My favorite part was here where he points out that no black "A-listers" have yet come out:
I am reminded, as I write this, of gospel singer James Cleveland, whom I caught in a 1960s clip when I finally got to see the excellent gospel documentary “Rejoice and Shout” last week.
After about 30 seconds, I caught subtle gestures that suggested a certain something about the man. All I had to do was Google him. There it was, just as I suspected: Cleveland spent his life closeted.
In his time, he had to, like all public figures (and most private ones, for that matter). But the sad thing is that a James Cleveland today lives the same lie.
As do, almost certainly, three very prominent black Americans I am thinking of right now. One can’t be certain about them, obviously. But let me put it this way: The life histories of all three make it so that if it turned out they were straight, it would be extremely surprising.
One of them gets by with “It’s none of your business.” Another uses artfully gender-neutral language when talking about romance. With another, a longstanding and deafening silence has had a certain eloquence of its own.
There are white people corresponding to all three in the public pantheon who have long been public about being gay.
It is highly likely that the reticence of the above trio is at least partly due to fears of rejection by the black public.
One way we will know black America has fulfilled its responsibility in keeping the struggle alive for others is when figures such as the three above can own up to themselves in public — and their fellow black Americans are okay with it.
Read the whole piece here: Gay Is The New Black
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My top guesses on two of the three potentially closeted "A-listers" are:
Could this explain their absence from the Historic Inaugural festivities...?
"Fear Eats the Soul"
I was asked, so here is guess No. 3: Oprah's rags to riches stage and screen drama pal, Tyler Perry.
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