Concerns expressed by African-American religious leaders like Bishop Harry Jackson, pastor of Hope Christian Church, a large evangelical church in Beltsville, Md., are common. While Jackson said he respects the right of gay and lesbian students and employees to be treated with dignity and with fairness, he is concerned about veiled attempts to promote certain lifestyles and to equate it with the struggles of ethnic minorities.

“The issue is, is gayness an immutable unchangeable characteristic?” said Jackson, who has previously led a campaign against gay marriage in Washington, D.C. “I don’t think it is.  I now know a lot of people who were formerly gay who have come out of that lifestyle. I don’t know anyone who is formerly Black.”

This cultural backdrop, say observers, is an even bigger challenge than whether a college institutes a policy.

“I actually did my senior thesis on being gay or lesbian at an HBCU and what I found was that it wasn’t Howard’s environment that made people not want to come out but the fact that we have labeled the Black community as homophobic so people are afraid of rejection,” said Victoria Kirby, an openly lesbian and recent graduate of Howard who was elected the undergraduate representative to the university’s board of trustees her senior year.

At the end of the day, Gaskins said, the real empowerment comes not from policies but from ensuring that people are well informed.

“It doesn’t necessarily matter that they have policies,” said Gaskins. “Sometimes students and faculty don’t know it exists and if they do know, they don’t know how to use it as a resource. That’s why it is important that education continues.”