CONCLUSION
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CONCLUSION
Fundamentally, marriage equality for same-sex couples will provide legal recognition to committed relationships that already exist. Far from a new phenomenon, relationships between Black same-sex couples have thrived over many generations, built on the same foundation that sustains any solid union: trust, loyalty, and love.
Black same-sex couples in California and all over our country have chosen to join together in both body and soul. By partnering for life, these couples enter a covenant made sacred by their faith in each other. It is imperative that this covenant be respected and granted the legal status it deserves.
“It wasn’t that long ago that black folks themselves could not be married. We had to jump brooms and do all kind of informal things in slavery to recognize unions that the state failed to recognize, and that the Christian religion failed to acknowledge. In the 20th century as well, when interracial marriages, in some states still banned or looked upon askance. So the thing is that black people need to be the last people in the world trying to justify theologically any bigotry toward or bias against or even resistance to people who want to be married.” (Michael Eric Dyson, Author and Professor (Tavis Smiley Show, NPR, 2/26/04))
