State Rep. Alisha Morgan (D-Austell) voted against Georgia's ban on same-sex marriage in 2004, along with dozens of black lawmakers who felt the measure was discriminatory. (File photo)
Religion, politics shape black views on gay issues Ga. black lawmakers continually supportive of gay rights
There’s
a
typical
response
H.
Alexander
Robinson
hears
when
he
talks
to
some
black
people
about
gay
rights.
“There
are
those
in
the
community
that
continue
to
say
the
whole
gay
agenda
is
about
special
rights,”
he
said.
“In
lots
of
segments
of
the
community,
I
feel
like
we’ve
addressed
that
and
moved
on
from
that
question.
But
I
still
feel
like
it’s
being
framed
in
that
way
by
certain
African-American
ministers.”
Robinson,
executive
director
of
the
National
Black
Justice
Coalition,
said
he
and
other
gay
activists
are
pitted
against
religious
and
political
influences
as
they
work
to
win
support
from
black
Americans.
And
those
influences
are
strong.
The
Pew
Research
Center
found
in
2006
that
52
percent
of
black
Protestants
consider
homosexuality
“just
the
way
that
some
people
prefer
to
live,”
rather
than
an
innate
orientation.
According
to
the
survey,
22
percent
of
white
mainline
Protestants
say
the
same.
The
survey
also
found
that
only
20
percent
of
black
Protestants
say
homosexuality
is
something
people
are
born
with,
and
60
percent
say
that
homosexuality
can
be
changed.
By
comparison,
52
percent
of
surveyed
white
mainline
Protestants
say
people
are
born
gay
and
22
percent
say
homosexuality
can
be
changed.
Positioned
by
some
near
the
sensitive
intersection
of
religion
and
politics,
gay
rights
can
prove
a
volatile
topic
for
many
audiences.
Many
pastors
adhere
to
what
they
consider
a
literalist
view
of
the
Bible,
a
view
that
Dr.
Kenneth
L.
Samuel
of
Victory
For
the
World
Church
in
Stone
Mountain
said
is
wrong.
“If
you
are
going
to
be
a
Biblical
literalist,
you
have
to
be
a
sexist,
a
warmonger,
you
are
probably
a
polygamist,”
Samuel,
who
is
straight,
said.
“We
have
changed
our
thinking
on
so
many
issues
—
divorce,
women
preachers
—
but
we
haven’t
been
willing
to
change
our
feelings
on
homosexuality?
That’s
unfair.”
Cuc
Vu,
chief
diversity
officer
for
the
Human
Rights
Campaign,
said
education
therefore
becomes
essential
to
securing
new
support.
“The
reality
is
that
many
members
of
the
African-American
community
believe
you
can
choose
to
be
gay,
but
you
cannot
choose
to
be
black,”
Vu
said.
“We
need
to
create
safer
spaces
for
African-American
GLBT
people
to
come
out
and
challenge
the
perception
in
the
African-American
community
that
there
are
no
gay
black
people.”
Sen.
Barack
Obama,
the
first
major
party
black
presidential
nominee,
took
a
major
step
toward
breaking
down
the
barriers
of
gay
rights
in
the
black
church
when
he
mentioned
gay
people
during
a
speech
at
Ebenezer
Baptist
Church
in
Atlanta,
the
church
where
Martin
Luther
King
Jr.
preached
for
many
years.
“If
we’re
honest
with
ourselves,”
Obama
said
in
January
at
a
celebration
for
King’s
birthday,
“we’ll
acknowledge
that
our
own
community
has
not
always
been
true
to
King’s
vision
of
a
beloved
community.
If
we’re
honest
with
ourselves,
we
have
to
admit
that
there
have
been
times
when
we’ve
scorned
our
gay
brothers
and
sisters
instead
of
embracing
them.”
The
comment
was
met
with
applause.
GA.
BLACK
LEADERS
DEFY
POLL
RESULTS
While
several
polls
show
blacks
as
less
supportive
of
gay
marriage
than
others,
it
was
the
black
leaders
in
the
Georgia
General
Assembly
who
led
the
way
trying
to
defeat
the
2004
state
Constitutional
amendment
to
ban
gay
marriage
—
despite
the
stance
of
black
church
leaders.
Many
local
African-American
pastors
spoke
in
favor
of
banning
same-sex
marriage
in
2004,
including
more
than
two-dozen
ministers
who
signed
a
petition
and
delivered
it
to
lawmakers.
“The
church
is
a
very
important
part
of
our
culture,
but
unfortunately
the
mainstream
black
church
disapproves
of
homosexuality
and
has
forced
that
down
our
throats
for
years,”
said
Zandra
Conway,
a
board
member
of
the
NBJC
and
former
board
member
of
In
the
Life
Atlanta,
an
organizer
of
the
city’s
Black
Gay
Pride
celebrations.
State
Sen.
Ed
Harbison
(D-Columbus)
said
the
marriage
vote
wasn’t
a
battle
of
gay
allies
versus
homophobic
lawmakers.
“It
wasn’t
as
simple
as
who’s
homophobic
and
who’s
not,”
Harbison
said.
“We
really
struggled
internally
for
a
long
time.”
In
2004,
Harbison
was
president
of
the
Black
Legislative
Caucus,
the
only
group
of
lawmakers
who
actively
opposed
the
same-sex
marriage
ban
and
worked
to
defeat
it.
It
took
constant
effort
working
with
African-American
legislators
to
vote
against
the
amendment
in
the
House
of
Representatives
and
the
Senate,
he
said.
After
denying
the
bill
the
requisite
two-thirds
majority
by
a
handful
of
votes,
the
amendment
eventually
passed
with
three
votes
to
spare
in
a
second,
controversial
vote.
In
total,
28
of
the
52
“no”
votes
came
from
the
Black
Legislative
Caucus.
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There’s
a
typical
response
H.
Alexander
Robinson
hears
when
he
talks
to
some
black
people
about
gay
rights.
