2008 Woodie Awards
Keith Boykin talks about race, sexuality
Jovan Sage
Issue date: 2/13/06 Section: News
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A Harvard Law School graduate and former special assistant to President Bill Clinton, Boykin is a leading commentator on race and sexuality.
He expounded upon the issues that affect those who are black and gay in America, such as family, religion and politics.
"Knowing the right thing to do is not the same as doing it," Keith Boykin said.
"It takes courage to do the right thing."
He related to the audience his first year of graduate school in which he joined forces with multiple student groups to form a coalition whose main goal was to increase diversity of law school faculty.
"The faculty was radically unrepresentative of the students they were teaching," said Boykin.
The coalition used everything from protest, office sit-ins, and finally a lawsuit against the law school for discrimination in the selection of its faculty.
Raising the profile of the issue but still losing in the courts, the students were still able to effect change.
"Students are conditioned to think that you are powerless," said Boykin. "You are conditioned to think that you don't have any power because you are just a cog in the machine."
Boykin said students must not give away their power to the administration, because without students there would be no school to administer to.
In his second year at Harvard Law School, Boykin realized that his over-involvement in student organizations and politics was covering up the real issue of his sexuality.
By keeping himself busy, he was able to avoid acknowledging and tackling his homosexuality.
Through acceptance of his own sexuality, he began the process of coming out to others, starting with his own mother.
"She spoke up and said 'I just want you to know that I love you.' That was the most important thing she could have said to me at that time," Boykin.
His mother expressed unconditional love and support but then told him he should not tell a lot of people and never tell his grandmother, that it would kill her.
Boykin did not wish to live without acknowledging that important aspect of himself; he continued the coming out process.
"The first rule of coming out is this: If you tell the right people, you don't have to tell everybody else. It works," said Boykin.
He used this same technique with his family. The news eventually reached his conservative, religious grandmother, who would then confront his partner during his graduation.
"Nothing has changed in my 'lifestyle' except the fact that now you know that I am gay," said Boykin.
Questions from the audience led to further discussion of societal oppression, gay identity, and safe spaces for people of color in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender organizations.
After the question and answer session Boykin signed copies of his two books, "One More River to Cross: Black and Gay in America" and \"Beyond the Down Low: Sex, Lies, and Denial in Black America."
UMKC Queers and Allies presented "One More River to Cross: Black and Gay in America" as a part of Diversity Week.
jsage@unews.com
