Rainbows Only Come in Black and White

There’s an ugly truth floating around in the gay world: the gay experience in America is marked by a pervasive racial division, and though the lines aren’t impermeable, their existence is something we must continually confront and challenge.  Just like the flag we use to symbolize our pride and liberation, our community is marked not by smooth intermingling of different racial groups as much as it is by sharp dividing lines, especially between races.

I don’t mean to paint a picture of the gay community as hopelessly racially balkanized; indeed were you to step into a gay bar or go to a gay community event you would likely see plenty of people of all colors, shapes, and sizes mingling and interacting.  But, underneath the surface, obscured by a cloak of uncomfortable silence lie these divisions, and it is time we began to explore them openly.

Affirmative Action and Justice Thomas’ dissent in Grutter

This is an informal piece I composed for one of my courses at Georgetown; to facilitate others’ viewing of the piece I am posting it on my ill-updated blog:

Though not referenced directly in our reading, I think this is an appropriate time to discuss affirmative action, an issue which Prof. Seidman discussed at length in lecture, and is of great interest and controversy to all of us.

I reference the case of Grutter v. Bollinger. 539 U.S. 306 (2003). The facts are relatively simple. Grutter was the case against the University of Michigan law school. The plaintiff was a white woman who was denied admission despite having academic qualifications that, she claimed, were more than sufficient to gain admission. She charged that the law school admitted minority students with sharply lower qualifications (an uncontested fact), and further alleged that the school unconstitutionally used racial preference in admitting students. The Supreme Court upheld the law schools admission policy.

A Diversion – 8/18/09

Look, sometimes we all just need to listen to a good song…sing it girl!

Have a good Tuesday