P E R S P E C T I V E : M e d i a C i r c u s
Mayor Pete and
the Black Community PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER
BY ED SIKOV
Last week, Charles Blow, a
New York Times opinion columnist
whose work I generally
admire, wrote a blistering
attack on anyone who claims that
Pete Buttigieg’s campaign has what
might euphemistically be called “a
black problem,” a distinct lack of support
in the African-American community
that is directly tied to Buttigieg
being gay.
Blow begins with a bang:
“Reducing Pete Buttigieg’s struggle
to attract black support solely to black
homophobia is not only erroneous, it
is a disgusting, racist trope, secretly
nursed and insidiously whispered
by white liberals with contempt for
the very black people they court and
need. I have never been blind to this
— the people who see black religiosity
as an indicator of primitive thinking
and lack of enlightenment. (For the
record, I am bisexual and not a religious
man.) They are those who see
black people as a blight on our big cities,
pathologically prone to violence
and in need of pity and crumbs they
cast about and call philanthropy. They
see these black voters as needing to
be led, directed, and better informed
rather than as sophisticated voters
fully capable of making informed decisions
that they believe are best for
their lives and communities.”
But then Blow begins to cite his evidence,
and the fi rst people he attacks
is a focus group consisting of black
voters:
“The latest round of blaming black
homophobia for Buttigieg’s lackluster
black support came last month when
McClatchy obtained the report from a
focus group the Buttigieg campaign
had conducted with black voters.
According to McClatchy, the report
found that ‘being gay was a barrier
for these voters, particularly for the
men who seemed deeply uncomfortable
even discussing it… Their preference
is for his sexuality to not be front
and center.’”
Blow next grows defensive:
“First thing to note here is the size
of the group: only 24 people.”
That’s hardly surprising. It was a focus
group! (I’ve been in focus groups;
they were smaller than 24 people.)
Next:
“The second thing is that focus
groups aren’t scientifi c surveys. As
Liza Featherstone, author of ‘Divining
Desire: Focus Groups and the
Culture of Consultation,’ has put
it, ‘Focus groups are not a scientifi c
and quantitative method of gathering
knowledge.’”
I don’t recall anyone making that
particular claim.
“But none of that mattered,” Blow
pushes on. “This fed a narrative
that liberals — including some older
black politicians and pundits — have
nursed. My emphasis A raft of articles
was published. Social media
posts started to fl y.”
Blow continues:
“South Carolina Congressman Jim
Clyburn was asked about the focus
group on CNN and he fed into the narrative,
saying: ‘That is a generational
issue. I know of a lot of people my age
who feel that way.’ The anchor asked if
Clyburn was saying that for older African
Americans Buttigieg’s gayness
was an issue, and he responded: ‘Yes,
it is. There’s no question about that.
I’m not going to sit here and tell you
otherwise because I think everybody
knows that’s an issue.’”
“Really?,” Blow writes incredulously.
I’m incredulous, too, because Clyburn
is black, just like the participants
in the focus group.
“Is there homophobia in the black
community?,” Blow continues. “Of
course. Is it higher in the black community
than in other communities? It
is. But even that needs context.”
Context is good; I like context. The
problem is, the context Blow provides
doesn’t support his point, let alone his
outrage:
“Acceptance and rejection of gayness
is highly correlated to religiosity.
Black people in general are more
religious than other racial groups.
But, while black Protestants are more
opposed to same-sex marriage than
white Mainline Protestants (more
moderate), they are more supportive
of it than white evangelical Protestants
(more conservative), according
to a May Pew Research Center report.”
Now wait a minute. Citing as evidence
that black homophobia is not
a factor in black people’s below-average
support of Pete Buttigieg a comparison
to the vicious bigotry of white
evangelicals is not an effective rhetorical
strategy.
Blow then fi nds more useful footing
for his argument:
“Buttigieg isn’t the only candidate
struggling to strengthen his support
among black voters. He will have to
appeal to that group like he appeals
to any other, by listening and being
responsive. And he’s already doing
that. A June Post and Courier-Change
Research poll of likely Democratic
primary voters found: ‘Most notable
is Buttigieg’s growing support from
black voters. He collected six percent
African-American support, good
enough for fourth this month, after
he received none in May.’ Black voters
generally favor candidates with
a demonstrated history of loyalty to
the community. Buttigieg is a young
man, relatively unknown, and with
a curious history on race relations in
South Bend, Ind. He will have to get
over those hurdles.”
Now the fact is that Buttigieg does
have a problem with black voters that
has nothing to do with homophobia in
the black community and everything
to do with his spotty record of dealing
with black people, is evidenced by his
fi ring of a popular African-American
police chief in South Bend, Indiana,
where he’s mayor.
And there’s more:
“Over the summer of 2019, an unarmed
Black man was killed by a
white cop in South Bend. This was
following the fact that Pete fi red the
city’s fi rst Black police chief and saw
the percentage of Black police offi cers
cut in half on his watch.”
That quote came from an Advocate
article by George Johnson .
And there’s more:
After Charles Blow’s piece hit the
stands, the Buttigieg campaign totally
botched the rollout of a policy
statement that had been specifi cally
designed to address the candidate’s
lack of support among black voters
but turned them off instead. As Gay
Victoria Schneps-Yunis
CEO & CO-PUBLISHER
Joshua Schneps
FOUNDING EDITOR IN-CHIEF
& ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Paul Schindler
editor@gaycitynews.com
DIGITAL EDITOR
Matt Tracy
matt@gaycitynews.com
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Duncan Osborne
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Donna Aceto (Photography)
Christopher Byrne (Theater)
Susie Day (Perspective)
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Kelly Jean Cogswell, Andres Duque,
Steve Erickson, Andy Humm,
Eli Jacobson, David Kennerley,
Gary M. Kramer, Arthur S. Leonard,
Michael T. Luongo, Lawrence D. Mass,
Brian McCormick, Eileen McDermott,
Mick Meenan, Tim Miller,
Donna Minkowitz, Christopher Murray,
David Noh, Sam Oglesby,
Nathan Riley, David Shengold,
Ed Sikov, Yoav Sivan, Gus Solomons Jr.,
Tim Teeman, Kathleen Warnock,
Benjamin Weinthal, Dean P. Wrzeszcz
ART DIRECTOR
Marcos Ramos
ADVERTISING
Ralph D’Onofrio
718-260-2524
rdonofrio@schnepsmedia.com
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES
Gayle Greenberg
Andrew Mark
Jim Steele
Julio Tumbaco
Miriam Nieto
Jay Pelc
Laura Cangiano
Kathy Wenk
Jeannie Eisenhardt
Lenny Vigliotti
Elizabeth Polly
CO-FOUNDERS EMERITUS
Troy Masters
John Sutter
Please call 212-229-1890 for
advertising rates and availability.
NATIONAL DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Rivendell Media / 212.242.6863
Gay City News, The Newspaper Serving Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual, and Transgender NYC, is published
by Schneps Media. Send all inquiries to: Gay City
News, One Metrotech North, 10th Floor, Brooklyn,
NY 11201. Phone: 212.229.1890 Written permission
of the publisher must be obtained before any of
the contents of this paper, in part or whole, can be
reproduced or redistributed.
All contents © 2019 Schneps Media
Gay City News is a registered trademark
of Schneps Media
Fax: 212-229-2790
© 2019 Schneps Media
All rights reserved.
FOUNDING MEMBER
➤ MAYOR PETE, continued on p.25
November 21 - November 27, 2 14 019 | GayCityNews.com
/GayCityNews.com
link
link
link
link
link
link
