has continued to be just below the surface has burst through with an intensity that's so obvious it's astounding to behold...

Now I know there will be those so naive as to say, "You all are always 'pulling the race card'..." when it's pointed out, but there are also those who say the same thing, because all along they know it exists, and only want us to believe they believe it, or are that we are mistaken...

Now, although we are righteously incensed at the recent murder of young African American Trayvon Martin in Sanford, FL.  by a Caucasian George Zimmerman (Feb. 26, 2012), I don't believe we can view this as a "down South thing"; there has been another case whose injustice has been carried on since June 6, 2011...that is the arrest and continued prosecution of African American CeCe McDonald, accused of killing Caucasian Dean Schmitz in Minneapolis, MN. 

My piece today is to show the differences in these two cases, while also showing how the ugly beast of racism seems to be hard at work in both.





Dean Schmitz


CeCe McDonald



Trayvon Martin


George Zimmerman

The most glaring evidence in the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case is the fact that besides being unarmed, he was a young Black man walking down the street minding his own business; he was breaking no law...just running a "refreshment call" to the local 7-11 convenience store for Skittles and a can of ice tea. He was alone, so there was no eyewitness; so police only took into consideration the claim from Zimmerman that he'd shot Trayvon "in self-defense". The police then allowed this claim to keep Zimmerman out of jail, uncharged.

In the CeCe McDonald/Dean Schmitz case, CeCe was, by eyewitness accounts, also minding her business; walking to a neighborhood store with a few friends. Their route took them by a neighborhood tavern, where they were accosted by a group of loitering Caucasians who verbally assaulted them (using racial and gay/gender identity slurs); when CeCe refused to accept their insults and responded, she was attacked and injured by a female in the group busting a glass in her face, a brawl ensued and Dean Schmitz was stabbed. CeCe was the only one arrested that night and charged with murder, and her claim of self-defense was ignored. Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman, has a history of racially "slanted" law distribution...he has refused to drop the charges, and she remains in jail awaiting trial.

So now, what are the ways in which these two cases are the same?
1. Both folks who seem to be getting the "short end of the stick" with regard to 'justice' are Black. (On his own word, armed [and by the way, he was much bigger physically than Trayvon Martin], non-injured Zimmerman was allowed to walk and has not been arrested & charged YET [and in hiding]; CeCe with eyewitnesses to her attack, sustaining 11 stitches to her face after being the first to be attacked, had her claim of self-defense ignored and is still in jail.)

2. Both Blacks were minding their own business; doing nothing illegal or infringing on others...just OWB (Out While Black).

3. Both are atrocious miscarriages of justice that cry out for attention and correction.

4. Both cases appear to be hate crimes.

How are they different?
1. Trayvon was an African American young man, a presumably heterosexual (was talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone the night of his death) member of the "mainstream", while CeCe is an African American transgender woman, a member of a community that is the most marginalized in the United States (perhaps that's why, although her case is very nearly as heinous, it's gotten almost NO media attention or "community support").

2. CeCe was arrested for Dean Schmitz's death the same night, but Zimmerman is still free after 3 weeks.

3. Trayvon's case occurred in "the South", and CeCe's case happened in "the North" (so I suppose we can see that the "beast" is nationwide).

So in conclusion, here's what I propose. That ALL Americans of good conscience make their outrage known about these and other cases like them that may have slipped under the radar of public attention. We have to rout out the bigots who have intensified their efforts to erase the progress made this far to create a more equitable America. And we have to advocate for one another regardless of race, sexual orientation or gender identity...we're all part of the HUMAN RACE.

Damn Skippy The Trayvon Martin Case Is About Race

The conservawhining has started over the Trayvon Martin case along with their attempts to conservasmear his reputation and turn the bigoted shooter George Zimmerman into a martyr for whiteness, white supremacy and white people's fetishistic attachment to guns  .

Hey, we African-Americans didn't create white privilege or whiteness, we have to deal with the deleterious effects of it in our lives. You also have some clueless white peeps who are buying the conservaspin that this case 'isn't about race'.

Bull feces, it most certainly IS about race.  

Your first clue should have been the 911 tape in which Zimmerman possibly utters a racial slur as he's following Trayvon.   Your next is Zimmerman still walking around in his undisclosed location a month after he shoots and kills an unarmed Black teenager without being arrested while Trayvon is dead and in his grave.

Another vanilla scented clue this is about race is the denials coming from people wallowing in vanillacentric privilege decrying the fact that this case has been and become polarizing. 

And your final clue is Zimmerman's defense attorney running to get a cookie chomping Negroid useful fool to try to claim he was a close friend of Zimmerman who predictably said 'he's not racist' but did the dirty work of posthumously smearing Trayvon.

Too bad he failed miserably at his assigned tasks.

The more this case drags out, the more the truth comes out about the hate crime that Zimmerman did and the collapsing cover up of it.
 
So naw, I don't want to hear that crap that this case isn't about race.   It's been about race ever since George Zimmerman made the February 26 decision to frack with an African-American teenager who was minding his own damned business after getting some Skittles and a can of iced tea because in his bigoted mind, he didn't belong in that neighborhood..