JC
The New York Blade reports on the 25th Anniversary of MACT (Men of All Colors Together), a political and social organization that has fought for racial justice and has worked to support men in interracial same-sex relationships. It started in the 80s when there was very little acceptance. The climate has changed a bit since then, and statistics show that there are many more interracial gay couples today (actually, the rates of interracial relationships are higher in gay couples than in their heterosexual counterparts), but the support is still necessary.

In its early days, MACT was a place where the personal and political could meet. While it seems unfathomable today, when MACT started, some gay clubs in New York City were openly not inviting to black patrons. There were the identification checks that other patrons did not face and a different scale for drinks.

Numbers about interracial gay relationships apparently show that gay and lesbians are more likely to be involved with a person of different race than their straight counterparts. In a November 2003 Newark Star Ledger story, reporters Robert Gebeloff and Mary Jo Patterosn analyzed the 2000 Census. They found that, while the racial make-up of gays and lesbians mirrored the rest of society, same sex couples were more likely to be interracial. “While only one in 18 American marriages is interracial, one in 10 same sex relationships is interracial,” the article stated.

…One possible reason for why gays and lesbians are more likely to be in interracial relationships might be “because gays and lesbians are already part of a distinct community that may feel less constrained by other factors when choosing a partner.”