There is joy in Black community today. We are walking just a bit taller, and it is one Black nation, under a groove, gettin’ down just for the Barack of it. As improbable as it seems, Barack Hussein Obama is the President-elect of the United States.
There is joy in the Black community today. We are walking just a bit taller, and it is one Black nation, under a groove, gettin’ down just for the Barack of it. As improbable as it seems, Barack Hussein Obama is the President-elect of the United States.
The genuine pride and, yes, euphoria has the Black community swelled up, and some of us aren’t even recognizing the continuation of racism and oppression and poverty and crime that afflict us. No, the election of Barack Obama didn’t end anything, but it certainly shows promise to be the beginning, so there is that most precious and perishable commodity, hope, in the Black community.
But just when we thought we had turned a corner, reality snaps back with a vengeance. We recognize that while we may all be proud as a Black community for our new Black president-elect, the Black community is still not a monolith, and our differences were in evidence even as we were displaying remarkable solidarity.
That evidence comes from, of all places, the great state of California. Of course, most people recognize that the left coast is different, and that Californians hear a completely different drum beat. But the results from the polls in California seem to tell a story that shows just how Black people can vote to make history, while at the same time vote to hold on to the past.
I don’t know where you are in the whole gay marriage thing. It has been a divisive sideshow in the past election and an interesting litmus test for conservative candidates. But election results out of California say that Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that would overturn a California Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriages, was strongly supported by Black voters.
I don’t know that Black voters were the margin of victory for Proposition 8, which states, “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” But they seemed to have voted in large numbers for the proposition. Amazingly, the chief proponent of the proposition was the Mormon Church, that great bastion of fairness, known for its support for the institution of marriage (so much so that it promoted polygamy for much of its existence). That the church also shut its doors to Black people for most of its existence was probably lost on many of the Black voters who sided with the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints. The Mormons reportedly spent $20 million pushing Proposition 8.
The reality is that Black voters, to a large degree, while hewing to a fairly liberal line on many issues, are quite conservative on others, particularly on the issue of gay marriage.
Despite all of the outreach, and opening of closets, homosexuality is still a touchy subject in the Black community. We have yet to come to grips with that lifestyle, even though we might have several relatives who are gay. We accept gays, while quietly wishing there was some shot they could take to change them or some 12-step program that would bring them to their sexual senses.
Before the polling place revealed that duality over sexuality in the community, it was on display in our churches. While there are some prominent Black ministers who have spoken out against “Adam & Steve,” most notably Bishop Eddie Long in Atlanta and Noel Jones in Texas, quite a few others have been remarkably silent on the issue, offering neither condemnation nor acceptance.
That silence has probably allowed others to step in and influence thought, and quite naturally leaves the gay community wondering just where their friends are.
President-Elect Barack Obama does not support gay marriage, but he does support civil unions.
“I’m a Christian. And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition, and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman,” Obama told the Chicago Tribune.
He has stated that he would rather individual states determine if marriage between gay and lesbian couples should be legalized, which would mean that he is okay with what California voters have decided.
We have entered a bold new world. We’re ecstatic that there is a Black President-elect, but leadership on this, and other issues, will be tough for President Obama. Our agreements will definitely outnumber our disagreements, but our disagreements are deep.
It didn’t take long for that bubble to burst.
Lou Ransom is Executive Editor of the Chicago Defender. He can be reached via email at lransom@chicagodefender.com.
Copyright 2008 Chicago Defender. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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