Two African-American clergy have spoken up in today's Washington Post on behalf of gay marriage - Why Two Black D.C. Pastors Support Gay Marriage. They are members of Clergy for Marriage Equality. They note that one of the two "No" votes came from Marion Barry, who represents their district. Barry cited the opposition from his constituents as a reason for his vote. The authors respond,
We have seen the resistance that Alexander and Barry were talking about. We know it has deep cultural and historical roots. But we have also seen that this resistance is not stuck in concrete...
Last week, two black D.C. Council members voted against the same-sex marriage bill. But five black council members voted for it. Our black mayor signed it on Friday, and our black congressional representative has promised to defend it on Capitol Hill. Although the bill faces the possibility of intervention by Congress, something revolutionary is happening in this city to debunk the notion that the black community's homophobia is entrenched.
The pastors, Rev. Dennis Wiley and Rev. Christine Wiley, lay out the basic principles of their commitment to marriage equality.
For us, the courage to perform same-sex unions is in keeping with the proudest traditions of our Baptist and congregational heritage. Within the Baptist tradition of freedom and autonomy, Covenant Baptist Church has a long history of progressive ministry emphasizing social justice, service to the community and inclusion. Several years ago, our congregation unanimously adopted a vision statement that we recite together every Sunday morning as a reminder that "all are welcome, regardless of race, ethnicity, class, gender, age or sexual orientation."
They also provide a helpful narrative of how the community reacted to and evolved with the statement - finding intial consensus, and discovering unspoken anger at change a a key moment. As with any attempt to implement principles, the human processes of adaptation and growth are integral to the story.
DC Clergy for Marriage Equality also hosted a worship service on Oct 29, 2009, of which excerpts are included in the video below.
For more background, I strongly recommend Kelly Brown Douglas, Sexuality and the Black Church: A Womanist Perspective (links to my review of the book).
Independent of the developments in D.C., it has been great to see constructive dialogue between the Black and Queer communities here on Daily Kos in the last few weeks. I hope our communities can model for the larger community the power of respectful listening across differrences that make for stronger coalitions.