Download HOMOPHOBIA in the Black Church

Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King was
outspoken in supporting
equality for our gay and
lesbian brothers and sisters.
Someone asked Mrs. King
why she would “desecrate”
Dr. King’s legacy. She
was reprimanded and
denounced by some clergy
across the nation. In
response to their attacks,
she reminded them that
Dr. King taught us “a threat to justice anywhere is a
threat to justice everywhere.” Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin helped
organize the 1963 March
on Washington as well as
the Montgomery, Alabama
bus boycott, and introduced
King to the technique of
nonviolence. He is, and
should be, considered an
architect of the civil rights
movement.
“The church must be reminded
that it is not the master or the
servant of the state, but rather
the conscience of the state. It
must be the guide and the critic
of the state, and never its tool.
If the church does not recapture
its prophetic zeal, it will become
an irrelevant social club without
moral or spiritual authority.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Mildred Loving
“I believe all
Americans, no matter
their race, no matter
their sex, no matter
their sexual orientation,
should have that same
freedom to marry.
Government has no business imposing some people’s
religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies
people’s civil rights.”
Mildred Loving, married to Richard Loving, was part of
an interracial married couple who were criminally charged
under a Virginia statute banning such marriages.
African American Ministers
Leadership Council
a project of
People For the American Way Foundation
www.pfaw.org • www.rightwingwatch.org
email: [email protected]
2000 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
Homophobia in the Black Church
Heroines & Heroes of Equality
A Program of
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to
justice everywhere.”
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Our mission is to bring about an end to
the social silence of homophobia in the
Black Church & the African American
Community and stand firmly against
the hate speech and overt discrimination
against ALL of our Brothers and Sisters.
Lies & Deceit
Anti-gay leaders have employed a range of
dishonest scare tactics to drive a wedge between
our communities by opposing anti-discrimination
legislation, hate crimes legislation, and marriage
equality. Here are some of the lies they often tell:
Bishop Harry Jackson,
Hope Christian Church
Lie #1: “Gays and liberal Christians
are enemies of God who deserve to be
struck down.”
What is Homophobia?
Homophobia is an irrational fear of, aversion to, or
discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals.
It is the discrimination against our own LGBT brothers
and sisters. We cannot allow lies and fear to divide and
conquer our communities.
Q. Isn’t homosexuality and gay marriage just a white
issue? A. Chances are, you know someone who’s gay –
whether they’ve revealed it or not. Because there’s
such a stigma in our communities, many who are same
gender loving are scared to be themselves.
Q. Isn’t being gay a choice?
Jesse Lee Peterson, Brotherhood
Organization of a New Destiny
Lie #2: “How can ministers who
are supposed to lead their flock to
Jesus Christ instead lead them to a
socialist like Obama? The truth is
that most black ministers don’t have a
real relationship with God and they are leading their
congregations to hell.”
Rev. Ken Hutcherson,
Antioch Bible Church
Lie #3: “God hates effeminate men.” …
“If I was in a drugstore and some guy
opened the door for me, I’d rip his arm
off and beat him with the wet end.”
Rev. Mychal Massie, Project 21
Lie #4: “The whole thing bespeaks
of something much deeper and more
insidious than we just want to get
married,”… “They want to change the
entire social order.”
A. There is no scientific evidence that being gay is
a choice that most gay people make. Also, there’s no
scientific evidence that being straight is a choice either.
Q. Will our church have to perform gay marriages?
Will our preachers no longer be able to teach that
homosexuality is a sin?
A. No church will ever be forced to marry or bless any
couple. Our Constitution protects churches’ religious
freedom and guarantees that preachers can teach their
interpretation of scripture.
Q. I go back to the Bible. It says homosexuality is a
sin. So how can the church condone it?
A. Sure there are various references in the Bible, but
not one by Jesus Christ himself concerning sexuality
or homosexuality. If you read the Old Testament text
and the letters of Paul, sure you can find mentions of
homosexuality. But you can also find other verses that
we know have been used to justify slavery and deny
rights to women!
We must look at the Bible in its totality, and in that
way, the Bible is a message of love and inclusion. Jesus
said the two great commandments are to love God with
all our heart, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Truth & Witness
We cannot be afraid to call out homophobia even
if the word itself causes an adverse or defensive
reaction from many people we are trying to reach.
If we are fighting for equality across the board we
must be courageous enough to cut discrimination
off at its root.
Rev. Dr. Kenneth Samuel,
Pastor, Victory for the World
Church and Vice Chair AAMLC
"Bishop Jackson is tragically blind to the
fact that many of the LGBT people to
whom he seeks to deny equality are black
people. He is also blind to the fact that
he himself is being manipulated by conservative forces to
sow seeds of divisiveness between black straight persons
and black gay persons as well as between black clergy and
black progressives.”
Rev. Deborah Johnson,
Inner Light Ministries
“Why do you have to sacrifice your
authenticity, your integrity… why
do you have to risk that, for fear of
excommunication from the church, or
alienation from your family?” Rev. Byron Williams,
Pastor, Writer, Social Critic
“My theological understanding teaches
me that we must err on the side of love;
it is an inconvenient love that transcends
what an individual may like or agree
with.”
Dr. Sylvia Rhue,
National Black Justice Coalition
“Challenging homophobia is the
unfinished business of the civil rights
movement.”