When it Comes to Gay Rights, Black Men are the True Divas
It's hard to know how to measure progress in my community these days. The shortsighted and simple-minded crowd pilloried commissioner David Stern's dress code as bigoted and out of touch with modern hip-hop America. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will likely face similar criticism if the NFL's competition committee adopts the N-word code lobbied for by former NFL offensive lineman John Wooten and the Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation, a group primarily dedicated to lobbying for coaching opportunities for black candidates. And sadly, a large, vocal segment of African-Americans wants to dismiss Michael Sam and Jason Collins as mere causehttp://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lp484ppjxT1qbr859o2_400.gif célèbre, when they are blazing a trail perhaps more significant and riskier than Jackie Robinson
. The delight, pride and sense of accomplishment some African-Americans glean from publicly mocking Sam and Collins are quite similar to the emotions Southern white bigots exhibited toward blacks in the 1950s and '60s.
But for Sam and Collins, the situation is much more dire than it was for Jackie Robinson
. Because Sam and Collins can't even rely on their own community to have their backs. There is much about "nikka" culture these days that I find objectionable. "nikka" culture is regressive, not progressive. It is rooted in self-hatred, addiction to the war and death chants of hip-hop, identification with raping and beating women like Jameis Winston (allegedly) and Ray Rice (there's footage, but the "nikkas" still have his back.) And "nikka" culture is so lost in the trappings of its hyper masculinity that it simply cannot understand that Michael Sam and Jason Collins are true black heroes. Not to mention that Michael Sam and Jason Collins could beat the black off of any hip hop tough "nikka" who dared to use a homophobic slur in their faces. But "nikkas" are cowards, so that wouldn't happen.
My takeaway is that many African-Americans simply do not fully understand the power of activism and community. They do not comprehend that mental enslavement is more devastating and debilitating than physical enslavement. Sam and Collins are breaking the chains. We've yet to free our minds.
Mike and Mike
Jason Whitlock and Don Lemon discuss Michael Sam, Jason Collins, and the struggle for gay equality and more.
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Fear of being labeled a sellout, an Uncle Tom or not hip has caused too many of us to sit silently while "nikkas" throw diva temper tantrums because our brave and beautiful gay brothers step to the forefront to remind us what struggle is really about. And the decent folk among us have sat quietly and watched as the "nikkas" took control of the conversation about how black men and women would be defined in this society. Our silence has empowered the ignorant, the greedy and the true sellouts. Their illogic passes as logic.
Well, the "nikkas" can have their violent, misogynist, rape-loving, gun-toting antiheroes. They can have Tupac, 2 Chainz, and Too Short to go along with their greasy two-piece dinner. Give me Michael Sam and Jason Collins, men who carry themselves with dignity and courage. Give me all the brilliant, gay, black men who were too oppressed and shunned by "nikka" culture to publicy declare their sexuality: Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson, Malcolm X.
Take a look around you. Our society is in a constant state of evolution. Why aren't "nikkas?" Why can't we love our heroes be they gay or straight? If we see ourselves as barbaric "nikkas" we can't be surprised when the world treats us as "nikkas."
I'm glad Michael Sam and Jason Collins are continuing the bold and inspiring activism that MLK and Jackie Robinson brought to the world's attention. Let's hope the black male divas of hip-hop "nikka" culture can be as brave as their gay counterparts and put their big boy pants on, take off their thug makeup, and man up for equality.
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