Don't Ask Don't Tell's Death Long Overdue

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By: Deborah Mathis, BlackAmericaWeb.com

Born in 1993 at the beginning of the Clinton presidency, Don't Ask Don't Tell was an ugly baby that grew up to be an ugly teenager.

Yet, for all the shameful bad it did - scandalizing and punishing people for not being like the majority - having DADT was probably the only way we were going to confront and overcome the mentality that spawned it. CONTINUE....

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Hurts African-American Women The Most

During the recent heated debates on Capitol Hill about repealing "Don't ask, don't tell," former Army Sgt. Tracey L. Cooper-Harris sent a poignant letter to President Barack Obama urging him to "do the right thing."

Cooper-Harris, who is black, wrote in the May 10 letter that her male compatriots sexually blackmailed her as a teenager to guard her secret of being gay. "The signal from command was clear: being gay was a far more serious offense in the military than sexually harassing a fellow service member," she wrote. "I ultimately chose what I believed was the best decision for me at the time. I let these men have their way with me in exchange for their silence."

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