Aug 13, 2004  |  By: LOU CHIBBARO JR.  | COMMENTS     

A national group of black gay leaders began placing full-page ads in African-American newspapers in five cities last week, calling on readers to oppose federal and state constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage.

The group, the National Black Justice Coalition, said the ad represents “the first time an African-American gay and lesbian advocacy organization has ever launched a pro-equality ad campaign in African-American newspapers.”

The ad appears this week in the Washington Afro-American and two other D.C. African-American newspapers. The coalition has also placed the ads in papers in Baltimore, Atlanta, Detroit and Los Angeles.

Of those cities, only two are in states that could vote on a possible state constitutional amendment this year — Michigan and Georgia.

It states that President Bush and other politicians are attempting to “rewrite” the U.S. and state constitutions to “legalize injustice and discrimination.”

“In our community, we know justice is always in short supply,” the ad says. “So if we don’t stand up for equal rights, who will?”

The ad includes statements opposing a constitutional ban on gay marriage by Coretta Scott King, wife of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King; Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a veteran civil rights leader; and Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco.

“A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay-bashing, and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages,” the ad quotes King as saying.

The ad campaign comes at a time when some black churches and church leaders are playing a key role in campaigns to pass constitutional amendments banning gay marriage in at least eight states. Depending on whether court challenges block some of the amendments, voter referendums seeking to enact the marriage amendments could be on the ballot in as many as 13 states this year.

Last week, Missouri voters approved a state constitutional ban on gay marriage by a margin of 71 percent to 29 percent, prompting gay activists to reassess their approach to opposing such measures in other states.

“African Americans oppose discrimination in all forms,” said H. Alexander Robinson, strategic director of the National Black Justice Coalition. “This campaign is about warning our brothers and sisters about the way George W. Bush and his radical conservative allies are seeking to divide us.”

Lesbian activist Mandy Carter of North Carolina, a member of the NBJC board, said the coalition is calling on African Americans and “all advocates for fairness” to reject attempts to pass constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage.

“We will not stand idly by and allow discrimination to be written into the Constitution of the United States or the constitutions of any state in America,” Carter said.

Robinson said the ad campaign is part of a larger effort by the coalition to reach out to blacks across the country, including the “faith community,” to address the issue of gay equality.

He said the coalition is grappling with a seeming paradox. A growing number of African-American religious leaders appear to be joining conservative, Republican-leaning fundamentalist Christian groups — which traditionally have opposed the interests of African Americans on economic issues — in support of constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage.

At the same time, Robinson said, virtually all black civil rights organizations and leaders have come out against these proposed constitutional amendments.

“Most African-American civil rights leaders are out ahead of their constituents on gay civil rights and marriage equality,” Robinson said.

“We are saying that people can oppose a constitutional amendment without supporting gay marriage,” he said. “The distinction is whether, regardless of your moral views, you decide what should be written in law should not create discrimination.”

Some of the black leaders backing a constitutional ban on gay marriage, including former D.C. congressional delegate Walter Fauntroy, a Baptist minister, argue that same-sex marriage would lead to the decline of the family unit. Fauntroy has said the nation’s black families have suffered from years of racial discrimination and would be placed in additional jeopardy if same-sex marriage is legalized.

Robinson said the NBJC strongly disputes claims that same-sex marriage is harmful to black families and plans to address this issue in future educational campaigns.

“The threat to the black family doesn’t come from same-sex marriage,” he said. “Studies show that there are same-sex African-American families who are raising children,” Robinson said. He said there is no evidence to show same-sex parents created an adverse affect on their children.

Lou Chibbaro Jr. can be reached at lchibbaro@washblade.com.