Gays And African Americans

[Brinnie]

If anyone cares...

Gay rights groups express outrage over D.C. pastor's anti-gay remarks

The Human Rights Campaign, a national gay advocacy organization, called on a prominent Baptist minister in the nation’s capital to explain why he told his congregation in a July 3 sermon that "lesbianism is about to take over our community."

"Rev. [Willie] Wilson has abandoned his truth," said HRC Senior Diversity Organizer Donna Payne in a news release on Monday.

Wilson, pastor of Union Temple Baptist Church, said "many of our women are becoming lesbians" because they are making more money than men due to economic conditions that cause high unemployment for African American men.

He used graphic descriptions of lesbian and gay male sex acts, saying, "It’s destroying us."

African American gay leaders said Wilson's remarks were especially inappropriate given his current role as executive director of the Millions More Movement march, a ten year commemoration of the 1995 Million Man March. The commemoration is scheduled to be held in D.C. in October, and organizers have called on African Americans from througout the country to attend to advance the cause of African American civil rights.

"Just five years ago, the Reverend held a service to bring the black community together over gay issues, HRC's Payne said. "He called for the church not to be 'religious haters but people who know how to extend love.' Now he's using the pulpit to rip apart a divided community. It's shameful." [Cont...]​

 

[Pookie]

I've learned firsthand to never be surprised at what religious "leaders" will say.

 

[Hooper_X]

I'm not the least bit surprised by this. A good deal of black people don't consider the gay thing to be a civil rights issue. They consider it a lifestyle and a conceit of the white middle class, like skiing. Most black people are xtians and fairly uptight and socially conservative. If not for FDR, Kennedy and the fact that the GOP (despite its transparent protestations to the contrary) comes off as the reactionary white male supremacy party, black people would vote republican in droves. On issues like abortion, gay marriage, prayer in the public schools, xtianity as the state religion, etc., most black people are in lock step with the far republican right. It's only when Trent Lott and the like get a little tipsy and start waxing nostalgic about the good old days, when darkies knew their place, that their interests diverge.