It's Happened Again
By Keith Boykin, in politics
Thursday, July 24 2003, 10:27AM
It's happened again. For the second time in a month, a murder of a high-profile black man is being connected to issues of homosexuality. Not long ago, questions started surfacing about the suspected death of Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy. Today, questions of homosexuality are already being raised about yesterday's murder of New York City Councilman James Davis.
I followed much of the television news coverage of the murder at New York's City Hall yesterday. I never heard any media discussion of a gay angle at any time throughout the day. Ironically, last night I ran into my own City Councilman Bill Perkins of Harlem, who was standing in the main entrance of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center talking about the murder.
Today I had planned to write about the murder and our culture of violence, the preciousness of life, and the fallacy of total security. That changed with the first email I received this morning.
The email, sent at 6 a.m., included the full text of a New York Times article on the murder of Councilman James Davis by his one-time political opponent, Othniel Boaz Askew. "Now, Keith, this was definitely a gay love thang gone bad," the writer wrote. "Not so sure about the two basketball players though. You should write something about this."
Unconvinced by the email, I read the story and found one paragraph at the end that suggested a gay angle.
"Mr. Askew and Mr. Davis took a walk together earlier this month through Fort Greene Park," the Times reported, "and the councilman said he had done a background check on Mr. Askew that he claimed revealed that he was gay and that the information might be exposed in the race. Mr. Askew considered this a threat, the law enforcement official said."
New Yorkers quickly picked up on the news. Joe Pressley, executive director of the New York AIDS Coalition (NYAC) and co-president of the Out People of Color Political Action Club, sent an email message about Davis this morning to a gay lesbian bisexual people of color (glbpoc) listserve in New York.
Pressley ran for office in 2001 in the same district Councilman Davis represents and later withdrew his candidacy to accept a position as executive director of NYAC.
While acknowledging a few differences, Pressley describes Davis as a "constant supporter of NYAC's issues. He spoke at our rallies, press conferences and met with our members and constituents."
In his email, Pressley said he was "truly saddened by the events yesterday" but he went on to add that he was "equally saddened and angered by some of the press reports coming out now that stigma may have been a factor."
"I suspect that we may never know exactly what prompted yesterday's events and if Mr. Askew's complaint was true....I am angered because the issue of sexuality has once again found its way into another horrific incident. I am constantly reminded that one's choice of being Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender remains a factor in trying to prove someone less than human."
In an interview this morning, Pressley explained that he had seen the media coverage on New York One local television and in the New York Post. "Say if he [Askew] was gay," he said, "why is that a bad thing and why does that have to become a factor?"
But is this so-called "gay angle" a legitimate subject to cover? In an interview this morning, Colin Robinson, executive director of the New York State Black Gay Network, appealed for caution in the coverage of this story and advised the media "not to rush to judgment."
Also this morning, a writer on the glbpoc listserve asked, "Is there any real 'gay angle' to this story, or do we have far more reliable evidence that these were the ramblings of an unstable man who knew he was about to commit murder when he made his call to the FBI yesterday morning? And which is the more responsible approach to take when writing a story about this incident?"
The website, 365gay.com, did find a gay angle. "A popular New York council member and strong advocate of gay rights was shot and killed by a political rival during a city council meeting Wednesday afternoon," Doug Windsor wrote in the lead sentence of his article today on the website.
"The shootings harkened to the 1978 murders in San Francisco city hall of gay supervisor Harvey Milk and mayor George Moscone by supervisor Dan White," Windsor reported.
The San Jose Mercury News, The Charlotte Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and several other papers also cited the murder of Harvey Milk in their stories today.
Windsor quoted Alan Van Capelle, the executive director of Empire Pride Agenda, who praised Davis as a sponsor of the Equal Benefits Bill and the Transgendered Rights Bill and a supporter of several AIDS projects in Brooklyn.
But not everyone agreed. A black gay man who lives in Davis's district remembered that Davis had marched in the city's gay pride in Manhattan, but said he did not have a great impression of him. "Not many people I know had a lot of respect for him as a politician," he said.
In the end, does it even matter if Davis's murderer was gay or if his fear of being considered gay led him to kill the councilman? Do we even know the story is true?
At this point, we do not know the answers, but we do know this. Some gay men are murderers. Many in our society will use these real-life gay murderers as examples in their efforts to vilify all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people.
Some homosexuals are horrible people. But what does this prove? Some heterosexuals are horrible people too, and there are probably far more straight murderers in jail than gay ones.
Our heightened sensitivity around stories that connect gays and lesbians to criminal activity grows out of a legitimate concern for fair and accurate media representation. In some cases, we may never know the truth. But when the truth is told, we have no reason to fear it.
Comments conceal
Bernie
July 24 2003, 12:27PM
I think we need to be cautious about accepting as gospel truth allegations made by Askew about what Davis did or didn't do to him.
News reports say that Askew gathered more than the required petition signatures to get on the ballot, yet for some unknown reason, missed the filing deadline. In a series of email exchanges with a Brooklyn political reporter, who later described those exchanges as highly unusual in content and tone, Askew seemed to want to place blame elsewhere.
To suddenly seek the friendship of someone considered a political rival just weeks ago is clearly unusual. To deliberately smuggle a weapon into a secure facility is a premeditated act. To use it to shoot another person is the action of a cold-blooded killer. None of these are the typical behavior of what would commonly be considered a sane and rational individual.
I think there is more than ample evidence to suggest Askew was an unbalanced individual, with grandiose dreams, who may have perceived threats where none really existed.
I put very little stock in rumors and innuendo. Unfortunately some in our community live by that credo. As the former campaign coordinator for Joe Pressley's run for the same office Davis held, I know the City Councilman was not always a staunch supporter of LGBT causes. Pressley's presence in the race helped shed light on the fact that there was a sizeable and quite viable Black LGBT community right in his district. Any smart politician--and Davis was a smart politician--would recognize the need to connect to this community, not only within the district, but across the city. You don't have to be gay to do that in this city.
Absent hard and fast evidence from reliable sources, I see no justification for fanning the flames of rumor created by Davis' now slain killer.
alicia banks
July 24 2003, 1:17PM
wow
excellent column keith!
as i mourn this tragic event
i welcome the graphic exposure of the INTRATRIBAL wars that rabid black gaybashers fuel daily!!!
this is a classic example of why we must all come out and be who god made us to be in all arenas
honest people can never be blackmailed into dementia or murder
and gaybashers can only harass and torture those of us who do the same to our true homosexual selves
i deal with gaybashers daily
and i know they will use all recent incidents in the news to continue to bash gays
rather than to see the peril of their bigotry
and the snowball effects of their hatred of homos
ie
if the shooter was out
if the victim had not seen fit to use gaybashing
as a weapon
if the basketball players had not attended a typically ungodly christian university
etc...
perhaps we would have far less bloody headlines in the news
peace
ab
Cody
July 24 2003, 3:08PM
When white male heterosexuals commit mass murder do we condemn all white men? Hardly. When Jewish bankers extort millions of dollars, do we question all Jews handling our money? Not if we’re fair.
Blacks and gays need not internalize the highly publicized misdeeds of other blacks and gays.
Hear this: It AIN’T about you!!! Period.
This is about the lives of two individuals, not an entire community.
This is a gay matter because Mr. Askew presented it as such to the FBI. They are obligated to take serious and investigate his complaint. No one should be harassed because of his or her sexual orientation. If we take harassment complaints seriously then less people would feel the need to take the law into their own hands. Askew was clearly ticked at something.
Domestic violence seems to be on a rise. When you have an extremely high emotional attachment, access to a weapon and a breakdown in logical communication (for what ever reason) this can happen. The lesson here, straight, gay or bisexual; we as people need to learn how to better manage our walk though this life, any life.
Kola Boof
July 24 2003, 3:09PM
Davis is so fine--his ass was probably gay himself. Or atleast I heard rumors this morning from friends in N.Y. who claim he was DL.
I haven't a clue if it's true.
But I DEFINITELY believe the two basketball boys were lovers. Why else would a grown man promise to buy another grown man an SUV?
The dead one probably cheated or wanted to break up.
Who knows.
Davis might have tapped his killer's bonnet a few nights ago--and then rejected him "forever after".
It takes something major to drive a person to that "passionate" point of taking someone else's life. And the man who killed Davis shot him...over and over and over again. His face, according to a woman nearby, atrophied by RAGE.
Uhn huh.
People are people.
Cody
July 24 2003, 4:13PM
OK, and I gotta add this.
As a former Brooklynite, I’ve known of Mr. Davis for years and have always admired his efforts. His tragic loss, for what ever reason, is our community’s loss. Our social paths even crossed and I never heard anything said bad about him that carried weight. Like you Keith, in him I saw an aggressive doer. A lead all of us should follow.
Keith Boykin
July 24 2003, 5:03PM
More news is leaking out about this story. Channel 7 News reported this evening that Askew was arrested in 1996 for "hitting his domestic partner with a hammer."
Cool
July 24 2003, 10:12PM
Kola Boof (what kinda name is that), I’m in agreement with you.
It is not a far fetched scenario to imagine: two guys meet; one ten years older, more established; bonnets are tapped (as you so eloquently put it); younger guy becomes infatuated; the established guy says “let’s keep this on the DL” (in the closet for us old fogies). Over-impressed younger hothead falls head-over-heels (deep mojo type of love thing). The two stroll through Fort Greene Park. (Gayest neighborhood for young black men this side of Hotlanta) older guy says, be cool or this could ruin your career. Younger guy feeling jilted, hurt and naïve calls the FBI. Makes frequent calls to ‘mentor’s’ office. Meets older guy at work. Still playing the charmer, older guy escorts young amour around office (in this case, City Hall). Young guy frustrated confused and “in loony love,” shoots paramour in the back six times in a fit of rage in front of the whole world to see and document in the city record. Drama, chile.
OK. Show of hands; who’s been there? Well maybe not the shoot’n in the back part.
Sounds almost too cliché.
Not to make light of someone’s heartache, but on a more serious note: two guys can, and should be allowed to have a very close relationship and it not be sexual. It happens. While having a f*ck-buddy can be an ace in the hole (pun intended) those hoopsters could have been just tight friends. Watch the Enquire and will soon know.
Jim Four
July 24 2003, 11:42PM
Closets kill. The soul, the imagination and some times the flesh.
But let us not jump to conclusions ... I admit it is easy to speculate but lets let facts and not dish set the story line.
New news is that the police went with a search warrant into Askew's home and found HIV drugs and antidepressants.
His history of strong emotions directed at love objects speaks for itself. Hammer attack on his domestic partner/lover, theft of a gym bag from a guy he had just had sex with ... more will be revealed.
If Davis was on the Dl than here is an other example of how closets set up public figures. So what if he did have sex with men and was not out you may ask. Well?
I am wondering why an anti-violence politician was carrying a gun. I wonder how many other city council people carry personal guns.
So be prepared to thread the needle with the different strings emerging: HIV, Depression, and possible prostitution. Who prescribed the meds? When did they actually meet? ABC local NYC had talking heads in the 'hood saying they seem to be friends and were seen a number of times walking together.
If anyone can give a little more insight ... not speculation ... on Davis I would be appreciative.
The truth is: this is a tragedy, Two black men dead each killed by a black man.
Don Jones
July 25 2003, 12:14AM
Keith,
An excellent article...a friend called me from NY & he NEVER even mentioned the "gay angle".However,
as you say "does it really matter"? If this is more than a "rumor" and someone can give legimate details, then I think it does. He was a good looking man & I'm sure that worked well for him in politics.Nevertheless, rumors surface all the time when you have an attractive male suddenly killed by another man (i.e. no woman involved. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the rumor mill.
Don Jones
Bernie
July 25 2003, 8:54AM
I am quite annoyed by all the rampant speculation going on around this story. Especially from people writing comments from halfway across the country.
HERE IN NYC, I can tell you unequivacally, there is no evidence reported thus far to support any allegations there was a "relationship" going on between these two men.
THERE IS GROWING EVIDENCE that Askew had a history of unstable behavior. Read this item from Friday's New York Daily News about threats he made to another council candidate: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/story/103768p-93904c.html.
As for why Davis carried a gun, he was a retired New York City Police officer. ALL NYPD retirees are granted the special privilege of carrying their service revolvers. Even in retirement they have a statutory responsibility to intervene if they see a crime committed. Once a cop, always a cop.
As for Askew's claims that Davis was going to "out" him, consider this. He was twice arrested on assault charges stemming from gay relationships he had. HONEY HE WAS ALREADY OUT! Those charges are a matter of public record that anyone can access.
Askew was a nut case who saw threats where none existed and who killed a good public servant. That's all there is to this story.
Let's deal in fact, not rumor.
ronn
July 25 2003, 7:40PM
Glad to see your level-headed comments Bernie. The idiotic rumors and wild speculation of ignorant people is almost as bad as what Asked did to Davis.
rick
July 28 2003, 11:42AM
I think the person who posted that the slain was man was fine is immature at best. What difference did it make what he looked like he was killed. This had to be posted by "a queen" who is only interested in the salacious aspects of the tragedy. It is hard enough to live in this world and be respected by "normal people." Not that I am living my life for their approval, but what this man looked like or even what is sexual orientation is loss in such a idiotic statement like that.
Gavales Diana
December 11 2003, 1:12AM
With love comes strange currencies.
Lovering Daniel
December 21 2003, 2:52AM
The function of the artist is to provide what life does not.
Barba Richard
January 10 2004, 5:47AM
Ain't no disgrace to be poor - but might as well be.
Copeland Greg
March 17 2004, 1:36PM
A little nothing goes a long, long way.
Hickman Lynn
June 30 2004, 8:08AM
Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame.