In 2008, we fostered in a new era of hope with the election of our first black president, Barack Obama. But we also fostered in a new era of bigotry for all gay and lesbian Californians with the upholding of Proposition 8, which was a proposition placed on the Californian 2008 presidential election ballot stating that marriage between a man and a woman is the only marriage that will exist in the state. The California Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage, and it had been in practice since June 16, 2008. The day after the election, it was overturned by a roughly 52 percent voting ‘Yes' for Proposition 8.
In many states, Election Day had brought out the highest percentage of black voters in the presidential election in a long time. Demographers give many reasons for why this could have been. The black voters feel like they could relate to a black candidate better; black voters wanted to make history; black voters just voted for him because he was black. However, many demographers failed to ask, ""Hey, could blacks be voting for this man because they actually like his policies?""
This is an example of modern day cultural imperialism: the blatant distinguishing of ideas that another culture could possibly exert the same power as one's own. Even though I am black, this upsets me more as a human being, as it should any other human being. The demographics of Election Day with Proposition 8 demonstrated a majority of Latinos voted ‘Yes', while whites were split almost even.
However, the Los Angeles Times reports roughly 70 percent of the blacks who voted in California on Election Day voted ‘Yes' for Proposition 8. I am not implying that just because you are black that you have to completely understand every social justice issue, and that all black people should be activists. I am merely stating that if any human being suffers any form of oppression, whether it is cultural imperialism or marginalization, why they would want to do the same to anyone else doesn't make any sense to me.
And why is the number so high in the black community? The dominant religion in the black community is Christianity. There are many Christians who strictly believe that The Bible condemns homosexuality. So, if this is the case, this can be a possible factor of why there is so much homophobia in the black community. Another reason is due to cultural taboos. A culture's taboos can be influenced by religion, but also from those around them in the culture. In the past, homosexuality was something that was brushed under the rug, an issue that many blacks didn't want to discuss.
However, it is being talked about more and more but sometimes in negative ways. One example is how the rapper Lil' Wayne uses the term ""no homo"" almost to condone that a straight male can say or do things with another straight male that seem stereotypically homosexual and it will be cancelled out by saying ""no homo."" It's almost like knocking on wood.
A positive example, however, that people are influencing homosexuality in a better light was in a recent interview with Mo'Nique, ""Love. That's it; there is no special formula. People that have a platform, if they start speaking about love—we are creatures that latch on, may it be negative or positive. So imagine that if in all of the black churches they started saying, ‘Let's love each other unconditionally. Let's not judge.' That's it! You can have members be openly gay! Not ""Well, we think Troy is gay, but you know! Yes, he switches, but we're not gonna say nothing!""
I agree with Mo'Nique. This is not an issue that should be swept under the rug. The problems between identifying members of the LGBTQ community and the black community will only get better if they are talked about and no longer will there need to be an issue of having to work your life as a gay person into your life as a black person. They can coincide. This message is universal to all ethnicities and all cultures. We all have different views and opinions that may collide with another aspect of our life.
But no one should feel like those views have to be ‘worked' into their lives. Once this is realized, I believe that we can break the chains of homophobia, racism, sexism or other negative forms of oppression, in any community. In the end, we are all human beings and we all have feelings. In the words of my girl Mo'Nique, ""Love. That it.""
Daylon Cottingham is a member of the Multicultural Student Coalition. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
