Finding the Next Rosa Parks
By Keith Boykin, in politics
Friday, November 4 2005, 1:12AM
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I became an activist and how to identify and nurture new activists.
I’ve always said I didn’t want to be an activist, but somehow activism was in my blood. As the school newspaper editor at Dartmouth and a campus protest leader at Harvard, activism just seemed to follow me, or so I thought. I now know my activism was much more conscious than I realized. I had made pivotal decisions that led to my involvement.
When I graduated from college, I went to work for two years on a political campaign instead of working in corporate America. When I graduated from law school, I signed up for the Clinton presidential campaign instead of becoming a high-priced lawyer. And after a few years with a high profile job in the Clinton White House, I left to write a book about being black and gay. Those decisions were bad for my wallet, but good for my spirit, and in the end, they made me an activist.
Now I'm ready to move on. I have no regrets about my experiences, but I’m eager to find new leaders who can learn from their own experience. In recent years, I’ve spoken to LGBT high school students, recruited talented college activists to join the board of the National Black Justice Coalition, and opened my website to new expressions from young columnists. But the more I did, the harder it was to get others involved. Unwittingly, I had become an obstacle to my own recruitment plans. The more visible I became, the more difficult it was for others to become visible. Whenever I suggested that others should speak, I continued to be called on to speak instead.
So last month, I decided to take a stand. I shut up. After the Millions More March, I got calls from CBS News, Essence Magazine, the Boston Globe, The Advocate, National Public Radio, Air America Radio and numerous other media outlets looking for a comment, and I told them all the same thing. Talk to someone else please.
It’s not that I have a problem with the media. I don’t. I speak to the media all the time. The problem is that I don’t want to be the only black gay guy they call. And I don’t want to be pigeonholed solely as black and gay. I’m proud of who I am, but I’m more than the sum of my identities.
I still have something to say out about other topics beyond my race and sexual orientation. That is why I write about those issues on my website. And that is why I was pleased to take part in last year’s Showtime reality series "American Candidate," which provided an opportunity to speak about jobs, health care, education, the war in Iraq, and other issues that have nothing to do with being a black gay man.
Those of us who have been deemed “leaders” in the community know that we need replacements. We don’t need a Martin Luther King to lead us to the promised land. Instead, we need thousands of people like Rosa Parks to stand up and be leaders in their own communities. No one person can represent everyone. That’s why we need women and men, young and old, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered activists with various backgrounds and from all parts of the country.
If we want to hear new voices, our organizations need to make an active effort to recruit, train and support new activists. And we need to find ways to mentor new leaders before the old leaders burn out. I know that my own organization is busy making plans to do that, and I imagine others are doing the same.
Those of us in positions of leadership can’t stay on forever. We have to realize it’s time for new faces to be seen, and those faces can’t be seen as long as the old faces continue to steal the spotlight. But that also means it’s time for new people to step up and be active. As the door of leadership swings open, let’s make sure there are plenty of new people to walk inside.
(A version of this article originally appeared on PlanetOut.com on November 2, 2005.)
Comments conceal
a white boy
November 4 2005, 2:29AM
keith- and to the loyalists,
I feel compelled to report that you have not only been an inspiration and a courageous voice/leader for black, gay and lesbian people in the U.S., but that your work has challenged many thinkers and leaders "outside" of what you might consider your community. . . for whatever it's worth- (and quite frankly, I've never sensed it was your concern- to your credit) there are many white, asian, latino, and international identities from all over that quietly observe, listen, and challenge ourselves because of the issues you raise. I wish you all the best in your recruiting efforts and whatever new endeavors you pursue. . .
jazzi
November 4 2005, 10:25AM
I feel what you're saying, Keith. One man or woman can't carry for all of us. We all can do a little something to make things better for all of us. I think the problem is that a lot of the youth fail to see that there is still so much work to do in the interest of our freedom. There are still many battles to be fought. I also think that because now that we can vote, pursue higher education, run for public office, & eat, shop, & live anywhere we want to, a lot of us have been lulled to sleep. Like we truly have arrived. We have come a long way but there's still a long ways to go. A lot has been taken for granted.
You mentioned Rosa Parks. In her day, they were literally living under the gun. Standing up & being counted cost many people their lives. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the adversity & peril of the times brought them together. I'm sure there were differences but those differences didin't disrupt the cause they were fighting for. They were together. When the word came that no one should ride the buses, no one did. There was a sense of community & in the end, they accomplished what they set out to accomplish.
It use to irritate me when I'd hear older people say that we have it to easy. Perhaps they are right. I think the reason there aren't any real leaders like Fannie Lou Hamer, Martin Luther King, Malcom X, & Rosa Parks is because they knew a struggle that we don't. Not to say that we're living in paradise but we're complacent. Rosa, Martin & the others believed that things could chang. Thats why they fought. A lot of us seem willing to accept things as they are. Oh, we'll complain but thats usually as far as it goes.
Maybe we need something to happen to this generation, something shake & shock us out of dormancy. You have to turn the heat up to get the pot to boil. Maybe a little troubling of the waters will provoke us to get our house in order.
savvy101
November 4 2005, 11:47AM
dude, get over yourself
Regan DuCasse
November 4 2005, 11:59AM
My dear Keith,
I see a definite conflation in the segregationist politics of Jim Crow and how gay people are treated now.
There is a unique difference in the kinds of oppression there have been. But the key is, there shouldn't be ANY.
I am not gay. I have wondered over and over again what makes me empathize with my gay and lesbian friends?
I have no close gay relatives, I couldn't have the conceit displayed by so many straight people and claim that I know "The Truth" as they do.
Only arrogated by holy writ and nothing else.
I have been surprised sometimes at how I have articulated things, in articles and appearances in public forums where any policies concerning gay people are discussed.
There is another trend that's concerned me. Not just white conservatives courting blacks against gay equality, but that they are turning deaf to gay people.
There aren't few forums that gay people are invited to any longer, even while issues that affect gay life are in discussion.
The courts are kicking cases down, sideways and out for another day that need to be resoved RIGHT NOW.
The public has, and rightly been more concerned with their jobs, gas prices, the Iraq war and health care.
But the current anti gay public policies are just a diversion from those more universal concerns.
A way to say 'we disapprove of gay people', but do nothing to improve anyone's life one way or the other. Or at the very least extremely complicate gay people's lives.
But mainstream heteros are past caring. They don't think gay issues are so urgent or in need of any other consideration.
I am sensing that is what's happening.
If a straight person doesn't exactly see themselves 'hurting' a gay person, it's their belief that gay people are doing fine and don't need them in any other capacity.
There is no understanding that if things were so wonderful, there wouldn't be any complaint.
I can, however, relate to the urgency. What instructs me is how Jim Crow like laws ARE in effect against gay people.
The are a part of an archaic but persistant standard that no longer applies except for prejudiced attitudes.
Dr. Sylvia Rhue and I have had plenty of discussions with each other. On what my role might be as a straight ally.
And an articulate one.
I don't know where I got the ability, but perhaps it's just a matter of simply understanding what equality REALLY means. What injustice feels like against a considerable talented and compassionate minority.
Black folks are still misunderstoond and maligned in some ways by stereotypical cultural example, but there is no law that says blacks cannot participate in what they choose to that's legal and open to all.
Gays and lesbians are misunderstood because they are silenced and their own experience is trumped by heterosexual conceit.
The message from heteros is either 'we'll tell you WHAT you are, and what your place is too'.
This is familiar to other minorities.
Identity is a powerful thing, and the hetero majority is still trying to tell gay people not only what they are, but that they are entitled to CONTROL gay people through Jim Crow type laws.
They never had the right to do so, and the Constitution is the contract that says so.
I can't say I understand what it's like to be gay.
But I know the conceit of the majority when I see it.
I know that historically our society is still paying dearly for too late discovery about what equality means and setting the same standards for all citizens.
Reminding the straight majority that self determination is in ALL our DNA and that freedom at the expense of gay people has never served anything good.
Seek out as many straight allies as you can find. Journalists, politicians, whoever and make them HEAR you!
YOU own your voice...not the heteros working against you.
Remind them often who owns what and what must be done for what was promised.
I mean this with all my heart and with much love and admiration for the NBJC and all the others out there in the trenches.
I'm with you....all the way!
Ken W.
November 4 2005, 12:02PM
Keith, you are so on point with this. Even in my current job, I make it a point to do succession planning and training. No one person can be all things to all people nowadays. There also comes a point when we should step aside so that those others who wish to shoulder some of activism have the opportunity to develop. The issues are much too broad and complicated. Nor is it fair to put on the shoulders of any one person the responsibility for the progress of an entire group of people. I am grateful that God has placed you among us as a prophet and leader. (You are "standing in the gap" Ezekiel 12:30). The sacrifices that you have made in terms of time and earnings are deeply appreciated. I hope you will help develop a cadre of spokespersons to whom you might refer the media and others to call/consult. Peace be yours.
Laura
November 4 2005, 6:32PM
i recently got in an argument over the state of civil rights, katrina, nazis marching through Black neighborhoods in ohio, etc. with a well-heeled immigrant. he "conceded" lol that perhaps it will take another MLK to shame the majority into furthering civil rights.
i was like, dude, it's 2005 be your own g-d MLK. don't wait on us to once again bear the brunt DISPROPORTIONATELY for everyone's struggle for equality.
after 400 years, we're sick of it.
no answer. lol.