To be sure, African-Americans have a vested interest in the debate over gay marriage, or more accurately, a vested interest in keeping a distance from the majoritarian frenzy that drives measures like North Carolina's Amendment One. Blacks have no business participating in the imposition of cultural hegemony represented by gay marriage bans when their own life opportunities continue to be diminished by the very same initiative and referenda process used to implement these bans. Black conservative Ward Connerly's success in corralling white voters who have never lost a job or an opportunity to attend college on account of Affirmative Action to nevertheless ban such programs starkly illustrates this point.