AltBrothers

A February 2004 issue of the Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper ran an article on the city of Atlanta and its believed role as the new black gay Mecca in America. The term “Mecca” is used to describe that a place is ideal and where in this case, black gays are able to be all that they can be. Some say that the density and patronage of black gay bars and clubs (the meeting place of undoubtedly many gay or same-gender seeking men) is the sign of the life and power of the community. Yet this cannot count to satisfy the many men who likely do not patronize bars or clubs.

Like the majority white gay communities that formed and developed in major American cities during the 1900’s, the reality of Mecca outside of our gay bars and clubs, trails the proclamation. Further, other cities such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. might want to challenge for the crown of established Meccas as cities such as Dallas, Houston and Miami might for emerging Meccas. Yet what of the whole idea of Mecca in the first place, regardless of where it might or might not be?

What makes a Mecca?

Surely the number of black gay bars and clubs cannot alone, or predominately create a “Mecca” environment unless bars and clubs are where black gays are able to be all that they can be. This is clearly not so. There is a world of living to be lived outside of these venues.

Some site that they were attracted by the already significant concentration of other black educated and business community. This makes sense as the saying goes, “It’s easy to get money when you have money”. Having a vibrant black educated and business population helps to attract other black educated people from other places. Yet, for anyone who has lived in a “Mecca” of one sort or another, there can come a point when there’s too much of a good thing.

If Atlanta is Mecca, what hope is there for the birth and development of black gay communities of significance in Birmingham, Orlando, or Memphis; in Minneapolis, Denver or Portland?

The truth is that we ascribe significance to places and events and then believe that those things have significance. Black gay men can signify themselves and their home cities and in turn feel that their own life story in their own city is significant.

Many American blacks have ascribed significance to the American south for historic reasons. Yet American blacks ascribe significance to places outside of the south as well. There are “black Indian” histories that cover the American southwest from Oklahoma to California. There are pioneer stories for blacks who migrated to and established communities in eastern Canada or in the Pacific Northwest.

Unfortunately, black gay men are too often pressured and persecuted in their places of origin from those closest to them. They are attracted to the prospect of fleeing and “disappearing” in large anonymous crowds.

Atlanta should be congratulated. It has been gifted with great potential. The black gay men who congregate there have been gifted with great opportunity.

Yet will this newest black gay Mecca merely mimic those that have preceded it, or will it surpass them? Will there simply be more black gay bars and clubs? What will be the sign that the black gay community in Atlanta is creating a model for a new day for black gays everywhere?

And what of the many every-day cities and towns where fewer black gays live? Can they create abundant living, or a Mecca-environment for themselves?

Our histories, our present situations and our futures are not owned by any one city or in any one cultural story.

We must live abundantly wherever we are, and we must seek to live abundantly in as many ways as possible. For there are too many black gay student organizations yet to be born. There are too many black gay men’s choruses that have yet to sing their songs. There are too many black gay business associations to be organized, too many black gay alumni chapters to form. There are too many black gay facilities and media to be owned, too many agriculture and gardening groups, health promotion services, and summer camps to organize… And there are too many black gay families yet to live, RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE.