The high number
of African-Americans who voted to pass Proposition 8 may
have surprised some people, but not the folks at the
National Black Justice Coalition, a civil rights
organization dedicated to empowering black LGBT
Americans. NBJC's CEO offers some insights about the
black-white divide and how to mend it going forward.
The National
Black Justice Coalition -- along with the rest of our
country -- is witnessing a historic event as President-elect
Barack Obama prepares to become the 44th president of
the United States and the first African-American
commander in chief. But even as we share in the
unprecedented hopefulness for our nation’s future and
the future of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
Americans, we have seen the record turnout of
African-Americans who voted 95% for Barack Obama
sometimes used as an explanation for the passing of
anti-LGBT propositions in four states.
The California
marriage amendment, in particular, has attracted the
attention of politicians, commentators, and strategists
alike, and some have concluded that blacks voted to
pass Proposition 8 because, even though we are
generally more progressive on issues like universal health
care access, economic (and tax) equality, and most social
justice issues, we do trend more conservative on
issues of equality for LGBT people. While this
conclusion is open for debate, we fully reject the racially
biased musings that African-Americans were the deciding vote
or that the presence of a black man at the top of the
ticket led to this disappointing defeat.
Moreover, we
believe that it is far too simplistic to label all who voted
against marriage for same-sex couples as homophobic. We
would do well to remember that African-American
opinions and attitudes about marriage are shaped by
religious beliefs and a tortured history, which includes the
sanctity of our families not being honored in the context of
slavery. For many black Americans, the Obamas' intact
and loving family is as significant as his presidency.
Today, fully 70% of black children are born to
unmarried people, while only about 42% of
Latino children and 27% of white children are now
born outside wedlock. It is into this reality that
opponents of marriage equality have found fertile ground to
plant their seeds of fear of religious intolerance and the
further undermining of the black family.
Click here to follow The Advocate on Twitter.
Page 1 of 3
Robinson is chief
executive officer of the National Black Justice
Coalition