Needed: a black Elton John

It was a point I hadn’t considered.

But just before the Nov. 4 election, a black friend told me his theory: The attitude toward homosexuality and gay marriage won’t change dramatically in the African American community until someone comes out of the closet and makes it more socially acceptable.

“There’s no Elton John or David Geffen in the black community,” said my friend, an AIDS-prevention activist.

I suspected this had to be wrong, so I began racking my brain to come up with such a person.

Well, there’s . . .

Hmmmmmm.

Outside of RuPaul, I was stumped. Rumors and speculation throw a couple of names on the table, but no one of the stature of John, Geffen or Ellen DeGeneres is front and center.

Does that mean there are no prominent African Americans who happen to be gay?

“I think in the black community we have a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, where everybody knows there are gay folks, but if it’s not said, it’s easier,” said state Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, who along with dozens of other legislators, opposed Proposition 8 and is now supporting legal challenges to the measure.

Proposition 8 narrowly succeeded, amending the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The Yes on 8 campaign got huge support from white voters and religious institutions, including the Mormon and Catholic churches. But the overwhelming African American turnout for Barack Obama also helped Proposition 8, which was supported by a large majority of black voters, as well as Latinos.

It’s the black support that seems to have surprised and upset Proposition 8 supporters the most. Blacks are such a reliable liberal vote, a lot of Californians just assumed they were simpatico. I’ve had gay white friends ask me how blacks, of all people, could help beat back what many people saw as a clear civil rights struggle.

Jasmyne A. Cannick, a black lesbian, had an answer Saturday in a provocative opinion piece in The Times. The black community has more important matters to tackle than gay marriage, she argued, saying the clumsy No on 8 strategists failed to understand the link between Christianity and civil rights and were clueless in taking support for granted.

I thought Cannick scored a few smart points but failed to call bigots and hypocritical ministers to account.

I don’t care who does it -- white, black or brown -- but someone needs to tell ministers and all true believers that their literal interpretation of the Bible is dividing people, driving gays underground and killing them.

HIV rates among blacks are staggeringly higher than among white people, and silence makes for a crowded morgue.

The Rev. Eric Lee of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference opposed Proposition 8. But he understands why some black congregations endorsed it: “The African American community, for all intents and purposes, embraces Scripture as a literal message from God,” Lee said. The obvious problem with that, he added, is that the Bible also endorses slavery, the subjugation of women and the beating of children.

Lee appeared at a pre-election No on 8 rally with a black actor named Douglas Spearman. When I asked Spearman if he thought it would help to have a high-profile openly gay black person stand up for the cause, he raised his hand.

I was thinking of a slightly higher profile, I told him. But to his credit, Spearman has been doing his own part since 2003, when he and other gay black professionals, including doctors and elected officials, attended a retreat in Miami to discuss strategies for beginning a national conversation.

At 46, Spearman is one of the stars of a TV series called “Noah’s Arc” and the recently released movie version, “Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom.” Both are about gay black men.

“None of the issues have anything to do with color or race,” said Spearman, who plays a gay college professor. “Never do we talk about that, but this is the first time gay black people get to see themselves in three-dimensional roles doing normal things. We see a part of our lives on the biggest screen our culture can provide.”

Spearman sounded a little like President-elect Barack Obama when he said it was time to push harder for an honest conversation in the black community on the costs of homophobia, and to engage the opposition, including socially conservative ministers. It’s something the Black AIDS Institute and other groups have begun, but there’s a long way to go.

“When I came out, I had an extraordinary set of parents who didn’t give a crap and loved me, and I was never told I was going to hell,” said Spearman, who grew up in the Washington, D.C., area, and came out at 17. “They had a sense of God that was larger than a chapter in Leviticus.”

When DeGeneres came out 11 years ago, he said, “it was huge. I thought it was pretty amazing and incredibly brave on her part . . . But it’s easier for a white lesbian to come out than for anybody else.”

Everyone has rumors about which prominent black people are gay, Spearman said.

“It would help if somebody major came out, but it would have to be somebody that sort of goes against all stereotypes,” Spearman said. “There’d have to be some shock and awe, and then people would have to get used to it.”

And, over time, they would.

Hope to see you at 8:30 a.m. this Saturday at Exposition Park, where I’ll be helping to launch this year’s Homeless Walk sponsored by United Way of Greater Los Angeles. Last year’s event drew thousands, raised half a million dollars, and helped 11 agencies remove 2,300 people from the streets of the homeless capital of the U.S. For more information go to www.unitedwayla.org.

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steve.lopez@latimes.com