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P age
Voices
of colon
Four views
from the Invisible
community
by
A nthony D avis
A
s the nation celebrates Black History Month,
Just Out has asked four African American
queer Portlanders to share feelings, views and
ideas about issues that face their often
ignored and marginalized community.
Four distinct voices— gay youth therapist John
Garlington; artist Bobby Fputher; artist, activist
and nanny Nicole Amaris; and activist Stephan
Herrera— discussed how they identify themselves
in a predominately white culture, their observa­
tions of the community at large, some of the issues
facing sexual minority people of color and solu­
tions. Here are excerpts from the interviews:
J ohn G arlington
Anthony Davis: How do you identify yourself?
John Garlington: 1 identify as a gay black male
who likes other men, period. A person who loves peo­
ple and sexually enjoys the company of another man.
However, I think being an African American
male in Portland and being only 3 percent of the
population has always had some problems, one of
which is that in a community like this it’s hard to
form your own identity as a black person, let alone
as a gay black male.
One of the issues is that for us to be open and
out, we’re automatically disenfranchised from our
own community. Consequently, when most
African Americans come out in Portland they
constantly direct a lot of their energies towards
white males. I’m not saying that’s either right or
wrong; I’m saying that gay white males have more
of a community to connect to than we do.
A D : Being raised in Portland, how did you
solidify your identity?
JG : From my own personal experience of aiming
out at 1 6 ,1 needed to see other black men who were
00
professionals to identify with because at that point I
needed options and differences. I work with gay black
youth, and I see what can happen when they get a
mentor and they are able to see examples besides
growing up to be the next drag queen. Not that that’s
right or wrong, but it tends to be a lot of the repre­
sentation that is considered their mentors, like the
ones that existed in the past.
A D : What are some of the things that need to
be done to help strengthen our community?
JG : The old saying “you’re only as strong as the
weakest link” rings true. If the minority communi­
ty in the gay community is the most vulnerable,
then I think it is the responsibility for all o f us to
look at it and devise ways to strengthen it. T hat is
where the needs are.
Continued on Page 13