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Civil rights legend U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a strong supporter of gay marriage, spoke at an Atlanta Pride reception earlier this month. (Photo by Sher Pruitt)
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Editors’ note: This is part one of a series examining the views of black Americans on same-sex marriage.
Support for gay marriage or civil unions by racial group
Asian-Pacific Islanders: 55 percent
Whites: 46 percent
Latinos: 35 percent
African-Americans: 23 percent
Source: “At the Crossroads: African-American Attitudes, Perceptions, and Beliefs toward Marriage Equality,” National Black Justice Coalition
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HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
By: JOSHUA LYNSEN
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Four decades ago, John Lewis stepped out onto the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., to help lead more than 600 activists in a march for voting rights for African-Americans. The police brutality that followed led the March 7, 1965, protest to be forever known as “Bloody Sunday.”
On Tuesday night, Lewis danced to the cheers of supporters at his Atlanta campaign party, celebrating his resounding reelection to an eleventh term in the U.S. Congress. The Georgia Democrat’s lopsided victory over two primary challengers was hailed by gay voters and political leaders, who termed Lewis a “key ally” in the fight for gay rights on Capitol Hill.
To Lewis, one of the few members of Congress to speak out forcefully for full marriage rights for gay couples, the issues are simple.
“I’ve fought too long and too hard against discrimination based on color not to fight against discrimination because of sexual orientation,” he has often said, most recently in a speech at the Atlanta Pride festival’s VIP reception on July 5.
But the Georgia congressman illustrates a paradox that confounds gay rights activists, both black and white: While African-American civil rights leaders are among the most passionate and powerful allies speaking out for gay rights, support in the black population in general hasn’t followed.
Despite growing support for same-sex marriage in the United States as measured by several recent polls, black Americans remain steadfastly opposed to gay unions.
According to research conducted by the National Black Justice Coalition and several other organizations, as many as two-thirds of black Americans are against gay marriage. Although the numbers vary by poll, research shows most blacks oppose both gay marriage and civil unions.
The findings come as some surveys show a majority of whites have dropped their objections to same-sex unions. A poll by Pew Research Center in May showed that fewer than 50 percent of whites object to gay marriage.
H. Alexander Robinson, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, said the continued opposition among black Americans shows that he and other advocates must recommit themselves to their work.
“I don’t think we have a moment to waste in making the case,” he said. “And quite frankly, we have to move these numbers.”
Released in April, the National Black Justice Coalition report notes that blacks “are virtually the only constituency in the country that has not become more supportive over the last dozen years” of gay rights.
It says Asian-Pacific Islanders showed the highest rate of support for gay marriage or civil unions at 55 percent. Support among whites was at 46 percent, among Latinos at 35 percent and among blacks at 23 percent.
The report notes those findings reflected “strong gains in each of these groups except for blacks.”
Some experts have been careful to note the findings should not be interpreted to mean that black Americans are the only ones who oppose gay marriage or civil unions.
“I know that we’re looking at one set of polling data about African Americans and their attitudes on GLBT equality, but let’s not use that data and suggest that gay people only face challenges in the African-American community,” said Cuc Vu, chief diversity officer for the Human Rights Campaign.
“There is a lack of support for LGBT equality in many other communities. In 2004, for example, we witnessed 6,000 Chinese Americans protest marriage in San Francisco. Homophobia is very real in every community.”
But it is, perhaps, best documented among blacks. A survey for HRC in March 2004 showed fewer than one-third of black voters said gays should be allowed to marry.
Twenty percent of that survey’s 600 respondents indicated they strongly believed that gays should be allowed to marry. Another 8 percent agreed that gays should be allowed to marry, but did not hold a strong position on the issue.
According to the survey, 50 percent of blacks strongly believed that gays should not be allowed to marry and another 11 percent agreed, albeit “not strongly.”
Four years later, surveys show the numbers generally are unchanged.
A national survey of 1,505 people by Pew Research Center in May shows 26 percent of blacks favor gay marriage, while 56 percent oppose it. By comparison, the same survey shows 40 percent of whites favor gay marriage and 49 percent oppose it.
Rev. Larry Brumfield, a black pastor at Westminster Church of the Brethren in northern Maryland, said he was saddened by the findings.
“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised,” he said, “but I’m a little put off by it because I feel that we have, as a people, as a group, as ...
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