Thanks. Your posts about how some black people were treated after the election results made me stop and think about what should be done. I think we're at a crossroads where we could end up fostering ill will rather than creating goodwill, and I think racism in any form is a monster to be stamped out.

My thought is that we, as gay people of all different colors, haven't done enough to win over many non-gay African American voters. We need to do a better job of building bridges with minority communities and reaching out across the color lines. I don't really know what the first step is in that direction. I believe that gay African Americans are probably the best people to determine what needs to be done to push for support for gay rights among the Af-Am community.

I don't think we'll win everyone over, but, in time, I think we can make decent progress. Analysis from Nate Silver, the guy behind Fivethirtyeight.com, showed that the majority of younger black voters sided with us, just like younger voters of nearly every demographic. It was older black voters who did not vote in our favor, and the theory behind that is that religious affiliation was the driving factor in determining where people fell when it comes to gay rights issues. Older black people are one of the most church-going demographic groups in the nation, so it makes sense that we didn't get many of their votes.

The religious right is trying to drive an even larger wedge than already exists between religious black people and gay people. I've seen several media quotes over the past week attempting to do this by people like Bill O'Reilly and a few GOP politicians.