Now rather than go into detail in terms of why black prides are needed for the lgbt community, allow me to point out an incident which I think best suits the situation - a Call To Action by GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation):
On the June 22 broadcast of ABC's daytime talk show "The View," host Sherri Shepherd and guest host D.L. Hughley perpetuated dangerous myths about African American gay and bisexual men.
While discussing the FDA's ban that prevents gay and bisexual men from donating blood, Shepherd and Hughley communicated misinformation about the causes of increased HIV rates among African American women and used the phrase "down low" to describe men who have sex with men but publicly identify as heterosexual.
Here are excerpts from a transcript of the segment:
Hughley: When you look at the prevalence of HIV in the African American Community, it's primarily young women who are getting it from men who are on the down low. That's the thing.
Shepherd: The down low is black men who've been going out. They are having sex with men and they're not telling their girlfriends or their wives that they're gay and their husbands, as well. And it's very prevalent with African American women because they come home and have sex with their wives or their girlfriends. And they're not telling them that they're gay.
Shepherd: It's so big in the Black community with women because they're having unprotected sex with men who have been having sex with... with men.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), however, has debunked the dangerous myth that Shepherd and Hughley cited on the program. Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the Centers for Disease Control's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention talked about his research to NNPA News in October 2009. Fenton said that the CDC "has looked to see what proportion of [HIV] infections is coming from male partners who are bisexual and found there are actually relatively few," and goes on to attribute most infections to other factors.
Read Fenton's entire interview.
I applaud GLAAD for shining a light on this awful display of ignorance by Hughley and Sheppard. I don't think their ignorance about the situation is intentional. Rather it's indicative of why we need more visible lgbts of color.
That's why black prides are important - to encourage and inspire more lgbts of color to be visible, take their rightful places in the lgbt community and also take ownership of their stories.
When you are not allowed to speak for yourself - and many lgbts of color do not have this right in the black community - others take it upon themselves to speak for you and in the case of Hughley and Sheppard, they get your story wrong.
GLAAD is encouraging everyone to take action:
Call on "The View" to issue an on-air apology and correct Sherri Shepherd and D.L. Hughley's misrepresentation of African American gay & bisexual men. This program reaches millions of viewers and ABC must ensure that its platforms are not used to perpetuate dangerous falsehoods that put our community in harm's way.
ABC Contacts:
Brad Jamison, Vice President Corporate Initiatives
ABC Television Network
818-460-6120
Brad.Jamison@abc.com
Julie Hoover, Corporate Communications Vice President
ABC Television Network
(212) 456-6641
julie.t.hoover@abc.com
Bill Geddie, Executive Producer
ABC "The View"
(212) 456-0910
bill.geddie@abc.com
GLAAD Contacts:
Cindi Creager
Director of National News
(646) 871-8019
creager@glaad.org
Richard Ferraro
Director of Public Relations
(646) 871-8011
ferraro@glaad.org
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