“There is a difference between civil right and sacred rights,” one protester insists in the trailer for The New Black, a documentary film about the African-American community’s reaction to Maryland’s 2012 marriage equality ballot. The film also captures the big picture of how the black minority has fought both for and against gay equality.
“Let’s be clear,” an activist on the side of gay rights says, “this is the unfinished business of black people being free.”
Check out a synopsis of the film from the official website:
“The New Black is a documentary that tells the story of how the African-American community is grappling with the gay rights issue in light of the recent gay marriage movement and the fight over civil rights. The film documents activists, families and clergy on both sides of the campaign to legalize gay marriage and examines homophobia in the black community’s institutional pillar — the black church — and reveals the Christian right wing’s strategy of exploiting this phenomenon in order to pursue an anti-gay political agenda.
“The New Black takes viewers into the pews and onto the streets and provides a seat at the kitchen table as it tells the story of the historic fight to win marriage equality in Maryland and charts the evolution of this divisive issue within the black community.”