Found: 85,000 black gay households

Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, The, Jan-Feb, 2005 by Alain Dang, Somjen Frazer

ANTI-GAY ACTIVISTS frequently claim that equal rights for gay and lesbian people are a threat to the civil rights of groups they deem "legitimate minorities," including African-Americans. For example, one flier distributed by a coalition of anti-gay organizations claimed that Martin Luther King, Jr. "would be outraged if he knew that homosexualist extremists were abusing the civil rights movement to get special rights based on their behavior" ("Center appalled by MLK use in flier," The Miami Herald, 8/2/02). Such rhetoric implies that there are no black lesbian or gay people experiencing discrimination because of their sexual orientation. Such claims completely dismiss the existence of black same-sex couples, many with children, who would benefit from the legal protections afforded by marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships.

The U.S. Census does not ask about sexual orientation or gender identity as such. However, in 1990 and 2000 the Census allowed same-sex cohabiting couples to identify themselves as "unmarried partners." Those couples in which both partners were men or both were women are considered to be "same-sex couples" or "households" for purposes of research. However, it is assumed that those indicating that they are same-sex unmarried partners are in long-term relationships involving mutual support and caring. It is likely that many of the individuals in these same-sex couples would identify as "gay," "lesbian," "same gender loving," or some other term for homosexual. Others would identify as bisexual, as would many men and women in opposite-sex coupled households.

To help inform the debate on the impact of same-sex marriage in the U.S., particularly on black same-sex couples, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute, in collaboration with the National Black Justice Coalition, conducted an analysis of data from the 2000 Census. This study sheds light on the basic demographics of black same-sex couples nationwide, including residence patterns, parenting rates, educational attainment, employment status, income, housing, and veteran status. To understand how recently enacted anti-gay marriage amendments will specifically affect black same-sex couples, this group was compared to white same-sex couples as well as other black family types, including black married opposite-sex couples, black cohabiting opposite-sex couples, and black single parents.

According to the 2000 Census, there are almost 85,000 black same-sex couples in the U.S., representing about fourteen percent of the 600,000 same-sex couples of all races. These couples and their families will be disproportionately harmed by state anti-gay-marriage amendments. Despite the prejudice they may face due to racism and homophobia, many black same-sex couples manage to create and sustain stable families, many of them with children, defying hurtful stereotypes about both black people and gay and lesbian people.

Anti-gay marriage state and federal constitutional amendments will disproportionately harm black same-sex couples and their families because they are already economically disadvantaged compared to black married opposite-sex couples--even more so when compared to white same-sex couples. Black same-sex couples report lower annual median household income than black married opposite-sex couples. Black female same-sex couples report a median income of $9,000 less than black married opposite-sex couples, while black male same-sex couples report a median income of $2,000 less than black married opposite-sex couples. Black same-sex couples also report lower annual median household income than white same-sex couples. Black female same-sex couples report a median income of fully $18,000 less than their white counterparts, while black male couples report a median income of $20,000 less than do white male couples. Black same-sex couples are also less likely to report home ownership than black married opposite-sex couples. Sixty-eight percent of black married couples report home ownership compared to only 54 percent of black male couples and fifty percent of black female couples.

Because black same-sex couples earn less and are less likely to own their home than whites, they are more likely to be harmed by the effects of being barred from the legal protections that marriage provides. Lack of access to these protections, in turn, diminishes their earning power and thus their ability to save money, to provide for their children, to buy a house, and so on. Not being able to take advantage of your partner's health care plan, for example, is that much more devastating for a couple that's already struggling financially. And even if a same-sex couple is so fortunate as to receive domestic partner health insurance through an employer, unlike a married couple they must pay state and federal taxes on it as income. Same-sex partners are not eligible for 1,138 federal protections and benefits available to married couples, including Social Security survivor benefits, Medicaid spend-down protections, and worker's compensation. Over a lifetime, ineligibility for these benefits means that black same-sex couples often pay more in taxes but receive less in public benefits than other Americans. They are also ineligible for non-financial protections that affect job security, such as the right to take unpaid leave from work to care for one's partner under the Family and Medical Leave Act.