Overall, the initiative passed 52 percent to 48 percent (and was subsequently invalidated by a court ruling). In 2008, exit polls initially found that black Californians voted 70 percent in favor of Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage.In 2001, about one-third of each group favored gay marriage. Last year, Pew Research found that just 42 percent of blacks favored gay marriage, compared with 53 percent of whites.Religiosity, lower educational attainment, and lower income all correlate with being less tolerant of gay marriage, a proxy for anti-gay animus. It's widely believed that blacks, who tend to be more religious, less educated, and less wealthy than the average American, are also more anti-gay. So I wanted to blow the lid off more on homophobia in my community." And they are killing African American women. "They don't come out, because your priest says, your pastor says, mama says, your next-door neighbor says, your homie says, your brother says, your boss says. "Homophobia is rampant in the African American community, and men are on the DL," he said. In a Daily Beast writeup of last night's speechifying, Stereo Williams recounts what Oscar-nominated director Lee Daniels had to say about black homophobia on a different occasion: When black people today tell me that they don't believe in gay marriageā¦ So, the first thing that I say is, 'Please don't let anybody try to get you to vote against your own best interest by feeding you messages of hate.' And then I say, 'You know people used to stay that stuff about you and your love and if we let the government start to legislate love in our lifetime, who do you think is next?'" Receiving a "vanguard" award from GLAAD, which supports gay and lesbian rights, she said: Last night at the GLAAD Media Awards, Scandal star Kerry Washington spoke out against homophobia among African Americans.