Untangling Pathology: The Moynihan Report and Homosexual Damage, 1965–1975

The “Sick” Racist

“…Nevertheless, the dangers of Black pathology outlined in the Moynihan report would exert great influence on social policies toward Black communities for decades to come. As the historian Kevin Mumford writes, the report “outlined in broad strokes the dangers to society of uncontrolled Black pathology: the loss of social control over the ghetto, leading to “collective unrest” and the products of broken families and broken societies’ filling the prison system, as well as deviance in “sex life,’” (Mumford 2012, p. 56). Moynihan, in his research and theorizing, had drawn heavily from a number of scholars: of course, E. Franklin Frazier, who had been a student of Robert Park, but also Harvard psychiatrist Robert Coles, famed psychologist and psychoanalyst Erik Erickson, and historian Stanley Elkins, whose aforementioned thesis on the impact of slavery on the personality structure of Blacks would inspire Moynihan’s use of the term “tangle of pathology” in his description of the Black matriarchal family structure.…”

“…In it, Clark discussed at length the negative impact violent behavior and sexual promiscuity were having on the inhabitants of Harlem’s Black residents. In characterizing his observations of Black life in Harlem, Clark had used the term “pathology,” arguing that the ghetto itself was what fueled a pathology among Blacks signaled by their lack of sexual repressions (Clark 1965; Mumford 2012). Despite Clark’s damning criticism of Black social life, and his use of the term “pathology,” it would be Moynihan’s use of “tangle of pathology” that would generate far more criticism and currency after its publication.…”

“…In addition to Clark, Moynihan also drew from the collective works of Thomas Pettigrew, including his aforementioned conclusions that the personality structure of Black Americans had its roots in the matriarchal family structure of Black urban communities, where segregation had produced patterns of absentee fathers. In consulting Moynihan’s personal digest and papers, Mumford finds that Moynihan noted Pettigrew’s observation that “the effects of father absent families are to be seen in homicide, schizophrenia, and homosexuality,” (Mumford 2012, p. 59). Citing Pettigrew, Moynihan would write of the personality development of Blacks, “The inability to delay gratification is a critical factor in immature, criminal, and neurotic behavior,” (Mumford 2012, p. 60).…”

“…In consulting Moynihan’s personal digest and papers, Mumford finds that Moynihan noted Pettigrew’s observation that “the effects of father absent families are to be seen in homicide, schizophrenia, and homosexuality,” (Mumford 2012, p. 59). Citing Pettigrew, Moynihan would write of the personality development of Blacks, “The inability to delay gratification is a critical factor in immature, criminal, and neurotic behavior,” (Mumford 2012, p. 60).…”

“…Without question, Moynihan’s report, once made public, was highly influential in how policymakers and civil rights activists alike thought about the “Negro problem” in America. Yet, even before it was leaked to the press, in his now famous 1965 commencement speech in front of the graduating class of Howard University, one of the most prominent historically Black universities in U.S. history, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson referred to the Moynihan Report when he mentioned the family as one of the number of problems that the government must address if the nation was to move beyond the civil rights movement (Mumford 2012). It was in August of that same year, while the Moynihan Report was leaked to the press, that riots broke out in the Watts section of Los Angeles, California.…”