Failure of white, Hispanic activists to show up for largest black LGBT rally in Dallas’ history was inexcusable and must never happen again
Longtime LGBT activist Alpha Thomas
White and Hispanic LGBT activists in Dallas should be ashamed of themselves.
Three weeks ago, in response to bigoted statements by anti-gay City Councilwoman Vonciel Hill, black LGBT leaders staged one of the largest gay-rights rallies in the history of South Dallas.
About 50 people gathered in the parking lot of Abounding Prosperity, an HIV/AIDS agency at Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and SM Wright Freeway near Fair Park. But despite the fact that the rally was widely publicized well in advance, not one of the participants was white or Hispanic.
In fact, the only non-black people there were yours truly — who was covering it for the Voice — and Laura Martin, the LGBT liaison officer for the Dallas Police Department, who was providing security.
Hill is the only Dallas council member who’s refused to appear at gay Pride parade, telling me a few years back that “there are some acts God doesn’t bless” but that she doesn’t think she should be “castigated” for her anti-LGBT views.
Last month, Hill took issue with a “Greater Than AIDS” billboard in South Dallas that features a black man with his arms around another black man and says, “UPDATE YOUR STATUS.” Hill told a TV news station that she objected to the billboard in her district because she believes it sends the message that homosexuality is “acceptable.”
Regardless of how Hill feels about homosexuality, it doesn’t change the fact that Dallas County has the highest rate of new HIV infections in Texas, and that nearly half of those new infections are among blacks, including many who fall into the category of men who have sex with men.
The rally, organized by Abounding Prosperity volunteer Harold Steward (who happens to be a city employee), was one of the most powerful events I’ve attended in my six-plus years at the Voice.
For one thing, unlike at a “mainstream” LGBT rally several days later, the sound system actually worked. There were even canopies for shade and ice-cold bottled water.
And the speakers were inspiring. They included Alpha Thomas, a longtime African-American lesbian activist who attended the rally to support her black gay brothers.
“We will not be silent or invisible while AIDS continues to ravage and devastate our community,” Thomas told the crowd. “Black gay men have always been and always will be part of Dallas.”
Thomas, 55, said later it was the largest black LGBT rally she’s seen in decades of activism in Dallas. Thomas said she promised many of her black gay friends who died from AIDS that she would continue to fight for them.
“By my being out here today, I’m able to keep that promise,” she said. “We’ve got to keep hope alive.”
Eric Henry, 19, also a volunteer at Abounding Prosperity, questioned whether Hill believes the behavior of some heterosexual African-Americans is “acceptable.” Henry said his father abandoned him at a young age, his mother neglected his emotional needs and he was molested for more than five years. When he ended up living out of his car, the black gay community took him in.
“Tell me, is that acceptable?” Henry said. “Whether or not you accept me, Councilwoman Vonciel, I’m going to continue being a proud African-American gay man.”
The Rev. Alex Byrd, senior pastor at Living Faith Covenant Church, blamed objections to the billboard on religious beliefs, and said therefore they must be responded to in a religious context.
“It is ungodly and un-Christian for us to ignore that 49 percent of all new HIV cases in Dallas are in the black community,” Byrd said.
Kirk Myers, president and CEO of Abounding Prosperity, said those statistics are “right there with sub-Saharan Africa.”
“Although I’m encouraged that all of you are out there, this parking lot should be overflowing,” Myers said.
Myers was right, and it should have been overflowing with not only blacks, but LGBT people of all races.
It’s truly sad that when HIV/AIDS was ravaging the gay white male community, we mounted an incredible response. But now that the disease is disproportionately affecting blacks, including many who are gay, we don’t seem to care as much.
Days before the rally, LGBT activists stood inside City Hall and turned their backs on another black city council member, Dwaine Caraway, who objected to being judged on one issue alone — marriage equality.
I’m not making excuses for Caraway, but the fact is, marriage equality isn’t the No. 1 concern for most LGBT blacks, who are faced with not only HIV issues but unemployment, poverty and rejection by their families and churches. And both Caraway and Councilwoman Carolyn Davis have shown improvement on other LGBT fronts.
But there doesn’t seem to be much point in turning our backs on council members if we’re not willing to stand at rallies beside LGBT people who live in those districts.
Caraway had initially committed to voting for the marriage equality resolution, but after Councilwoman Delia Jasso withdrew her support and the issue blew up on the front page of the Dallas Morning News, anti-gay megachurch pastors reportedly got to him.
The only way to get Caraway back on board is to show him that for every homophobic preacher, there are thousands of black LGBT and allied voters in South Dallas.
Supporting our black LGBT brothers and sisters is not only the right thing to do, it also makes sense from a practical, strategic standpoint.
A recent poll showed that support for marriage equality is by far the lowest among blacks in Texas — at just 14 percent compared to 34 percent among all races combined.
We’ll never change statistics like this by sticking to the safety of rallying around a monument in Oak Lawn.
John Wright is senior editor of Dallas Voice. He can be contacted by going here.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition July 12, 2013.