A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013

Keith Boykin, commentator (LGBT History Month)

Keith Boykin is a political commentator, a New York Times best-selling author and a veteran of two presidential campaigns. He is the editor of The Daily Voice and has appeared on CNN, MSNBC and BET. Bent Alaska presents his story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.

Keith Boykin

“I’m not on a show with a pink triangle or rainbow flag—which means that being gay is just a part of who I am.”

Keith Boykin (born August 28, 1965) is a political commentator, a New York Times best-selling author and a veteran of two presidential campaigns. He is the editor of The Daily Voice and has appeared on CNN, MSNBC and BET.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Boykin became politically focused working on local campaigns while in high school. At Dartmouth he was the editor of the daily newspaper and graduated with a B.A. in government.

After college, Boykin worked on the Dukakis presidential campaign. Thereafter, he attended Harvard Law School and continued working on campaigns, including the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton. Boykin worked as special assistant to the president and served as President Clinton’s liaison to the LGBT community.

In 1994, Boykin became the executive director of the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum and completed his first book, One More River to Cross: Black & Gay in America. In 1997, he served with Coretta Scott King and the Rev. Jesse Jackson on the U.S. presidential trade delegation to Zimbabwe.

Boykin wrote two other books, Respecting the Soul: Daily Reflections for Black Lesbians and Gays (1999) and Beyond the Down Low: Sex, Lies, and Denial in Black America (2005). His work shed light on AIDS, internalized homophobia and black men on the “down low.”

Boykin is a commentator on major political talk shows. In 2004, he starred on Showtime’s “American Candidate” and hosted BET’s “My Two Cents.”

Keith Boykin is working on a fourth book, For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Still Not Enough. He lives in New York City.

Joe Hawkins, host of Keeping It Real Online TV, interviewed Keith Boykin in 2008. Watch:

For more about Keith Boykin, visit his website, LGBT History Month page, or Wikipedia article.

Photo credit: Keith Boykin. Associated Press, licensed for LGBT History Month via the Equality Forum.