Obviously, it's both stupidity and racism. If you are a queer activist, it matters as to how you craft strategies for outreach and education -- and obviously this is a stupid and racist approach. Similarly stupid and racist is the idea that issues of oppression should be explored from an intersectional framework, where race, gender, sexuality, etc. is a less essentializing way to advance "the struggles and wishes of the age." Stupid and racist, true, but some of us persist.
So, the stupid and racist among us, working perhaps in STD and HIV/AIDS outreach will continue on our merry way, trying to understand what's going on so we can create better educational and outreach campaigns.
Similarly, we will read and write books -- books by the stupid and racist E. Francis White for instance. Stupid and racist, Whilte will clearly go on writing books that address homophobia and the politics of respectability that shaped the interactions between black feminists and black nationalists, that shaped the way that James Baldwin wrote about black gay masculinity in ways that she considers problematic, that shapes the responses to black youth who come out of the closet, that shapes the culture of black male sexuality, "Living on the Down Low," which J.L. King has pointed out makes it difficult to address AIDS/HIV because black men who are afflicted refuse to use resources because they are for gays and since DL culture insists that they are not gay or bisexual, they wouldn't ever participate and will continue to keep their partners in the dark.
E Francis White will stupidly and racistly write books that "air dirty laundry" and say things like, "Toni Morrison needs to homosexuality more seriously!" and "there is a connection between African Americans' oblivion to queer lives in our midst and Baldwin's vulnerability" including his deeply ingrained sexism that led him to explain to Audre Lorde, "Don't you realize that...the only real crime is being a Black man? ... How can you be so sentimental as to blame Black men for a situation (sexism) that has nothing to do with him?"
More from E. Francis White:
Throughout the essays in this book, I interrogate the ideology of respectability that has motivated many African Americans, from black nationalists to black feminists. The ideology of respectability is one of a number of strategies that African Americans have developed to create unity. I am particularly concerned with the ways that we build political cohesion and form community by drawing too narrowly the boundaries of our (imagined) community. As I suggest in 'Africa on My Mind,' (1990) our efforts to form community often depend on the demonization of too many people. And as I demonstrate in Chapter 1, the politics of respectability are double-edged. Yet I do not want to suggest that African Americans pay too much attention to racism. Racism is real and destructive; it needs a consciously political response. But I believe that a successful response needs to take into account that African Americans are structured in dominance by class, gender, sexuality, and more.
Given this fragmentation, we often struggle over who gets to define the race, who is in the race, and what the meaning of blackness is. .. Besides limiting the effectiveness of great thinkers like James Baldwin, narrow boundaries lead to other negative consequences. For example, the homophobic tendency to exclude gay and lesbian African Americans from the black community weakens the entire community. Homophobia causes gay and bisexual men to feel compelled to keep their sexual practices secret, which allows AIDS to circulate uncontrollably. Also of great concern is the growing number of gay, lesbian, and transgender youth who end up on the street because they have been thrown out of their homes or harassed out of their neighborhoods. We cannot afford to lose those children.
Works like that of E Francis White and Michelle Wallace and Audre Lorde among others are the reason why the National Black Justic Coalition wrote this report filled with all the crazy ass statistics that stupidly and racistly examine racial and ethnic differences.
As the NBJC report argues:
<quote> Attempts to craft campaigns to move attitudes and to create a climate of support for marriage equality among African-Americans must begin with the understanding that the opinions and attitudes of African-Americans toward marriage equality is shaped by the aforementioned experiences, beliefs, and perceptions. While most racial and ethnic groups use cultural and moral values as a way of justifying non-support of marriage equality, there is a great need to understand the nuances and depth of these cultural differences to allow us to get to the root of the causes of non-support. In other words, how can we interpret the polls in a way that is consistent with what we know about the experience of African- Americans in the United States? </quote>
Recently, during the brouhaha, I read Jasmine Cannick, a black lesbian activist in LA, say that the issue is unimportant to even black gays and lesbians b/c it is a white middle class issue and, thus, not as worthy as other causes. Moreover, she argued that the GLBTQ community was white in its outlook and reach in so far as they too often tried to dissociate the issue from religion. This was the wrong tack to take, Cannick insisted, b/c it failed to recognize that the Civil Rights struggle was deeply embedded in the work of black churches and black religious activism.
Cannick also said that white GLBTQ activists should just stay out of it, that it was her job, as a black lesbian, to have the talk with her community, on her terms and when she chose -- if she even chose to do so.
Here's an excerpt from the report:
The report, a joint project of the National Black Justice Coalition and Freedom to Marry examines available public opinion poll data to better understand the attitudes of African-Americans towards marriage equality and gay rights; identify some reasons for low support of the issue among African-Americans in the United States; and explore the current framing of marriage equality in the African-American community. We also recommend strategies for reframing the issue of marriage equality within the community that includes a thorough understanding of the impact of the intersections of race, class, gender identity, and sexuality on the struggle to achieve rights and equality in the United States to create a climate of support.
At the onset, we would like to affirm our belief that homophobia and heterosexism cut across communities and racial, class, and ethnic lines. No one group is more or less homophobic or heterosexist than any other. We would also like to acknowledge that the attitudes and perceptions of African-American towards marriage equality is sometimes contradictory or at odds with the community's long history of working to secure rights on the behalf of disenfranchised or marginalized groups. Connectedly, we recognize the experiences, opinions, and beliefs of African-Americans are very diverse and influenced by factors such as geographic location, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender, and other markers of difference. Our goal in creating the report is not to deny these contradictions, but to paint a fuller and more accurate picture on African-American attitudes towards marriage equality that will allow us mobilize in communities in meaningful and impactful ways.
Our findings suggest that in addition to religious and moral beliefs, African-American attitudes toward marriage equality are influenced by specific cultural beliefs and values rooted in ideas of Black masculinity and sexuality in the dominant culture; the historic discrimination experienced by African-Americans in the United States and its impact on the Black family unit; and the role of the Black religious institutions in shaping the political agenda of the community. Other dominant beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes include:
• the idea that marriage equality and gay rights are issues that do not directly impact the African-American community or that they are "majority" race issues;
• the prioritization of race over gender by the Black Civil Rights organizations and institutions, the Black LGBT community and the larger African-American community;
• the belief that the LGBT rights movement has appropriated historic civil rights messages and wrongly equating racial oppression with oppression based on sexual orientation or gender identity; and
• the perception that homosexuality further contributes to the stigmatization and demonization of Black sexuality and the fragmentation of the Black family.
Attempts to craft campaigns to move attitudes and to create a climate of support for marriage equality among African-Americans must begin with the understanding that the opinions and attitudes of African-Americans toward marriage equality is shaped by the aforementioned experiences, beliefs, and perceptions. While most racial and ethnic groups use cultural and moral values as a way of justifying non-support of marriage equality, there is a great need to understand the nuances and depth of these cultural differences to allow us to get to the root of the causes of non-support. In other words, how can we interpret the polls in a way that is consistent with what we know about the experience of African- Americans in the United States?
SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS
• African-Americans with higher levels of education and income, and who do not attend church regularly are more likely to support marriage equality and gay rights.
• 65% of African-Americans are opposed to marriage equality compared to 53% of Whites. African-Americans are virtually the only constituency in the country that has not become more supportive over the last dozen years, falling from a high of 65% support for gay rights in 1996 to only 40% in 2004;
• Among African-American youth, 55% believed that homosexuality is always wrong, compared to 36% of Latino youth and 35% of White youth. Forty-eight percent of all Black male youth and 29% of Black female youth surveyed agreed that homosexuality is always wrong. 10% more males than females opposed the legalization of marriage equality (50% v 39%);
• Compared to other racial and ethnic minorities, African-American are more likely than Asian and Latinos to vote against marriage equality by nearly 10%;
• The political agenda and priorities of African-Americans tend to focus on quality of life issues such as health, education, and the economy. Among Blacks, the Economy (46%), Education (19%), Health Care (14%), and the War in Iraq (14%) were identified as priorities.2 Less than 1% of African-American identified the issue of gay marriage as a top policy priority.
• Of the five mainstream African-American civil rights organizations and Institutions, none of them have taken an active position for or against marriage equality or gay rights. None of them have issued a policy brief, a fact sheet, or included the issue of marriage equality or gay rights on their "core" organizational agenda;
• A majority of African-American legislators at the state and federal levels have taken positions that either support or do not limit the rights and liberties of LGBT individuals;
• Attitudes and perceptions around masculinity, Black male sexuality, and the fragility of the Black family influence African-American attitudes and beliefs on marriage equality;
• Black Churches have played an influential role in shaping the attitudes and beliefs of African-American toward marriage equality; and
• While there are parallels to the gay rights movement and the historic struggle for Blacks to achieve civil rights, there is resistance by the larger African-American community to the link the two struggles to achieve rights for gays and lesbians.
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CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND
The African-American community has a long legacy of working to secure and protect the rights of disenfranchised groups and oppressed minorities. Over the last several decades, the community has stood up against Jim Crow laws, marched along side allies to end segregation to create a more equal and just society, fought for access to quality education and job opportunities, and rallied against racial profiling and police brutality. African- Americans have been consistent in their rejection of policies and practices that discriminates against others, including lesbians and gays.
The issue of marriage equality, however, has proven to be a highly divisive topic for the African-American community.12 During the 2004, presidential election, many American- American religious and faith leaders took an active position against marriage equality. In fact, more than two dozen Black pastors and thousands of others rallied in Atlanta, Georgia in the spring of 2004 to protest attempts to link the struggle for gays and lesbians to achieve equality to the Black civil rights struggle of the 1960s.13
AFRICAN-AMERICAN ATTITUDES AND OPINIONS TOWARD MARRIAGE EQUALITY AND CIVIL UNIONS
As a group, African-Americans have been less supportive of rights for gays and lesbians than Whites, Latinos, and Asians. In a 2007 Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation-Harvard University poll, Blacks were less than half as likely to support marriage equality and legal recognition of same-sex civil unions as Whites.14 Similarly, a 2006 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center found 65% of African-Americans are opposed to marriage equality compared to 53% of Whites.15 African-Americans are virtually the only constituency in the country that has not become more supportive over the last dozen years, falling from a high of 65% support for gay rights in 1996 to only 40% in 2004.16
Compared to Latinos and Asians, African-Americans are least likely to support marriage equality or civil unions by nearly 10%.17 In recent surveys, Asian-Pacific Islanders showed the highest support level based on race or ethnicity at 55%. White non-Hispanics at 46% followed this, then Latinos at 35% and Blacks at 23%. There were strong gains in each of these groups except for Blacks.18 A 2005 poll by Public Opinion Pros at the University of California Berkeley found African-Americans to be the only group to have shown no significant increase in warmth toward gays and lesbians over a ten-year period.19
Lastly, there is a solid connection between African-American beliefs about homosexuality and their attitudes toward marriage equality or civil unions. A recent study that examined 31 surveys stretching back more than three decades found that "nearly three- quarters of Blacks say that homosexual relations are always wrong, and over one-third say that AIDS might be God's punishment for immoral sexual behavior. Overall, Blacks are fourteen percentage points more likely to hold both positions than are Whites."20 Connectedly, African-Americans are also more likely than other groups to believe that homosexuality is wrong, that sexual orientation is a choice, and that sexual orientation can be changed.21
In this report, we attempt to understand the reasons and influences for lower support among African-Americans for marriage equality compared to other racial and ethnic groups by examining the opinions and attitudes of sub-groups within the African-American communities (black youth, women, and men) and the role of Black Churches and Civil Rights institutions in shaping attitudes toward marriage equality.
SUPPORT FOR MARRIAGE-EQUALITY IN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY
African-American Youth and Marriage Equality
Polls show that youth are more likely to be supportive of marriage equality and civil unions than older people at 53%.22 Among those 65 and older, three-quarters of those surveyed opposed marriage equality, while more than half (53%) of adults under 30 favored marriage equality. According to the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture at the University of Chicago in a survey of African-American youth, 55% believed that homosexuality is always wrong, compared to 36% of Latino youth and 35% of White youth. 48% of all Black male youth and 29% of Black female youth surveyed agreed that homosexuality is always wrong. 10% more males than females opposed the legalization of marriage equality (50% v 39%).23
African-American Men and Women and Marriage Equality
Among African-American women, education, income, geographic location, and religious attendance is likely to determine their attitudes or perceptions towards gays and lesbians.24 African-American women with high levels of education and income who attend church infrequently are more likely to support marriage equality. This is not true for African- American men who remain constant in their acceptance or rejection across education, income, geographic location, or religious attendance.25
Educational Attainment, Socioeconomic status, African-Americans and Marriage Equality
African-Americans with higher levels of education and income, and who do not attend church regularly are more likely to support marriage equality and gay rights.26 With respect to marriage equality and civil unions, African-American college graduates are more supportive at 64%, followed by some college at 41%, and high school or less being at 34%.27 Similarly, African-Americans who reported that they support marriage equality do not attend religious services regularly.28
Familiarity, Acquaintance, Marriage Equality and African-Americans
African-Americans who know a gay or lesbian person or have a gay or lesbian family member are more likely to oppose laws that ban marriage equality or deny rights to gays and lesbians. They are also less likely to believe LGBT individuals are immoral. A poll conducted by Public Policy Polling of African-Americans in Baltimore, Maryland found that of the individuals surveyed who had a friend or family member who is gay or lesbian, 35% disagreed with the statement that lesbians and gay individuals are immoral.29
Black Churches and Attitudes Toward Mariage Equality
Polls continue to show that African-American attitudes and opinions on marriage equality and gay rights tend to be closely linked to religion. In a 2006 national poll conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 74% of Black Protestants overwhelmingly oppose marriage equality.30 This is significant because in the United States 8 out of 10 African- Americans identify as Protestants31 and as a group, attend religious services more frequently than Whites and are less supportive of gay rights.32
Connectedly, nearly 50% of all Black churchgoers reported that their clergy regularly addressed issues related to homosexuality and these messages tend to be overwhelmingly negative.33 In a public opinion poll of African-Americans in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, 68% of those surveyed reported that their minister or pastor had "preached" the message that homosexuality was a sin or immoral.34 Because of the pivotal role of Black Churches35 in the community and the willingness of religious leaders to take a vocal stance against marriage equality, many would be allies or civil rights advocates are silenced in the debate.36
Historically, Black Churches have always served as sites of organizing for African-Americans and as a hub for community life. Many African-American civil rights leaders, such as the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used the pulpit to mobilize people and to speak about important issues of the day. The issue of marriage equality and gay rights is no different. In the 2004 Presidential Election, George W. Bush nearly doubled his share of the Black vote in Ohio by appealing to Black churchgoers on the issue of marriage equality. In Ohio, Bush got 16% of the Black vote, up from 9% in 2000; of those Blacks who said they attended church more than once a week, Bush got 69% of those votes in 2004, up from 52% in 2000.37
BLACK CIVIL RIGHT AND GAY RIGHTS: A COMPARABLE STRUGGLE?
Within the African-American community, the debate for equality for gays and lesbians is at odds with the history of the community and Black Church in helping to protect and advance the rights of oppressed groups and minorities. Black Churches led the march for civil rights in the '50s and the '60s, and many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered advocates see the struggle for gay rights and marriage equality as a logical extension of that movement.38
Civil Rights leaders such as Coretta Scott King, Representative John Lewis, NAACP Chair Julian Bond, and Reverend Al Sharpton have long supported equal protection under the law for LGBT individuals and communities. In fact, John Lewis filed a friend-of-the court brief in the Massachusetts case that led to the state becoming the first in the country to legalize marriage equality. In the State of California, the California State NAACP filed an amicus brief as did the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in New York City.
Others, however, have not been so eager to realize the parallels and struggle to secure rights between African-Americans and LGBT individuals. In 2004, Reverend Jesse Jackson in a talk at Harvard University Law School rejected comparisons to the struggle of Black to achieve civil rights to that of gays and lesbians to achieve equality.39 Further, Jackson said that while he supported rights for gays and lesbians, his community continues to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.40
For many in the African-American community, the history of the community in helping to protect and advance the rights of oppressed minorities stands in direct conflict with the moral values and beliefs held by many specifically as it relates to the issue of marriage equality.
Anti-gay groups and moral conservatives have fueled this conflict by arguing that the LGBT movement has wrongly appropriated civil rights messages, tactics, and rhetoric to advance its own agenda. These groups have been able to successfully exploit this cleavage because there have been very few conversations in the larger Black community and Gay rights community about the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality. Further, there is very little understanding of the unique position of Black LGBT individuals who are often situated within both communities.
THE BLACK AGENDA AND MARRIAGE EQUALITY
Although African-Americans strongly oppose marriage equality and some other hot-button moral issues, when asked which issues are important, African-Americans rank these issues far below issues relating to the economy—job opportunities, minimum wage, education, and health-care.41 In a poll conducted by Black Entertainment Television (BET) and CBS, Black respondents identified the Economy (46%), Education (19%), Health Care (14%), and the War in Iraq (14%) as priorities.42 Less than 1% of African-American surveyed mentioned the issue of gay marriage as a top policy priority.
There have been very few state or national level organizing or mobilization efforts in the African-American community on the issue marriage equality. As a result, African- Americans may not feel as connected to the issue or it may reinforce their biases and beliefs about who the issue is affecting or who stand to benefit from marriage equality.
There is a strong belief among African-Americans that marriage equality or gay rights is a "White issue" or an issue that does not directly impact their community. This belief is supported by the disproportionate representation of Whites as heads of LGBT civil rights organizations and mobilization efforts. Of the many LGBT civil rights organizations in the United States, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Human Rights Campaign, Stonewall Democrats, and Freedom to Marry among others, the leadership has been overwhelmingly and consistently White. In the landmark marriage equality cases in both Massachusetts and Vermont, the plaintiffs were almost all White. Currently, there is only one national LGBT civil rights organizations in the country led by or focused on African- American LGBT individuals, families, and communities--the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC).
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more at http://www.nbjcoalition.org/news/marriage_report.pdf