Speaker Challenges Notions of Race, Sexuality by Dwayne Brice On Thursday, author and former special assistant to President Clinton Keith Boykin, gave a lecture entitled “Sex, Lies and Race in America.” As a part of the Black History Month celebration, Boykin raised many issues that were vital not only to the black population in general, but also to people of color in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gendered communities. In addition to being the former Executive Director of the National Black Lesbian and Gay Forum and a Lambda Literary Award writer, Boykin was the highest-ranking openly gay person in the Clinton Administration. Boykin commenced his talk by honoring Oberlin’s abolitionist past, noting that the school was an important part of the development of the Underground Railroad, and, subsequently, African–American selfhood. Integral to his agenda for the evening was a prospectus entitled “The Seven Deadly Lies.” Key to his discussion were the following falsities as they pertained to the African-American community: discrimination is a thing of the past; race is about status and sexual orientation is about behavior; homosexuality is a white thing; African-American people are more homophobic than whites; racism is not a problem in the LGBT community; AIDS is no longer an issue; and homosexuality and spirituality are inconsistent. “For the most part, his ‘Seven Deadly Lies’ could not have been more apropos to what is occurring in today’s society,” first-year Donnell Kelly said. Central to Boykin’s arguments was a deconstruction of society’s biased notions of the African American gay experience. In his elaboration of “homosexuality is a white thing,” Boykin stressed that homosexuality is a “human thing.” Mentioning such esteemed members of the African American gay and lesbian community as George Washington Carver, James Baldwin and Bayard Rustin drew shocked silence from the audience. Boykin stressed African-American gay history as a means of debunking heterosexist stereotypes, but also as a way to give relevance to the long history of the African American gay liberation movement. “It didn’t seem to me that he was trying to manipulate statistics to prove a selfish point. Presenting them the way he did left you wanting to do further research,” sophomore James Anderson said. When commenting on the AIDS epidemic, Boykin noted a number of statistics. The Bush Administration has allotted about $396 billion dollars to defense, while AIDS research has yet to see even millions. Proportionally, AIDS is soon to become the largest known pandemic disease in the history of the Earth. “I am also grateful that Boykin has stepped out of the boundaries of ‘single-issue’ politics and used his intelligence to further causes other than those specifically related to sexuality,” Anderson said. When talking about the misconception that “homosexuality and spirituality are inconsistent,” Boykin made sure to stress that the Bible, with its own array of inconsistencies, should not be taken as an anthropological database. “The Bible is not trying to explain and answer history,” Boykin said. In this vein, he brought up the ironic point that the Bible, once a tool used for African American oppression, is today used by certain black people to oppress LGBT African Americans. In raising this point, Boykin urged African-Americans as a community to remember the commandment: love thy neighbor as thou would love thyself. “His message of love — always a message of hope for me — is irrefutable,” Residential Life and Services Area Coordinator Ehrai Adams said. Boykin’s speech served as a point of discussion for pressing issues that have yet to be addressed by the African-American community at large. He fielded many questions from the audience and intertwined his responses with personal anecdotes. “I liked the structure of the overall presentation. By that I mean Keith Boykin used various methods to make his points. He told stories and personal accounts, used statistics, etc. I think this allowed those with various learning styles to enjoy some aspect of his talk,” Multicultural Resource Center Afrikana Coordinator Kwame Willingham said. Fielding tough questions about being “post-gay” and the use of his Harvard Law degree, Boykin shone through with thoughtful and incisive answers. “I wish more of us who consider ourselves allies had been present to hear and be reminded of what that experience is like on a daily basis. Please bring him back,” Adams said.

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