Blacks, Barack, and Prop 8
By Ceasar I. LeFlore III
As it concerns Proposition 8 and the black evangelical community of California; it appears that there is problem with them fully “embracing the change” as they were encourage too do during a series of concerts designed specifically to court them during the recent presidential election campaign.
The Embrace the Change concert tour of 2007 featured some of the biggest stars in contemporary Black Gospel music and was part of a larger effort by the Obama campaign and the DNC to attract people of faith, especially black values voters; and get them to buy into a concept of extreme change in America without ever specifying exactly what change would mean. They would soon find out that some change is going to be a tougher sell than they expected in the black community.
The rejection by blacks through Proposition 8 of a liberal court’s re-definition of marriage may potentially cause some curious battle lines to be drawn between segments of his massive constituency, even in the black community, before President Elect Obama is sworn into office in January of 2009.
California went overwhelmingly for Barack Obama in the presidential election. His 24-point victory was the largest winning margin of any modern presidential candidate, to include former California governor, Ronald Reagan. Obama did so well in part because he brought a whole new wave of African-American voters to the polls. Black voters represented more than 10% of the huge election turnout in California; up more that 4% from 2004.
This huge black turnout for Obama proved to be both a blessing and a curse for California liberals who celebrated Obama’s victory, but are now mourning the passage of the ballot initiative to amend the California constitution to ban gay marriage which carried by only a slim four percentage point margin. Blacks voted over 70% in favor of the ban, which clearly made the difference in the passage of the initiative. Liberals and gays are now extremely angry with African-Americans for their positions on same sex marriage, and are charging that homophobia is a major problem with blacks who should know better because of our own struggle for civil rights. Some blacks agree with them.
Gay activist LaDoris Cordell recently wrote in Salon.com:
As an African-American lesbian who has been in a loving relationship for over two decades, I have been made well aware of the black community’s discomfort with things gay. Our long and courageous history in the forefront of the struggle for civil rights notwithstanding, the leadership of black America — politicians, ministers, business leaders — has not been as outspoken as it could be and should be on the issue of gay rights. Homophobia and traditional religious teachings play a role in our silence. But the roots of our discomfort, I think, go deeper. Sadly, some African-Americans believe that it is only we who should benefit from the gains achieved by the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s. They fear that to allow the gay community to enter the doors of opportunity opened by our struggle, to permit gays and lesbians to share in the fruits of that movement will diminish those benefits for the black community. Truth is, there is more than enough to go around.
Black evangelicals have responded to this type of rhetoric with some of their own by saying; “don’t equate my skin with your sin.” They don’t see resistance to gay marriage as being a problem born out of fear, and they don’t see homosexuality as a civil rights issue. They see it as a moral issue.
So what will President Barack Obama do to calm this growing storm over the issue of gay marriage; and how will he continue to placate some of his black base who may not be quite clear on where he stands in this discussion. It really is difficult to know, since he wouldn’t allow himself to be pinned down on the issue during the campaign. But in a letter to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, Sen. Barack Obama stated his opposition to the California constitutional amendment.
As the Democratic nominee for President, I am proud to join with and support the LGBT community in an effort to set our nation on a course that recognizes LGBT Americans with full equality under the law. That is why I support extending fully equal rights and benefits to same sex couples under both state and federal law. That is why I support repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, and the passage of laws to protect LGBT Americans from hate crimes and employment discrimination. And that is why I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution, and similar efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution or those of other states.
I don’t think that letter from President Elect Obama represents a change that 70% of black voters in California are eager to accept, but Obama is apparently determined to make them to do so, whether they like it or not.
One of the biggest stars to participate in the Embrace the Change concerts was Donnie McClurkin, a self-proclaimed ex-gay who “counsels” young people on how to convert from homosexuality. Barack Obama responded to McClurkin on Meet the Press with the late Tim Russert by saying:
I do not believe being gay or lesbian is a choice. And so I disagree with Reverend McClurkin. But understand, Tim, part of what I hope to offer as president is the ability to reach to people that I don’t agree with, and the evangelical community is one where the Democratic Party, I think, we have generally seen as hostile. … There’s a problem of homophobia in the African-American community. I will go into churches, I will go into meetings with ministers and say, “I disagree with you on these issues. This is not how I interpret my faith.” But the fact that we’re having a conversation, I think, allows the possibly that I will change their minds, make them more tolerant of these issues.
Make them more tolerant?!? Is this change we can believe in, or change we will be forced to believe in?
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