The Black-Gay Divide: A Clash of Race, Religion & Rights

[SandraJane]

edge on the Net


The Black-Gay Divide: A Clash of Race, Religion & Rights


by Peter Cassels, EDGE Contributor | Tuesday Feb 7, 2012

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/news/politics/news//129667/the_black-gay_divide:_a_clash_of_race,_religion_&_rights



Bayard Rusin & Martin Luther King Jr.


As public opinion moves toward supporting gay rights, especially marriage equality, the African-American community has been slower to get on board. While polls show a slight majority of Americans favoring same-sex marriage, just 30 percent of non-Hispanic blacks do; 59 percent are opposed, according to a 2010 Pew Research survey.

There's evidence that the divide between African-Americans and the gay community is narrowing, but activists say much more work needs to be done. More than three years after California voters approved Proposition 8, the referendum that banned same-sex marriage, bitterness within the gay community over African-American support of the measure remains.