LA Times Essay On The Internal Struggle Of Black Gays

One article that did not generate as much attention as it deserved is a commentary from Douglas Foster, a professor at Northwestern University. Earlier this month, Foster penned an essay that provides insight into the challenges many black gays have integrating their sexuality with their racial identification.

Titled “Black, Gay and Indisputably African,” the essay uses the current situation in Uganda to reflect upon the author’s experiences as a gay man living in South Africa.

What hit home for me were his accounts of conversations with African gays while visiting the a gay club in Johannesburg, particularly with a homophobic preacher who explained his behavior that while he enjoyed being near LGBTs, he did not act on his desires.

This attitude of “look but don’t touch” is familiar to anyone who has been around closet cases and/or people on the down low. On some level, they acknowledge a gay identity but are not able to fully commit to living their life authentically.

A major contributor to this identity crisis is the sense that “real” black people are not LGBT. Foster recounts how prevalent the belief that homosexuality was imported by white colonial rulers is among certain segments of African society. That is an argument that has been used against black LGBTs in the United States as well by Louis Farrakhan, Francis Cress Welsing, and others who say homosexuality is a “white man’s disease.”

The way I see it, if you believe Africa is the origin of humanity, then you have to assume it was the birthplace of all forms of human behavior, including homosexuality.

Foster closes his piece with a mention of LGBT activism sites like Gay Uganda as proof that African LGBTs are making their voices heard as never before. The article is well worth your time.