In the ongoing debate surrounding same-gender marriage, several African-American religious groups have spoken out against the cause. The influential African Methodist Episcopal Church, for instance, supports gay-marriage bans. In addition, the Rev. Eddie Long, a pastor in the New Birth Church, has worked to organize marches in protest of same-gender marriages and encouraged fellow African-Americans across the nation to participate.

Jasmyne Cannick, the spokesperson for the National Black Justice Coalition, a nationwide organization that advocates for African-American LGBT-identified people, acknowledged the divide between the LGBTIQ and black communities in this country. She said that the divide often involves the cultural and religious traditions passed down in the African-American community.

It is my belief, however, that this rift should not prevent these two communities from working together, as the links between them and the common goals they seek would benefit greatly from their cooperation.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words are just as applicable today as they were during the height of the civil rights movement. He did not distinguish between types of injustice or victims of discrimination, so why should we?

Tolerance is considered a prerequisite for a successful democratic society. It would be hypocritical to embrace liberal democracy while allowing intolerance toward any group to weave its way into our social fabric.
That being said, homophobia is one of the ugliest types of intolerance. Coretta Scott King stated that “homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood.” Can Matthew Shepard’s death be considered any less heinous than a hate crime based on race? I don’t think so.

An African-American and LGBTIQ identity are not mutually exclusive. Thus, when members of the civil rights movement shun the LGBTIQ rights movement, they are closing the door on some of their own. Not only does this breed intolerance, but it ostracizes those who choose to celebrate, rather than conceal, these overlapping identities.

In both racism and homophobia, discrimination is based on immutable, arbitrary factors. Of course, many will challenge this perspective and argue that “being gay is a choice, and being African-American isn’t.” For the sake of saving space, I will say that being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender is either an identity that one can’t shed or that one doesn’t want to shed. Either way, discrimination is based on a factor that, for whatever reasons, won’t change.

One of the core principles of the civil rights movement is that the application of freedom, equal rights, justice and access shouldn’t be contingent on race, sexuality or any other of these characteristics that shouldn’t matter in how we judge a person. Those members of the African-American community who dissociate themselves from the LGBTIQ rights movement are, in turn, distancing themselves from one of the fundamental tenets of the civil rights movement.

We all harbor some bias toward minority groups. This is true regardless of one’s sexual identity or race. There is, however, something to be said for overcoming this bias and working together as a stronger whole.
We fight against a similar oppression. Both the African-American and LGBTIQ communities struggle as minorities in a culture dominated by a set of standards imposed by a majority. Whether we label it racism or heteronormativity, we’re basically talking about the same foe. If this foe is battled in a combined effort, we stand a better chance at eliminating discrimination from all sides and achieving inclusive equality for African-Americans, members of the LGBTIQ community and members of other minority groups.