Why gays, blacks are divided on Prop. 8

Then the voice of Obama speaking to a crowd comes on: "I believe marriage is a union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian, it is also a sacred union. God is in the mix."

A narrator then urged a yes vote on Proposition 8.

California Democratic Party consultant Roger Salazar was among the recipients of the call.

"They saw the Obama tide coming and they were trying to capitalize on it," Salazar said, adding that the call was "manipulative and deceitful," given the candidate's stated opposition to the amendment.

Still, those efforts, combined with a push by dozens of African American ministers and commercials and mailers arguing that children would be subjected to a pro-gay curriculum should the measure pass, had an effect on voters like Pasadena resident Doris Tucker.

Tucker, who is African American, said she voted for "all the good things," especially Obama and Proposition 8. "I don't think it's right," Tucker said of gay marriage. "They shouldn't let it go on."

On Friday, four leaders of the No-on-8 campaign put out a statement urging cooperation among groups around the issue. "We achieve nothing if we isolate the people who did not stand with us in this fight," the statement said. "We only further divide our state if we attempt to blame people of faith, African American voters, rural communities and others for this loss."

In conversations this week, organizers of the campaign against Proposition 8 discussed the racial divide on the measure. Said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights: "One cannot underestimate the effect that . . . the robo-calls had where people heard Barack Obama's voice and then they were told to vote yes on 8."

Still, she added, the campaign could have done a better job reaching out to black voters. "The way you really move votes in the African American community is with conversations, with [real-life] experience . . . making sure that people see there are African American lesbian and gay people who will be affected by this. That is something we intend to assist our community leaders in doing more of," she added. "That is a real lesson learned."

Ron Buckmire, who heads the Barbara Jordan/Bayard Rustin Coalition, a black gay-rights group in Los Angeles, said the vote shows that "there is a lot of work to be done in the black community."