Black Lawmakers tell LGBT Activists: Don't Blame the Black Caucus over the stalled Illinois Marriage Equality vote

The falled Illinois marriage vote blame has begun, and guess who getting the blame. Black folks! ding, ding, ding!

But the funny thing is, you can't blame the Black caucus. In fact, two members of the Black Caucus — Rep. Ken Dunkin and Rep. LaShawn Ford spoke out about it:

“It’s larger than that. We have 118 members and we have 71 Democrats who could have passed this bill,” Ford said. “So the fact that we didn’t pass it is not the fault of the Black Caucus. What happened is that we had democracy at its best and the people spoke and their representatives listened.” 

In addition, Dunkin said marriage equality is not a civil rights issue and marriage equality advocates may have offended black lawmakers when they equated the two. 

“Sorry, this is not the Black Caucus’ burden issue,” he said. “We shouldn’t be wearing the jacket for this. That would be unfair and disingenuous to have the Black Caucus wear the jacket because there are 71 Democrats.”

What's been disheartening is how several LGBT bloggers and activists blame them without knowing everything that happened.

I'm not siding with the Black Caucus because I'm Black. I"m just saying it's lazy and irresponsible to do so if you don't have all the facts.

So, to those who completely blamed the Black Caucus, shame on you.

source

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Netroots Nation: Black Caucus

So, today was the kick off for Netroots Nation. There are hundreds of people walking the Providence Convention Center.

I visited a couple of sessions and meet some interesting people.  One of the sessions was the Black Caucus. I’ll give you some highlights

·      We discussed the priorities and how to push our agenda forward.

·      The LGBT community was credited for our ability to mobilize and gain national attention.

·      The NAACP was very present in the discussion.

·      We view the needs of the Black community very differently.

·      We still need to explain the election process to many in our community.

·      We have to be straightforward and clear in engaging voters.

·      The Black Caucus has a list of priorities, however I’m not clear on what they are or if they represent the needs of our community.

·      There have to be a solid plan to motivate voters.

·      Voter registration is a high priority.

·      To engage young voters, we must use social media.

·      To create a power movement, we must tap into the rage of our community and forward that rage into the political movement.

·      Our community needs Community PE (Political Education)

·      We need more LGBT representation in the Black Caucus.