Abstract

Homophobia of All Hues

The author discusses attitudes among African Americans towards homosexuality and same-sex marriage. In a matter of months, same-sex marriage has gone from being the utopian dream of a few wild-eyed gay activists to an imminent reality that has the religious right in a state of apoplexy. Lines are being drawn quickly, with the usual suspects taking their presumed places. But for both "traditional marriage" and "marriage equality" advocates, the hearts, minds and votes of one group is up for grabs--the African-American community. At virtually every traditional-marriage rally, African-American religious leaders have played a prominent role. The religious right's technique of allying itself with notable members of the black clergy is not a new strategy. For black social conservatives, the equation is simple but powerful: A radical group of rich white gays are trying to usurp the civil rights movement for their own special agenda at the expense of the African-American community's traditional God-fearing values. The political lessons of events like these have not been lost on African-American activists in the LGBT community, who have fired back by forming a new organization, the National Black Justice Coalition. The Justice Coalition is developing its own list of African-American religious leaders who believe in marriage equality. Among many African-Americans, the very subject of homosexuality "raises so many troubling questions around ideas of masculinity," explained Angela Dillard, assistant professor of history and politics at New York University.