Vote moves gay issues into black community

updated 9:24 p.m. ET May 20, 2009

WASHINGTON - In the District of Columbia, where African-Americans are the majority and black congregations dominate, the recent vote to recognize same-sex marriages may signal the gay rights movement is making inroads among groups traditionally opposed to it.

With this month's vote, Washington became the first place in the U.S. with a large percentage of black residents to take up the issue. Congress still has the final say over the district's laws, but gay rights activists now have reason to believe that strong opposition is gradually giving way to more acceptance, despite a forceful outcry by some black churches.

The issue is particularly complex in D.C., where nearly 60 percent of the residents are African-American. Of the five states that allow gay marriage — Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont — none has such a large makeup of blacks.

Activist Donna Payne knows just how complex the issue is for the black community.

A black preacher once told her she would be accepted into his church under one condition — that she didn't tell anyone she was a lesbian. Payne said keeping quiet wasn't possible.

"That's the conundrum in the African-American community," Payne said. "They don't want to talk about it, but they know you're there."

The influence of black churches was evident as the D.C. Council debated whether to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. As more than 100 mostly black protesters gathered outside city hall, council member Marion Barry, a longtime supporter of gay rights, rejected the measure and sided with ministers who he said "stand on the moral compass of God."

But Yvette Alexander, who also represents a majority-black ward, gave her support and accused some ministers of doubting her faith.

'Questioned my Christianity'
"They have questioned my Christianity. They have questioned my morality," she said. Then, addressing the pastors, Alexander said: "Everyone is equal under God, and there are a lot in the gay community that are at your very churches, in your congregations."

Although black churches tend to be socially progressive and have a history of fighting for equal rights, most are theologically conservative, believing that scripture condemns homosexuality, said Anthony B. Pinn, a professor of religious studies at Rice University.

They also view gay marriage as a threat to the traditional black family, which is struggling with high divorce and low marriage rates, he said.

"From their perspective, anything that runs contradictory to that understanding of the nuclear family poses a threat," Pinn said.

It was amid this backdrop that Barry, who served four terms as mayor, declared "we may have a civil war" after the vote. He was the only council member out of 13 to oppose the measure.

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