LOS ANGELES -- The friction stems from exit polling that indicates that 70% of African Americans voted in favor of the measure to ban same-sex marriages in California. Some members of the gay community have seized upon the statistic and cast the African American community as a villain. Grass roots protests by gays have drawn thousands of participants to various protests against Prop 8 in general, but the lack of any organizational structure to the effort has so far meant few options for dialogue with the African American community.
The African American community, meanwhile, is moving unilaterally in a bid to better understand voting patterns and the larger social ramifications behind Prop 8.
The Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable attempted to tackle the question "Did Blacks Pass Proposition 8" at its weekly forum on Nov. 15 at the Lucy Florence Coffeehouse in Leimert Park district of Los Angeles.
Mostly heterosexuals attended, and there were no representatives from the white gay community or the African American faith community.
The absence of clerics spoke volumes, since representatives of various African American denominations and representatives of the Mormon Church reportedly used the influence of the pulpit and campaign donations to help pass Prop 8.
Some have also received death threats for their support of the measure, according to various reports. Several prominent black churches have reported a barrage of threatening calls and racial slurs against their clergy members, according to one source who asked not to be identified over safety concerns.
This is an issue that "is not going away in a week," said Pedro Baez, president of the Los Angeles Urban Roundtable Forum and moderator of the recent discussion on Prop 8.
"I think the blame should go all around," Baez continued. "Yes, blacks and Hispanics did come out against it...(but) the white community [also] came out against it."
Baez added that his organization plans to hold at least one more forum to discuss bigotry and racism in the black and gay communities.
Others who spoke up at the recent forum offered a look at the varying viewpoints on gay marriage within the African American community.
Alfreda Lanoix, an African American lesbian and founder of a spiritual networking forum called "Love at Work: The Exchange," said that blaming minority communities for the measure's passage is justified.
"Just the percentage of blacks, of people of color, definitely lets us know that this is something that our community was against," Lanoix said. "So, it's about accountability, that those that voted yes should be accountable and should be exposed to what it is that they've done.
"It's almost like black-on-black crime," Lanoix said. "We are the black community also. You cannot separate us from the black community just because of our sexual orientation. It's important that they be (held) accountable."
Jasmyne Cannick, an African American writer and social activist, who is also gay, said that she believes the white gay community should be blamed for the measure's passage, adding that Proposition 8 opponents ran a poor campaign and failed to try to understand or reach out to the black community.
"They gave no money to black gay organizations to do any work," Cannick added. "They gave almost $500,000 to the NAACP and Alice Huffman, and they gave money to a black gay group that they started on their own."
Cannick alleged that the white gay community has a long history of bigotry and racism toward blacks, and contends that black gays are harassed more in West Hollywood nowadays.
Cannick said she herself has received death threats for writing a commentary for the Los Angeles Times' Opinion section about her view of racism in the gay community, and the failure of the recent campaign against Prop 8 to communicate why gay marriage should be important to African Americans.
Cannick also alleged that an angry crowd recently confronted a black gay friend of hers as she drove through Westwood. "On her way home, here come protesters coming down Wilshire (Boulevard)," Cannick said.
"They jumped on her car calling her a (N-word), talking about 'Because of your people we don't have our rights,' " Cannick said, adding that her friend phoned her, upset about the incident. "All they saw was a black woman."
Keith A., who supports Prop 8, asked to withhold his last name for this report. He said that he believes the gay community's initial reaction to the measure's passage was borne out of frustration.
"I heard one of the gentlemen who was gay (who) sounded hurt about the fact that he had to be in the closet all of these years--he could not express himself as being gay," said Keith. "I don't think that their being married, or having the chance to marry those of their same sex, is going to change any of that. They won't be able to find dignity in the fact that they are married any more than heterosexuals can, necessarily, find dignity in the fact that they are married."
Keith's objects to Prop 8 appeared to be rooted in fundamental religious beliefs, and he referred to excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "Letters from Birmingham Jail" to support his view, arguing that the civil rights leader had based his efforts on "natural law."
"In the Birmingham letter by Dr. King, it was natural law that he said was the reason that blacks should be treated equally to whites. (The) yes vote on Proposition 8 continues that natural law tradition--natural law is above civil law, and that's why we should make all of our civil laws in line with natural law."
Sonja Eddings Brown, deputy communications director for Protect Marriage California, which also supported Prop 8, said she has never seen anything like what is happening as a result of the measure's passage.
"I think 'one man, one vote'--and if African Americans got out and voted, and religious people got out and voted, and people without faith got out and voted because they believe in traditional families, they deserve to have their vote honored," she said. "I think it is wrong to turn this into a culture or racial or religious debate when it is really about whether you support the traditions of all time or whether you don't."
It became clear by the end of the forum that the debate will continue in the discussion in the African American.
A black women's radio program called "Some of Us Are Brave," which airs on 90.7FM, planned a two-hour dialogue on the issue for November 22. Another community discussion was planned for the same day at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, where participants were expected to conduct a conversation with the black community about homosexuality and gay marriage.
Chico Norwood is a writer for the L.A. Watts Times.
I found the results of Prop 8 to be morbidly disgusting! Although I am a Black heterosexual female, nevertheless I have always supported gay marriages, same-sex adoptions, as well as upholding the Supreme Court decision of Roe V Wade. Unfortunately, Christianity has a played a vital role in many Black communities. Many African Americans are physically liberal, but socially conservative. What went wrong with Prop 8 and the Black vote? A.S.S.U.M.P.T.I.O.N and BAD MARKETING! There is a smaller percentage of Blacks living in California than any other ethnicity group. There are more faith-based televised sermons advertised on BET, than MTV or VH1. There were no grassroots campaign pushing the opposition agenda of Prop 8 in Black and Hispanic urban/suburban areas. Kanye West, a rapper who has openly expressed his support for gay marriages would have been a great spokesperson for the Black community. Politics is a game of chess, and Prop 8 is just one of the 16 pieces! The Mormans understood their religious constituents. If you want to forward a faith based agenda among minorities, then target the Black churches. President Bush did this during his Presidential campaign. Trying to push Prop 8 right after the Presidential victory of President Obama {without gaining a favorable amount of attention to this subject from Blacks and Hispanics} was infantile. You want Prop 8 eradicated? Then reach out to the Black community. It's NEVER too late! I still support same sex marriages.
Here is a great chess move. According to DADI, 69% of births among Black women were to unwed mothers. Black women are the least likely to be married (more than any other women of any different ethnicity). Call the Black churches out on their hypocrisy. The older pre-Civil Rights generation do not believe that Gay-Marriage is a civil rights issue, so don't make it one! It's a losing battle! Instead create this argument, "Why are so many African-Americans concerned about respecting the institution of marriage, when so many children in Black communities are being born out of wedlock?" This would be a great debate to take on with Black pastors. A widely publicized debate on BET with pastors {like Creflo A. Dollar and TD Jakes}, would push the issue among many young voters in HBCUs (historically Black Colleges and Universities). Target the Black Gay Elite in Atlanta, Georgia to pull further resources. They are well connected to many other Black organizations and learning institutions. I hate to admit this, but the failure of Prop 8 did not lie with the Mormans or religious Blacks. The failure lied with the upper-middle class gay elite who refused to form allies with the Black and Hispanic communities. The Morman churches CAME PREPARED!