As mentioned in Part I, gay stays ‘White’ because of the unique African-American religious experience in this country. Another reason why being gay has been traditionally synonymous with being White is because Black men, historically, were left out of the burgeoning Gay Rights Movement of the late 60s and early 70s. They had no choice. Being gay is often not as identifiable as someone’s race. How could Black gays and lesbians of the 60’s and 70’s take action in the early Gay Rights Movement when they had other concerns: attaining and maintaining civil rights.

Because of white supremacy and its ramifications such as economic hardship and job inequality, blacks for the most part were compelled to live in close multi-generational quarters and communities. This, however, meant that black gays and lesbians had to explore their sexual orientations within boundaries and parameters that were non-existent for White gays and lesbians. This meant that many had to live a closeted lifestyle because of their living arrangements, while White gays and lesbians had the economic freedom to live out their sexual orientations in a [marginally] more public fashion.

This closeted lifestyle culture early on in the Gay Rights Movement has ingrained itself in the Black community causing the historical contexts of race and sexuality to always be separate. The culture for Blacks during the 60’s was to separate their sexuality from their race. One could not be gay and fighting for Civil Rights or Black and fighting in the Gay Rights Movement. Most minorities that fell into a Civil Rights Movement would be automatically excluded if they possessed characteristics that were not acceptable in gaining rights.

Lesbians, both Black and White, were excluded from the Women’s Movement because of fear that their involvement would somehow diminish the cause. In other words, including a double minority, both lesbian and female, would somehow impede civil rights and equality for women. In the same respect the same instance happened with the Gay and Civil Rights Movements. Whites in the Gay Rights Movement did not want ‘Black inclusion’ and Blacks in the Civil Rights Movement did not want ‘Gay inclusion’. This posed problematic for many Black Gays and Lesbians because they were forced to choose an identity. For many, they chose their race over their sexuality and it was this play on racial and sexual politics that proved to be a defining force in how gay stayed White, and has been White ever since.