Exploited King

Martin Luther King is one of my personal heroes and one of people I think of when I think of equality, peace, and nonviolence. 


I encountered something very out of the ordinary today. On one of the Facebook groups that I am a part of, someone posted a flyer for a black gay event for MLK Weekend, a event that is typical (just like a gay pride celebration). The flyer consisted of a picture of Dr. King with pictures of shirtless male models accompanying it on the side. It caused some uproar in the comments, but the person who posted it was trying his hardest to defend why he created such a promotional ad; he's somehow involved in club promotions and it was his event or club. I can't remember. What I do know is that I was in strong opposition.


It's blatantly disrespectful to create an event of sexual promiscuity, partying, all the things that are associated with the wild life in the LGBTQ community and do it in the name of Dr. King. That is my problem, tagging the name of a world famous human rights leader to a night that is obviously going to be about hyper-sexual dick. It is merely exploitation. I see so much wrong in having to have a pride-style celebration for all kinds of holidays and it doesn't just exist in the black gay community. What an absurd thing to do.


This event is going on as of right now. I don't know why. Maybe because us gays always have to celebrate on every major day of the calendar, but why does it have to be something sexually related? Why does it have to be about strippers, go-go dancers, and fucking until you drop? Don't get me wrong, I'm not against any of this, but for Martin Luther King, Jr.? No excuse. It's not respectful at all. Yes, he was a freedom fighter, but his death reminds of the sacrifices he made so that future generations could reap the benefits of a more progressive society. He fought for better employment and receiving a good education for African-Americans, not for us to embrace the fact that being a stripper with a GED is the very best that we can do. 


I believe that if Dr. King was alive, he would be for gay rights. His philosophies perfectly align with the LGBT agenda that we are striving for today. But because of these MLK weekend celebrations that many black gays are so fond of, I think that he would come back and do a speech just like the one in The Boondocks. He would be disappointed in us. King Day should be a day for us to give back to the community, get involved and do service. There are going to be many volunteer opportunities and King celebrations taking place. It is not a day off, but a day on. If you do not think about his universal dream of peace, freedom, and equality for all during the year, at least think about it on the day that we annually pay tribute to him. We, as the black gay community, need to obviously get it together. Seriously.