The hyper-visibility of African Americans in this year’s presidential election led to an unfortunate consequence in California. Since exit polls revealed that 70 percent of African Americans voted “Yes” on Proposition 8, the black community in general—and the black church in particular—has become an easy target of blame and ridicule.
Blogs and newspaper columns are abuzz about how blacks have betrayed the cause of civil rights in “their” moment of victory with Obama. Fox’s Bill O’Reilly irresponsibly and disingenuously declared that GLBT protestors should direct their ire at the black community since, in his words, “the black community cast the deciding vote.” Even comedian John Stewart chimed in with a satirical cheap shot declaring that African-American celebration over President-Elect Obama amounted to, “Free at last, free at last—whoa, whoa, [referring to an image of two men holding hands]—where are you two going?”
Tragicomic, indeed.
I understand that emotions over the passing of Proposition 8 in California are high. Seeing as my household was among those that opposed the measure, I am personally frustrated with the cultural anxiety, ignorance and/or intolerance that animated the vast majority of African Americans to support the same-sex marriage ban. But to lay the blame of Prop. 8 at the door of the black community is analytically, descriptively, and politically flawed.
Regional and Religious, not Racial
This blame game is analytically flawed, as the underlying assumptions are premised on a skewed racial causality. The so-called “Obama Effect” contends that black people showed up en masse to vote for Barack Obama, and in turn, supported Prop 8. For the sake of argument, lets accept exit poll results that 70 percent of black voters supported the measure. African Americans, however, constitute around 8-9 percent of the California electorate. Seeing as the amendment passed 52-47 percent, there is no guarantee that even split opposition from black voters would have blocked the proposed same-sex marriage ban.
On the other hand, when we move away from race as a sole determining factor and consider other variables we get a much clearer picture of Prop. 8’s proponents. Sixty percent of suburbanites supported Prop. 8, as did 82 percent of Republicans. Over half of California voters reside in the suburbs, while as much as 30 percent of the state electorate belongs to the GOP. Moreover, let’s not forget about the over 80 percent of conservative white evangelicals who supported the amendment, and the 64 percent of Catholics as well. These two groups comprise 17 and 29 percent of California voters, respectively. So when we consider the disproportionate influence of these demographics on the state electorate in relation to the small number of African Americans, it is inconceivable to argue that African Americans are to blame. The fault lines of a progressive coalition to resist Prop. 8 were seemingly regional and religious as opposed to racially determined.
Do Black Folks Need an Elton John?
Scapegoating black folks is descriptively flawed because it pits a racial group against a multiracial reality. By positioning African Americans as a race in opposition to the GLBT community, one automatically renders black gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender persons invisible. Moreover, it assumes that African Americans are not cognizant of, and/or have no deep and complicated relationships with GLBT persons on a regular basis. Such a reductionist view of the black community may be what led Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles Times to suggest that African Americans simply needed a black Elton John—which is to say, someone who came out like an Ellen Degeneres or a David Geffen. Were this the case, according to Lopez, homosexuality might eventually become more acceptable among African Americans.
Well, I don’t consider myself an expert on black people, but I would bet a little red Corvette that the transparent doors that hang on the closets of many of our most beloved family members, celebrities, and preachers matter less than some may think. Let’s be honest! Nobody ever expected to open Ebony and read about Luther Vandross’ marriage to a woman; yet how many African-American houses did Luther’s unmistakable voice turn into a home? Luther is far from alone. Has Prince’s transgender persona hurt his standing among African Americans? Do the gospel melodies of James Cleveland carry any less credibility on Sunday morning? Have not black Christians often looked beyond the, err, “covert indulgences” of prominent clergy and gender ambiguities of choir directors? And last I checked, a critical number of black folk just love them some Tyler Perry Mable “Madea” Simmons (image right). 
Tags: black church, proposition 8
I was recently reading an article about Black men and the media, and the author brought up the "Journalism 101" claim. That is, "When a dog bites a man, that's not news, but when a man bites a dog, now that's news." People don't want to read/hear about what they expect to happen. What makes news is things that are saucy and compelling. The fact that religious and conservative communities of sorts opposed Prop. 8 and had more of an impact in the polls than the 8-9% of Black voters is expected and boring. To suggest and pin the Black community for Prop. 8 when a Black president-elect just won...now that's compelling news. An informed public would dismiss such outlandish claims, but the problem is that most of the American public isn't informed. Thus, such claims persist, and the disconnect between the Black community at large and the LGBT community is elongated. It really is a shame.
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