...a timely variation on the "some of my best friends are [fill in the blank]".

Thing is, you're missing the point; I can imagine that lots of straight blacks feel put off by the pro-equality bias clearly extant on Kos, and gay blacks, needing to maintain deep cover or face the ostracism of their community (I've seen it, very vividly; certain black electeds still refuse to shake my hand), would stay away from the forum for fear of being tarred 'that way'. That's the logic of the closet, and seeing how ferociously it's enforced in large parts of the black community, I'd aver that this is certainly one reason for low rates of black participation. Go to any homeless shelter built specifically for gay teens (we have them in New York), or to our one gay high school, and you'll see the fruits of the black closet. The black community is literally killing its own. And don't even get me started on misogyny.

So yeah, in the face of that, I don't really wonder about low rates of black participation on DKos. It's a screaming shame, and needs to be remedied, but don't pretend that it's a 'whites are excluding us' phenomenon solely. I thik you're blinded by hatred of DKos and merely flinging mud with the hope that some of it will stick, Francis.