Black Radical Congress Statement in Support of the
Right to Gay Marriage
The Black Radical Congress stands in total solidarity
with gay and lesbian people residing in the United
States as they affirm their human right to marry under
U.S. law on an equal basis with all others who enjoy
the rights and benefits of marriage in this nation. We
say that human beings who live as family, love each
other as family and want society to perceive and treat
them as family should be entitled to precisely the
same legal acknowledgments granted to heterosexuals.
Current efforts to deprive gay and lesbian people of
equal marriage rights are an ultra right-wing attempt
to deem “illegitimate” any family that does not
conform to narrow-minded, religious fundamentalist
doctrine. These Republican efforts are also timed to
distract voters form the critical issues facing all of
us: rising unemployment, lessening access to
healthcare, and endless spending on war.
Since ancient times, homophobia has in various ways
proscribed the freedom of gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender people to live their lives openly and on a
par with others, and denials of freedom are something
we Black people know a lot about. During slavery,
family members could be separated on a master’s whim,
never to see each other again. Indeed, although the
word “family” does not appear in the U.S.
Constitution, U.S. law evolved to include numerous
supports for family connections in reaction against
the destruction of family wrought by the institution
of slavery.
The BRC cautions all Black people being called upon to
oppose gay marriage to resist such calls. Given our
own history of suffering and exclusion, we have no
business assisting anti-democratic forces in their
disgraceful campaign to deny marriage rights to a
sector of the population that wishes merely to have
their families accorded “equal protection of the
laws.” Whether the pretext is color or class or gender
or sexual orientation, a denial of civil and human
rights to people on the basis of who they are is
unacceptable. The time was yesterday when we should
realize that our overall struggle against racial
oppression requires us to confront and fight against
homophobia, not only on principle because it can limit
and destroy Black people’s lives, but also because it
has harmed the lives of Black people, past and
present, who are vital actors in the overall struggle.
Have we forgotten James Baldwin, Bessie Smith, Audre
Lorde, June Jordan, Langston Hughes, Marlon Riggs,
Barbara Smith and countless other lesbians, gay men,
bisexual and transgender Black people who HAVE lent
their voices and bodies to the ongoing movement for
justice, even as they were being dissed and dismissed
by their own sisters, brothers and associates? How can
we continue living in denial of the fact that color is
not the only layer of oppression that burdens many
Black people? How can we, with our retrograde
attitudes and actions within our own communities,
continue making their burden heavier?
We could only shake our heads in sadness when a Black
minister in Chicago was quoted as stating that “if the
KKK opposes gay marriage, I would ride with them.”
That is precisely the kind of confused and misguided
sentiment among many Blacks that right-wing forces are
hoping they can marshal for their arsenal. While the
right-wing claims to be attacking gay marriage out of
“moral” concern for the welfare of American families
and communities, morality is not the real issue here.
If the right truly cared about the welfare of
families, they would abandon support for the economic
and political policies that daily challenge family
survival — wages inadequate to sustain families;
inadequate health care; lack of affordable housing,
etc. The assault on gay marriage rights is a cynical
ploy aimed at directing anger toward an historically
oppressed group and away from the real threats to
security around the world.
In these times of dwindling employment, rising
poverty, corporate corruption and foreign military
adventures brought about by the desire of economically
powerful forces to make even more billions than they
already have, the Black Radical Congress decries the
scapegoating of ANY sector of the people to divert
attention from the total collapse of honest and humane
governance in this country, and the looting of public
coffers. We stand with gay men, lesbians, bisexual and
transgender people of all colors in their quest for
full and equal human rights, including the right to
marry, raise children and sustain family life.
Black Radical Congress Coordinating Committee