Jasmyne Cannick (a black lesbian) wrote an LA Times op-ed piece on how the gay community did not reach out to the black community in a way that would 'speak' to them. You can listen to her talk about this (quite forcefully and almost abrasively in my opinion) on NPR. Lots of people took issue with this view and I myself find it hard to understand the offense she takes, though I can see her point about the priorities for the black community (i.e., get out the vote, regardless of discord over 'smaller' issues) being different from the national priorities. (I myself have told people just to VOTE even when I know they are not voting for my man. Her point is that other issues that presented themselves as more universal to her race took precedence in the election).

Though she did not see it as such, I think that gay marriage is a civil rights issue, and that opposition speaks more to fear than to an actual belief that it causes a 'threat.'

While more emotionally charged and less objective, I think the Alvin Lau's spoken poetry makes the point more universally.

Def Poet Alvin Lau reading "What Tiger Said" at the Columbia College's Biggest Mouth Talent show.