Black Civil Rights and Gay Rights – Same Fight?

Recently, the D.C. City Council, the legislative body of Washington, D.C. government, by a vote of 11-2 approved legislation to make same-sex marriage legal in the nation’s capital. This is a great victory for both gay-rights advocates and those who staunchly believe in the right to marry whomever one wishes without government-compelled restrictions. For those opposed to same-sex marriage, it was a crushing blow and a step backwards in what many perceive to be a head-long dive into social debauchery and an egregious affront to many religious beliefs.

Today, I had a great conversation with a friend of mine who happens to be gay. Yes, “I have gay friends!” Let’s get that out of the way. She, still ecstatic about the recent vote, did have one area of disappointment. The two votes in opposition to the measure were from city wards that are predominantly Black in population. My friend is Black – more accurately, she is half Black and half white. So, she was disappointed that the representatives of those wards voted against the measure that she believed “would free so many citizens of this city of their statuses as second-class citizens.” In giving their reasons for voting against the measure these two representatives indicated that they were voting the wishes of their constituents. Quite frankly, if that is true, then they did the right thing. That is what a democratically-elected official is supposed to do – act in compliance with the wishes of their constituents, right? No? Okay, that’s another article at another time.

So, my friend asked: “Why are Black people so ignorant sometimes?” Her summarily dismissing her own genetic make-up was alarming; and since I am at least 80-85% Black, I was offended. She continued, “if no one else should be able to understand the feelings associated with discrimination and exclusion, Black people should.” This offended me even more than the “ignorant” statement; and it was here that I explained to my race-jumping friend that the two fights are not the same. I explained that while I do not believe that anyone should be the subject of hatred, violence or discrimination based upon their sexual orientation, and that one has the right to their identity, to compare the fight for same-sex marriage recognition and the fight to be treated as human beings and citizens in a place where one’s ancestors have lived and labored for nearly 400 years is an apples and oranges argument.

Now, I’m just a guy thinking, but I do not personally know of any gay people, openly so or otherwise, being turned away from restaurants or public parks because they were gay. I do not see separate restrooms or drinking fountains for “gay” and “not-gay” people. Gay people to my knowledge were not being forced to sit in the back of buses – unless they were gay and Black. I do not recall fire hoses being turned on participants of gay marches or rallies. I have not heard of police dogs biting into the flesh of a gay activist or a gay person having their heads bashed in by officers of the law – just for being gay. I can not imagine that there are many documented cases of gay bars or gay meeting establishments being bombed or children of gay couples being killed or beaten – simply for being children of gay people. I will not belabor the contrasts of the two experiences. Suffice it to say, there are many.

The fight that same-sex marriage advocates have waged for what they believe has been a hard-fought and admirable one. This cannot be denied; no matter what one’s position is on the issue. So, let that fight stand on its own merit – not piggy-back on the brutalities inflicted upon an entire race of people who did nothing more than be born into a socially disfavored gene pool.

I also reminded my friend that while most Black people are politically liberal, most are also socially conservative. This, in one regard is a function of a historical and widely-ratified distrust of government-imposed legislations that mandate what we must or must not do in our private lives. After all, it was legislation – the law of the land, in fact, that consigned Black people into life-long slavery and effectively kept Black people in a quasi-slavery, fourth-class citizen status for more than 100 years after the abolition of slavery.

But I believe there is a more profound reason for many Black people’s opposition to same-sex marriage: Yep – that one. Religion. Keep in mind, Christianity was beaten (literally) into the hearts and minds of the African slaves forced into America. Well, it worked! The Black (Christian) church still remains, albeit not on the same level as a generation ago, the backbone of Black social culture, beliefs and political might. This deeply-held identification with Christianity generally does not force the Black population on a large scale to vigorously rail against gay relationships since it is essentially a “that’s your business/to each is own” kind of issue. It does, however, compel many Black people to withhold support of it when formal legislation arises that lies in direct opposition to a deeply-ingrained, fundamental Christian/Biblical belief. That is, that same-sex relationships are sinful in the eyes of God. And to ratify its legitimacy by applying a holy sacrament (marriage) to it is wrong. Now, from a historical and even present-day perspective, can anyone deny the power of religion and its influence on the hearts and minds of people? Black people as a group are simply not as “open” about some matters as other races.

Now, I like what I am about to do (and you are going to hate it). I am going to end this article – for now. This is one of those truly hot-bed issues that require more reflection (and more writing). And this article has gone way over the limit that I set for myself. So, you will have to wait for Part II. Until then, keep on thinking . . .