Reply #60: You need to reach the influential figures in the black community

[kwassa]

The biggest influences are black churches, and not all churches are conservative. That is probably the best place for change. The NAACP voiced its support for gay marriage at one California rally, and that would be another important avenue, particularly for older people.

I am sure there are many online black political forums where approaches could be made.

Getting black celebrities to step forward on the issue would be another approach.

A much better source than me would be the black gay participants on DU that could give you opinions on two things; how to reach the larger black community, and how to heal the rift between black and white gay worlds.

Here is a good research source for figures on support of gay marriage. It shows that attitudes among whites have shifted somewhat over the past few years, although a majority oppose marriage, they also support civil unions. The figures for blacks haven't really changed, which shows that little work has been done there.

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/868/gay-marriage

here is where your party debater probably got his opinion, from no data at all, but this op-ed piece that is wrong-headed. This piece is pure conjecture, in my opinion, but made a bit of a splash at the time:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/opinion/29blow.html