Popular Culture Review Vol. 16, No. 2, Summer 2005 | Page 114

no Popular Culture Review The study indicates that African-American gay couples earn significantly less than White gay or lesbian couples.. . . The study also shows that African-American same-sex couples make far less than either their White same-sex counterparts or heterosexual couples of either race. In San Francisco, Black same-sex couples [earn] more than $6,000 less per year than Black married opposite-sex couples, and nearly $30,000 less than White same-sex couples. In Los Angeles, Black same-sex couples earn more than $17,000 less per year than White same-sex couples. “This study demonstrates the strength and struggle of Black same-sex families,” said Matt Foreman, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force executive director (365Gay.com, February 17, 2005). Marriage equality may not erase the race-based disparity in earnings, but it would enable all same-sex households to access the 1,138 federal tax and other financial benefits legal marriage confers, and it would certainly not have any “detrimental effect on the black family,” as Mr. Sneed claimed. Moreover, a February 11, 2005, article by Lou Chibbaro, Jr. posted on the WashingBlade.com web site noted that: One year ago, the National Black Justice Coalition emerged on the gay rights scene to show how families headed by samesex African-American couples are hurt by a legal system that prohibits gay people from marrying. The article concluded with this truth: Robinson [spokesman for the National Black Justice Coalition] said the coalition would continue efforts to counter black churches that support a federal and state constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriage. “The reality is Lou Sheldon and his Traditional Values Coalition are still distributing a video to black churches claiming that gay rights and same-sex marriage would force churches to marry gays,” Robinson said. “What we’re seeing is mostly white Evangelicals running an underground