Ballot initiatives provide a wake up call to the LGBT community about race
by: Pam Spaulding
Wed Nov 05, 2008 at 07:30:00 AM EST
http://pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=C027071D2AE61105BAA8D8C2BD2728C2?diaryId=8013I feel that a giant snowball of blame game is about to roll over and crush me as we wait for the final count in California on Prop 8. Who voted for Yes on 8 is clear now, as exit polls show 70% of blacks, (with black women at 74%) voted for the amendment. That's about 20 points higher than any other racial group. But the blame needs to be put into perspective - blacks represent only 6.2% of of California's population. There's a lot to discuss in the post-mortem regardless of the outcome.
For those of us who are black and gay, a group too often marginalized within a marginalized community, I see this as a clear signal to the LGBT advocacy community. There hasn't been enough outreach to those groups who voted against us. We haven't reached them; there hasn't been enough effort expended.
