In November of 2008, only three months after I began pursuing a master’s degree in the Department of Sexuality Studies at San Francisco State University, tension and conflict between white gays and lesbians and both queer and straight people of color erupted after Proposition 8 passed. I was still adjusting to the stress of a graduate reading load and the fact that I was now living alone in a new city with no family and virtually no friends from back home when I realized that a racist blame game had manifested.

I’m sure readers are well aware of exactly what transpired. Frankly, white gays and lesbians unleashed a flurry of blame on people of color for the oppressive proposition’s success. People like Dan Savage blamed African Americans, calling them a “threat to gay Americans.” Others blamed Latin Americans, citing their “traditional family values.” And still others blamed Asian Americans. (Of course, in January 2009, Patrick J. Egan from New York University and Kenneth Sherrill from Hunter College-CUNY released a study titled “California’s Proposition 8: What Happened, and What Does the Future Hold?” that debunked the myth that race had much to do with one’s decision to either vote for or against 8.)