Washington Post Article on LGBT Politics Only Quotes White Men

{ cross-posted at feministing }

Update (4/22/10): The Washington Post ombudsman, Andrew Alexander, responded to my email and CCed the author of the article:

“Thanks for writing. With this response, I’m sharing your e-mail with Ms. Parker.

Best wishes,
Andy Alexander
Washington Post Ombudsman”
– – –

Now this is disappointing.

A profile from today’s Washington Post about Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, only quotes white men.  The article is all about the criticisms of the HRC from within the LGBT community, yet the author, Lonnae O’Neal Parker, didn’t quote, source, or reference a broad enough swath of the LGBT activist population. There are at least five people quoted in the piece, Messina, Kameny, Elmendorf, Hauslaib, and Petrelis, and based on my research, they are all white men.

This is a wholly unrepresentative sample of the movement. Her oversight severely weakens the point, that there is dissent within the community, especially when some of the biggest complaints about Solmonese and his leadership come from transgender and people of color communities.

The reporter is well-known for her writing about race and ethnicity.  Too bad she didn’t do her homework on this one.