by Patrick Appel
Ta-Nehisi argues persuasively that marriage equality in DC shows the danger of thinking "that black communities–and black people–are interchangeable, that what holds for Inglewood necessarily holds for LeDroit Park." He writes:
Look, black Washington is black Washington. It isn't Harlem. It isn't Selma. It isn't West Baltimore. It's a city existing on its own individual terms, with it's own specific individual history. The District's black community extends back to the city's founding. They boast a university which has been a beacon for black progressives for over a century, and a progressive tradition which extends back to home rule.
Indeed, for all the heat over black homophobia, Chocolate City passed a domestic partnership back in 1992–when it wasn't cool. But it had no teeth–not because of a band of black homophobes–but because of white homophobia. (that's intentionally absurd) The GOP-led Congress refused to allow it.
The Dish 