Gay is NOT “The New Black”!

1. Gay is NOT “The New Black”! Ron Buckmire, Ph.D. Barbara Jordan/Bayard Rustin Coalition Occidental College

2. Outline • Brief History of Marriage Equality • The New Black Gay • Proposition 8 Rehash • Proposition 8 Aftermath • Gay Is NOT the New Black • Next Steps • Q & A "Gay Is NOT The New Black" L.A. Southwest College

3. A Brief History of Marriage Equality • Baehr v. Lewin, (Hawai’i, 1993) • First State Supreme Court to rule “traditional marriage laws” unconstitutional (plurality decision) • Federal Defense of Marriage Act • Sec 1: No state has to recognize same-sex marriages • Sec 2: Federal government prohibited from recognizing SSM (Signed into law by Pres. Clinton Sep. 21, 1996) • Baehr v. Miike, (Hawai’i, 1997) • Repealed in Nov. 1998 by Amendment 2 • “The Legislature shall have the power to regulate marriage.” "Gay Is NOT The New Black" L.A. Southwest College

4. History of Marriage Equality ’93-’10 • Electoral Backlash Occurs • Between 1998 and 2009 31 states vote on ballot measures restricting marriage rights or relationship recognition (Score is 1-31; AZ voted twice) • California’s Proposition 22 passes March 7, 2000 62%-38% “Only marriage between a man and a woman shall be valid or recognized in California” • 2006 AZ becomes first and only state to defeat an anti-gay ballot measure, 2008 AZ passes marriage-only ban • 2008 Proposition 8 passes in California 52.3%-47.7% • Courts start legalizing marriage equality • Massachusetts (2004) • Connecticut, California (2008) • Iowa (2009) • Legislatures start legalizing marriage equality • Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, District of Columbia (2009) "Gay Is NOT The New Black" L.A. Southwest College

5. The New Black Gay: The Barbara Jordan/ Bayard Rustin Coalition • Founded in Summer 2006 • Only Black LGBT political advocacy organization in Greater Los Angeles • Major Achievements: • Maintained a paid staff (almost) continuously since 2007 • Marched in 2009 & 2010 MLK Day Parade • Coordinated Grassroots African-American outreach against Proposition 8 • Primary partner in convening a Multiracial LGBT Collective in Southern California, Q*POC-LA • Quoted in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Advocate, Curve Magazine "Gay Is NOT The New Black" L.A. Southwest College

6. The Barbara Jordan/ Bayard Rustin Coalition Barbara Jordan (February 21, 1936-January 17, 1996) • 1st African-American woman to be elected to Congress from a Southern State (Texas) in 1972 • 1st African-American woman to be elected to the Texas State Senate in 1968 • Gave the Keynote Address at the 1972 Democratic National Convention • Unacknowledged lesbian, met partner Nancy Earl in late 1960s "Gay Is NOT The New Black" L.A. Southwest College

7. The Barbara Jordan/ Bayard Rustin Coalition Bayard Rustin (March 17, 1912- August 24, 1987) • Co-Organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom • Co-organizer of the very first Freedom Ride in 1947 • Unofficial co-founder of CORE • Known as Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “right hand man” • Pled guilty to a 1953 consensual sodomy charge in Pasadena, CA • Openly gay, Black, ex-Communist Quaker! "Gay Is NOT The New Black" L.A. Southwest College

8. Proposition 8: Timeline • Spring 2005: CA LGBT community started preparing for another anti-gay marriage proposition • Late 2006: Let California Ring public education campaign launched • Spring 2007: The “Tripping Bride” Ad created • October 2007: ProtectMarriage.com was approved to start circulating petitions to collect signatures for an initiative constitutional amendment • March 2008: In Re Marriage Cases oral arguments before Cal Sup Ct • April 2008: Nearly 1.1 million signatures delivered to CA Secretary of State • May 15, 2008: CA Supreme Court issues In Re Marriage Cases decision • June 2, 2008: Proposition 8 certified for November 4, 2008 ballot • June 15, 2008: same-sex couples start marrying in California "Gay Is NOT The New Black" L.A. Southwest College

9. Proposition 8: The Media War • August 2008: Let California Ring airs “Tripping Bride” ad constantly during Beijing Olympics TV coverage • September 2008: Let California Ring print and radio ads run in ethnic media outlets until the end of the month • September 22 2008: First NO ON 8 ad airs: “Don’t Eliminate Marriage For Anyone” • September 29 2008: First YES on 8 ad airs “Whether You Like It Or Not” • October 7 2008: Yes on 8 airs “Princes” ad • October 22 2008: No on 8 airs response to “Princes” ad • October 23 2008: Yes on 8 responds with “Truth” • October 30 2008: No on 8 ends the campaign with “Divisive” and “Discrimination” "Gay Is NOT The New Black" L.A. Southwest College

10. Proposition 8: Results • Certified Election Results on Proposition 8 • Statewide • YES 7,001,084 (52.30%) • NO 6,401,482 (47.70%) • Margin: 599,602 (4.6%) • Voter Turnout: 13,743,177 out of 17,304,091 (79.42%) • Los Angeles County • YES 1,624,672 (50.04%) • NO 1,622,287 (49.96%) • Margin: 2,385 (0.08%) • Turnout: 3,246,959 out of 4,111,642 (79%) "Gay Is NOT The New Black" L.A. Southwest College

11. Proposition 8 Aftermath: Black vs. Gay • CNN Exit Poll released days after the election showed that 70% of African Americans voted in favor of Proposition 8 • Later revised down to 57-58% Yes vote by Black voters by an academic analysis in January 2009 (Egan & Sherrill) • Media narrative became centered on Blacks versus Gays (two marginalized groups fighting for scraps!) • Between Nov. 4-Nov 18 I appeared in/on • The Los Angeles Times • Good Morning America (Sunday) • KABC-TV • Local radio stations (KCRW-FM, KPFK-FM) "Gay Is NOT The New Black" L.A. Southwest College

12. Proposition 8 Aftermath: Gay Is The New Black(?) "Gay Is NOT The New Black" L.A. Southwest College

13. Why Gay is NOT ‘the new Black’ • There are people who are both Black and Gay; Assuming Black and Gay are oppositional identities negates the intersection. • Although both communities have experienced identity-based discrimination, slavery (and its incidents) is simply not equivalent to what LGBT people have experienced (Clearly both groups do not enjoy full equality in America today) • The phrase “Gay is the new Black” and facile comparisons trivialize both the experience of Black people and LGBT people in this country and leads to the “Oppression Olympics” (Hancock, 2011) • To paraphrase Dan Savage,the gay rights movement is a civil rights movement but the movement for racial equality is the Civil Rights Movement. "Gay Is NOT The New Black" L.A. Southwest College

14. Next Steps • Proposition 8 was struck down as unconstitutional by a Federal judge in Perry v. Schwarzenegger on August 4, 2010 • Appeal scheduled before 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set for Dec 6, 2010 • Only other way to repeal Proposition 8 is through another statewide ballot measure (2012? 2014?) • Jordan/Rustin Coalition has started to receive funding to do testing of messages about marriage equality in the Black community in Los Angeles and build capacity • Recent polls show that majorities of Californians and Americans (nationwide) support equal marriage rights for all people (AP 52%-46% 9/2010; CNN 52%-46% 8/2010) "Gay Is NOT The New Black" L.A. Southwest College

15. The Future!? • Blogger Nate Silver (fivethirtyeight.com) has looked at the 30 states that have voted to amend their constitution and done a regression analysis which shows that the most important factors are 1. The year in which the amendment was voted upon; 2. The percentage of adults in 2008 Gallup tracking surveys who said that religion was an important part of their daily lives; 3. The percentage of white evangelicals in the state. • When extrapolated into the future it shows the year in which a similar vote to ban gay marriage would fail in each state "Gay Is NOT The New Black" L.A. Southwest College

16. Thank You • Prof. Tamura Howard • Oscar Cobian Any questions? "Gay Is NOT The New Black" L.A. Southwest College