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Political commentator, John McWhorter, did an opinion piece on why Black people need to be more accepting to the gay community. Via NY Daily News: When President Obama sounded off about Seneca Falls, Selma and Stonewall during Monday’s inaugural address, it got me thinking about how fragile the links between those events actually are, despite his attempt to paint them as part and parcel of a single progressive movement throughout our history. For example, early feminists often had little interest in assisting what was then called the Negro with his (or her) problems. By our standards, many of them were racists. After their victories, we still had some way to go. Today, we are at a similar stage. Too many black Americans have little more interest in keeping the ladder out for gay people than early feminists had in doing the same for black people. It won’t do to euphemize it as a matter of black people resenting the gay movement taking on the civil rights banner, with its calls of “gay is the new black.” This isn’t a battle over political theory or jostling over who’s been more oppressed; it’s good old-fashioned homophobia. Yes, homophobia is American, not African-American. Blacks neither taunted Rutgers student Tyler Clementi into killing himself nor murdered Matthew Shepard in a field on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyo. And to the extent that homophobia has been more deeply rooted in the black community than in the white population, this is changing. The percentage of blacks who favor gay marriage is about the same now as the percentage of whites, according to a Pew poll taken during the last election season. “One of the striking results in the 2012 exit polls was the support for legalizing gay marriage among black voters,” that poll noted. However, rising support isn’t enough — we must keep going. When Michael Richards spouted the N-word on stage, he was shamed by the nation for weeks. It won’t do for Tracy Morgan to get a mere slap on the hand for crowing that he would stab his son if he turned out to be were gay. As a consequence of its painful heritage, black America has a special responsibility: to be further ahead of the curve than whites on accepting gay people as full citizens. The Bible cannot be used as an excuse to hold us back. We should remember that racists once also appealed to the Bible to justify segregation, slavery and all manners of hatred. Let’s be progressive for real this time around. One indication that the black community has turned a corner on this issue will be from celebrities. Black America has yet to see the equivalent of Ellen DeGeneres’ famous coming-out. Wanda Sykes, Don Lemon and rapper Frank Ocean have been noble pioneers — but then again, none are megastars or play romantic parts. Do you agree?? Discuss in the comments below… Read article in its entirety HERE

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For Discussion: “Gay Is The New Black”…Do African-Americans Need To Accept Homosexuality?