Home > Whose Dream? Why the black church opposes gay marriage

Whose Dream? Why the black church opposes gay marriage

by Open-Publishing - Friday 28 May 2004
6 comments

by Keith Boykin

Village Voice

Maybe it was destiny. As the nation commemorated the
50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education
decision on May 17, gays and lesbians launched a new
chapter in their own struggle for equality. But the
black clergy that lit the fire for change half a
century ago is now out to dampen that flame, at least
where same-sex marriage is concerned.

"If the KKK opposes gay marriage, I would ride with
them," Reverend Gregory Daniels, a black minister from
Chicago, announced from the pulpit in February. A few
eyebrows were raised, mostly in the gay community, but
that reaction was overshadowed by the disappointment
with a much more prominent Chicago minister, Reverend
Jesse Jackson. In a speech at Harvard Law School in
February, Jackson spoke out against same-sex marriage
and rejected comparisons between the civil rights and
gay rights movements. "Gays were never called three-
fifths human in the Constitution," he said, and "they
did not require the Voting Rights Act to have the right
to vote."

Was this the Jesse Jackson I thought I knew? I first
met him in 1984 when he brought his Rainbow Coalition
to my college campus for a presidential campaign that
openly included gays and lesbians. I was with him again
in the 1990s at Harvard Law School, when he came to
lend his support to our movement for faculty diversity.
I traveled with him to Zimbabwe in 1997 to speak up for
gays and lesbians in that country. All along I had
assumed that he supported full civil rights for us, but
apparently I was wrong.

In my lifetime, African Americans were denied the right
to marry white people, and now we who are black dare to
deny matrimonial rights to gay people — people like
me. In a recent poll, 65 percent of blacks opposed
same-sex marriage, although other surveys have shown
strong support for laws banning discrimination against
gays. What offends most black people is the comparison
between the gay-marriage struggle and the black
struggle for civil rights.

In the past six months, dozens of black ministers
across the country have spoken out against same-sex
marriage. And despite the common liberal portrayal of
these clergy as stooges of the white religious right,
some of the ministers, like Jackson and Reverend Walter
Fauntroy, who once represented Washington, D.C., in
Congress, have long records fighting for progressive
causes. Has the black church succumbed to the
machinations of the white religious right? "I’m sure
they’re being co-opted, but they don’t need a great
deal of co-optation," says Reverend Peter Gomes, a
black Baptist minister. "I think they come to the
prejudice on their own."

Gomes attributes the black social conservatism to
racial assimilation. "The African American religious
community has spent so much time trying to prove to the
white community that it is the same, that for all
intents and purposes it shares many of the worst
prejudices of the white community."

Gomes’s perspective may be influenced by his identity:
He’s openly gay, and the chaplain at Harvard
University. That’s a very different constituency than
he would find in a black church, and no doubt it’s
significant that support for same-sex marriage is
strongest among black ministers who preach at white
churches. There are notable exceptions to this rule,
such as reverends Al Sharpton and Joseph Lowery.
Support is also strong among secular black leaders such
as Coretta Scott King, Carol Moseley Braun, and Julian
Bond.

It’s puzzling that the black church is so much more
conservative on same-sex marriage than it is on other
divisive issues such as abortion. The answer may lie in
the invisibility of the black gay and lesbian
community. While the black church embraces single
mothers, drug addicts, and ex-cons, it does not embrace
black homosexuals largely because they haven’t
organized to make their presence felt. Instead, black
gays and lesbians have been shamed and silenced into a
kind of "don’t ask, don’t tell" relationship with the
church.

A few years ago I interviewed Reverend H. Beecher
Hicks, pastor of a popular black church in Washington,
D.C. Hicks strongly condemned homosexuality and told me
that "those who seek to find a way to legitimize this
particular lifestyle will meet with no success." But
days later when I visited his church for Sunday
service, I recognized a number of black gay men in the
congregation. Some were members of the choir, others
were ushers, and a few had even more prominent roles. I
can’t imagine how this church would survive without
black gay men, and I can’t imagine that the homophobia
would continue from the pulpit if they spoke up against
it.

But they don’t speak up. Far too many black gays and
lesbians maintain a truce with the church that allows
them to serve quietly, and this conspiracy of silence
enables the church to remain simultaneously the most
homophobic institutyon in the black community and the
most homo-tolerant. While black gays and lesbians have
been sidelined, the white gay community has been caught
off guard. As conservatives wisely used black ministers
to speak against same-sex marriage, the gay community
put out images of white couples and put white
spokespeople forward, thereby creating the perception
that this is an issue for white folks trying to cash in
on the black struggle.

It seems obvious that black messengers are more
effective than whites in communicating with black
audiences. Maybe that, too, is one of the lessons of
the Brown case. Despite all the progress toward
integration, black people still don’t trust white
people, even those who suffer from discrimination
themselves. Beneath the surface of racial tolerance,
we’re still a country divided by skin color — and
certainly the gay community is divided by race.

Given their unique role straddling two worlds, black
gays and lesbians may hold the key to unlocking the
door of homo-tolerance in the black community. "I think
the black community is going to become more accepting,
more tolerant," Julian Bond predicts. "I can’t place a
timetable on it, but I’ll tell you one thing: It
depends on the degree to which black gays and lesbians
begin to stand up in their churches, in their
organizations, and say, ’This is me you’re talking
about.’ That’s a powerful, powerful message."

Keith Boykin is president of the National Black Justice
Coalition, which works to build alliances between
blacks and gays on the issue of marriage equality.

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0421/boykin.php

Forum posts

  • First of all, I urge everyone, Black and white, gay and straight, Christian and non-Christian to read Peter J. Gomes’ book, The Good Book: Reading The Bible With Mind And Heart. It is the best contemporary extra-biblical book that I have ever read.

    My concern is that many Black people don’t see that they’re fortunes are tied to those of every other minority group. If people hate gays, they’re likely to hate other minority groups such as Blacks, Jews, and immigrants. Very rarely does someone hate only one group of people.

    Also, the churches have always been kicking and screaming about social changes that sought to help disenfranchised people. Witness women’s ordination; slavery; segregation.

    Black churches largely exist because white churches rejected black people from worshiping there. Now, we have the Metropolitan Community Churches that primarily minister to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. A few churches openly welcome and ordain gays and lesbians but the overwhelming majority of churches reject them in "the name of God."

    It would be good if more Black people "came out." However, given the homophobia in the larger society as well as in the Black community and in churches, it’s understandable why many don’t come out. Yet, for a church to practice the Gospel message of love, it’s incumbent upon each church to embrace all people.

    If they don’t fully accept all people, and if their clergy don’t fully accept our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender brothers and sisters, they are not practicing Christianity. Indeed, many may not be Christian at all!

    • First let me say that I respect your oppinion but I do not agree with it. The word of God is not for man to edit in what ever way suits him at that moment in time. Have you even read the bible? Or is it that you just skip over the parts that don’t agree with your chosen lifestyle?

      Don’t use misguided fear to persuade people that engaging in homosexual behavior should be accepted. Gays bring their woes on themselves. Being gay is a choice. Gays choose to act on a lustful urge, one that God finds detestable and has no place amoung christians (Leviticus 18:22; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). These scriptures back up what I am saying, can you direct me to any that back up what you are saying about gays?

      Please don’t equate hate for minority groups such as blacks to that of gays. Gays have a choice, Blacks don’t! You can choose how to behave and with whom you share your behavior choices but your can not choose with what color skin you are born. I don’t believe that the bible says God detests Blacks, Jews and immigrants but it does say that God detests homosexual behavior.

      Just because man gives in and compromises doesn’t mean that God will. I do not hate gay people I just do not condone their behavior. I believe that everyone is welcome in church, but for it to be meaningful for them they must have faith in God and freely follow his word even if though it may be hard at times.

      I urge people everywhere to read your bibles! Follow the lords teachings. Remember faith accompanies obedience to God (Hebrews 11:7-12), so stand your ground and do not compromise your faith by compromising the word of God. Don’t let others bully you into compromising your faith as they will not have to answer to God for your actions come judgement day.

      When that day comes before God, there will be no protests or chants of " we’re here we’re quere get use to it". You will be standing before the almighty alone and you alone will have to answer for your actions. How will you answer when he asks "Why didn’t you obey my commands?"

      You should not judge homosexuals (or anyone for that matter) for that is for God and God alone, but that does not mean that you should condone their actions either. You shouldn’t let them make you feel bad for following Gods word. No matter how many "religious" books man writes, the only true book to follow is the one with Gods word and that is the Holy Bible.

  • In response to Mr. Boykin’s article in The Village Voice and some of the things shown in the media as of late.

    I think it is about time that our church leaders take a stand. Everyone seems to be so concerened with being politically correct. What ever happened to being "biblically correct", or as close as we mere humans can be. I don’t understand why people think that one has to "hate" a person in order to "hate" or disapprove of their actions. Our Lord does tell us to be kind to, show love and care for one another but he also tells us what he does not like or approve of, and if we are to follow him then we must follow his word.

    Why are people trying to make homosexual acceptance in the church a black/white thing? It’s neither. It’s a God thing. The church and its leaders are to follow and teach from the bible. How can a homosexual church "leader" actually teach from the bible if he/she doesn’t do everything they can to follow the teachings of the bible? How can they help parisioners with their belief in the word and faith if they don’t believe themselves. If they did believe than they wouldn’t act upon their homosexual urges. Can someone please tell me? The bible makes many references to homosexuality not being of God. If you are willfully engaging in something God does not like, how can you stand infront of people every Sunday and tell them to follow the good book, study it, and come to you for spiritual guidence when you don’t even follow the good book. I find it very convenient how folks tend to skip over the parts they do not like, or they feel don’t apply to them. If you actually read the bible you will find that our God is merciful, vengful, jealous and a loving God. No where in the scriptures does it say that he is a compromising God. This is not my interpretation, it is actually written in the bible. I don’t believe one can lead others through the complexity of the bible if one is unwilling to follow the teachings of the bible. Can someone please tell me, how can one choose not to follow the word of God and then turn around and ask to be married which is an institution blessed by God. One that is a holy union and being gay is definitely not holy.

    I am in NO WAY saying that the church or people should turn their backs on homosexual people. I am not saying that people should dislike or hate such people. What I AM SAYING is that it is okay to not condone the objectionable action. What I am saying is that you don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Just like anyone who has gone astray ( like the ones mentioned in the article) I do believe the church should welcome all who come to its doors and offer help and counseling to anyone who asks or is in need, but I don’t think the church or its members should condone the actions that led them astray. In this case the action of homosexuality.

    As a black woman I am highly offended that the gay/lesbian community has likened their struggle to that of blacks. We both have struggles but they are very different. 1) You can not conceal the fact that you are black. You are born that way and that is the way it is. There is no choice involved. Everyone is aware of this fact just by looking at you. One the other hand, if you are a homosexual, no one has to know unless you choose to tell them. 2) Being black is a biological fact that one can not change even if he/she wanted too. You don’t get to choose what color skin you will be born with. One the other hand, being homosexual, that is a choice. I know some say that they were born that way, but as any religious person knows, God gave us the gift of choice in such matters and homosexual people choose to act on such urges. As a person you have a choice, if you don’t feel a sexual attraction to the opposite sex and you want to follow the word of God then you have the option of not having sex. Sex is an urge, a want, a desire but not a necesity unless you are trying to procreate as the good lord has told us to do and we all know that you can not accomplish that with a same sex partner. 3) Blacks were denied basic things such as education, voting rights, access to housing, access to higher education, employment, fair wages, and many other things just because someone could look at them and tell that they were part of a group that the provider didn’t like. Gays and lesbians are sometimes denied these things, but as a homosexual, these actions are brought on themselves by telling everyone of their life CHOICE. You see for blacks it was never a CHOICE and for homosexuals it is a CHOICE. As a homosexual, one could live their entire lives without anyone outside of their circle knowing about their CHOICE. As a black person one can not do the same as it is not a choice.

    So YES!!!! I do get highly annoyed when homosexuals try to liken their self imposed struggle to that of blacks who didn’t choose the struggle, they were born into it.

    In responce to the statement by Mrs. C.S. King......

    With all do respect, I really do not understand how Mrs. King could come to the conclusion that Dr. King would join the cause to fight for gay marriage. As a minister and man of God following the teachings of the lord as presented in the bible there would be no way he could do such a thing in the name of the lord. So with all do respect I disagree with Mrs. King.

    I realize that supressing the sexual urge is very hard but it can be done. Has anyone taken the time to ponder that maybe this is just another one of the many trials we all go through in life? First, for the individual and second, for the masses to see if they will compromise their faith just to be politically correct? We all need to stop spending so much time trying to be right politically and spend some more time trying to get right with God. Take some time and read the bible before spouting off about what it does or doesn’t say. You may want to start with these: Judges 3:1-15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Isaiah 59:2; 1 Peter 1:15; Genesis 4:2-7; Job 1:8; Mark 15:15; 1 Kings 11:4; Leviticus 18:22; Romans 1:18-33; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Romans 12:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5; Colossians 3:5; Ephesians 5:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 and James 1:2-4 these are just a few that pertain to the subject at hand and are as good a place as any in the bible to start.

    So if YOU CHOOSE to engage in homosexuality which God finds detestable (Leviticus 18:22), then go ahead and follow the laws of man and have your civil union ceremony but don’t bring God and the church into it by trying to force everyone to view you as "Married" as Marriage is a religious institution not a secular one.
    And don’t say your fight is like that of Blacks as it is nothing of the sort! Not even close! You would know that if you could walk a mile in our shoes.

    April T.

    Black Woman who believes in God Almighty!

    • God didn’t write the Bible, humans did, humans EDITED THE BIBLE before it was published. If God game down and told me not to be gay, I would him I rather go to hell than a heaven that is ran by a hypocrit.

      I guess we shouldn’t wear most cloths, they are made from two types of cloth and thats against the Bible, can’t eat shrimp, thats as bad as being gay, can’t plant food to eat because we can only plant one thing in a field, anyone that works on Sunday has to be killed too? Maybe we should have slaves, the Bible says we can just "buy them from nations around you". The Bible is bullshit and you can’t pick and choose what bullshit you want to follow and what you don’t.

    • Dear Friends: I am the one who posted the original reply to the article. I’m 64 years old, married for 42 years, have 2 grown children, and I’m straight. I also have a column in a newspaper entitled, "Christianity and Society," where I seek to apply biblical principles to a variety of social issues. Believe me, I don’t play fast and loose with Scripture.

      First of all, the Gospel of love trumps any particular verse or verses of Scripture taken out of context and interpreted without regard to the original languages. In Leviticus, the men who sought to gang rape the 2 angels weren’t gay, as Lot wouldn’t have offered his virgin daughters to them. If they were gay, young women certainly would have been no inducement to them. The issue was gang rape, abusing others, not sexual orientation or gay relationships. Indeed, whenever Sodom and Gomorrah are mentioned in Scripture, homosexuality is never mentioned as its sin. Rather, the sins that are dealt with are inhospitality and not taking care of the poor.

      The word translated "homosexual" is arsenekoitai, which actually means "male bed." It undoubtedely refers to male cult prostitution that was rampant in Corinth, where the Book of Romans was undoubtedly written. In Corinth, as in many other parts of the Ancient world, sex was sometimes a worshipful act to various pagan deities, and to have the crops grow. Paul was undoubtedly talking about the use of sex for these purposes.

      Moreover, prohibitions against homosexual activity was done in the context of an Ancient tribal society living on the edge, surrounded by enemies, that had to "be fruitful and multiply" in order for them to survive. All types of sexual activity had to be geared to procreation. The sin of Onan was to do otherwise.

      Romans 1:21-32 that is erroneously used to condemn gay people talks about those who turned their backs on God. Even though many professing Christians and clergy have turned gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people away from the church, many of these people still worship God. Many of these people have long, fulfilling relationships. For example, one gay couple who attend our church have been together for 40 years.

      In any case, what those who quote from Romans to erroneously condemn gay people apparently don’t read is the very next verse: "Therefore Thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things." (Romans 2:1)

      In 1Corinthians 6:9 the word "effeminate" is used. The Greek word is malakoi, and it means "soft." It’s used elsewhere in Scripture to denote soft clothing. In this connection, it probably means people of soft morals or people who lack courage.

      The word "abomination" frequently refers to anything the Gentiles did. For example, eating fish without scales was an abomination. Also, the Greek word that is translated "against nature" is also used in reference to God when He brought the Gentiles into the covenant relationship with Him. Hence, the Greek word would more likely mean "unexpected."

      In any case, it’s inappropriate to blindly apply the cultural practices of Ancient societies to contemporary society, as it does not do justice to the Bible; the Bible makes no such claims for itself; to do so cheapens the Bible. As Peter J. Gomes wrote, when we read the Bible we must take account of what it says, what it means, the text, the subtext, the context, what we bring to the text, and what we take out of the text. Without such examination, we have the egregous example of a Black minister saying he’d align himself with the KKK to fight against same-sex marriage. Believe me, that is not Christianity!

      What is interesting in this context is that the KKK has demonstrated against same-sex marriage. So, the Vatican, the Southern Baptist Convention, and others who oppose equal rights for gay people have aligned themselves with the KKK who oppose equality for all citizens, and these professing Christians have the temerity to do so "in the name of God."

      For far too long we have listened to people who just assume that what they heard from the pulpit or Sunday School, as ignorant and hateful as it may be, regarding gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people is true. Being gay is not a lifestyle! It’s a life! It’s not a choice, any more than being straight is a choice!

      Morover, although each minority group has its own particular history, each have suffered from misinformation, discrimination, stigma, and oppression. Unfortunately, the Church has been the last institution to accept the disenfranchised and "least among us." Moreover, the major justification for oppressing minority groups has been appeal to the Bible. Witness the subjugation of women, slavery, and segregation.

      Even the most "Bible believing" Christian would not condone such biblical practices as stoning to death adulterers, stoning to death those who work on the Sabbath, requiring all women to wear long hair, women not talking in church, women not teaching men, not wearing mixed fibers in our clothes, etc. Yet these are all taught in the Bible.

      The Bible is part of God’s revelation to us. It gives us a glimpse into a small part of God’s heart and a few of His many dimensions. God didn’t stop talking to His children 2,000 years ago! He still speaks to us regarding His will for our lives, and to proclaim in each generation, in and for His name, the cause of justice, to make earth, in the words of St. Augustine, "a colony of heaven."

  • RELIGIONS SUCKS !