On July 23rd, Atlanta based African American author E. Lynn Harris passed away at the age of 54. An openly gay man and a former student of journalism at the University of Arkansas where he was a cheerleader, Harris made a name for himself by writing ten consecutive New York Times bestselling books where successful African American homosexuals played key rolls. Currently, four million of his books are in print.

According to a video posted on his website, which now includes a hastily drawn up “In Memoriam” article, he began his early years as a computer salesman and did not receive much publicity about his novels (his first being self published) until his third, And This Too Shall Pass, reached number eleven on the New York Times Bestseller List.

His novels dealt unabashedly with the subject of homosexuality, often featuring black men having to come to terms with their latent homosexual urges. An African American author of this caliber would have had little trouble obtaining a more recognizable name if his novels did not deal with this controversial issue, especially when one considers the typical African American’s view of homosexuals. We must consider the now infamous Edison/Mitofsky exit polls which show that as California’s African American community simultaneously voted for Mr. Obama, 70% voted for the ban on gay marriage.

Nevertheless, he did receive some literary acclaim. He was a recipient for the Blackboard Novel of the Year award three times for his novels Just As I Am, Any Way The Wind Blows, and A Love of My Own. He was also the winner of the James Baldwin Award for Literary Excellence for If This World Were Mine.

All this talk on homosexuality in relation to the African American community at large reminds me of something fairly important: Obama’s radically ambiguous stance on gay marriage. Reportedly, he supported gay marriage before he began his campaign for the Illinois State Senate, something excruciatingly odd considering his more recent political race which, amongst other words, was built on the foundation of the word “change.” Switching ideologies in order to get elected is hardly this.

According to a Huffington Post article published in February of this year, entitled “Obama Once Supported Same Sex Marriage ‘Unequivocally’,” Mr. Obama said:  “I favor legalizing same sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such measures.” A shockingly unambiguous answer from a man who now only argues for civil unions.

He has a bit more consistency on this point. He has said that he wishes civil unions to include “the ability to visit each other in hospitals… access benefits… to have a whole host of legal rights, that they do not have.” This leads one to believe that he in fact remains supportive of gay marriage and is only feigning to be against them for political reasons. Furthermore, in an interview with Brian Williams he said, “I would have supported and continue to support a civil union that would provide all the benefits that are available for a legally sanctioned marriage. And then it is up to religious denominations to make a determination on whether they want to recognize that as marriage or not.” When asked by Rick Warren whether or not he would approve an amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman he is quoted as saying “No, I am not.” He went on to say it should be a matter left up to the states.

These two quotes smack of sheer political calculation. His current stance, if one could call it that, seems nothing more than an argument in the vein of “separate but equal,” something that has never worked in any nation, at any time…EVER.  One would think that someone as intelligent as Mr. Obama could would have trouble retaining a sense of personal intellectual validity when inhabiting this vast political gray area. If forced to choose, void of any political ramifications, are we to believe that he has not privately retained his pro-gay marriage ideology after such ambiguous statements?

R.I.P. E. Lynn Harris.