The CLGS Blog
Black and Queer in Nazi Germany
Missing from the annals of African American history are the documented stories and struggles of African Americans, both straight and “queer,” in Nazi-era Germany. Valaida Snow, captured in Nazi-occupied Copenhagen and interned in a concentration camp for nearly two years, is one such story that is forgotten every Black History Month in celebrating our heroes and survivors.
Pat Robertson: Haiti and Theodicy
Religion-based bigotry has been the mainstay of the Rev. Pat Robertson's bully pulpit. And he mounts this pulpit as an über-God, possessed with an inherent omniscience in knowing not only the mundane and wicked thoughts and actions of human beings but also in knowing the cataclysmic actions of God’s wrath on humanity.
Black Gays Invited to the White House
Just as my enslaved ancestors never could have imagined an African American family residing in the White House, so also my African American LGBTQ brothers and sisters who fought in the Stonewall Riots of 1969 in New York's Greenwich Village could scarcely imagine receiving a special invitation to welcome us for a visit to the White House.
Race and Queer Divide in Election of Lesbian Priest
On December 5th cheers reverberated across the country with the news that at the 114th annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles two women were elected as bishops: Rev. Diane Jardine Bruce of California and Rev. Mary Douglas Glasspool of Maryland.
While each election carried its own controversy, Glasspool’s keeps the church’s issue of queer bishops front and center.
If both women are approved by a majority of bishops their elections will signal that the U.S. Episcopal Church is aggressively moving forward on both gender and gay justice.
Lesbian Priest Re-ignites Church Storm
Since the 2003 consecration of V. Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire, the church’s first openly gay bishop, that set off a worldwide firestorm of reactions, both positive and negative, the recent election of an openly lesbian candidate, the Rev. Mary Douglas Glasspool of Baltimore, as bishop suffragan (an assisting bishop) of the Diocese of Los Angeles, will re-ignite the storm once again.
And her election hangs in the balance.
Pastor Donnie McClurkin's Gay Church
The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is the largest African American and largest Pentecostal church in the United States.
And as the largest denominational black church in the country it is also the loudest in rebuking homosexuality.
With many of the gospel music industry mega-stars from COGIC, the church's charismatic worship style shouts to a black gay male queer gospel aesthetic every Sunday. And the church is conflicted with itself.
Remembering Two-Spirits this Thanksgiving
As I prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday, I am reminded of the autumnal harvest time's spiritual significance. As a time of connectedness, I pause to acknowledge what I have to be thankful for. But I also reflect on the holiday as a time of remembrance - historical and familial.
Upcoming Vote on Fully Inclusive ENDA
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to consider before Thanksgiving the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would extend existing federal protections against work-place discrimination to cover both sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill also includes an exemption for religious organizations. Members of Congress need to hear from us on this important legislation! A PDF file (click on the link below) can be used for a bulletin insert for worship services or other faith community gatherings.
Will Bernice King's Bully Pulpit Bash Gays?
Rev. Bernice King has been bestowed the honor to be the eighth president and first women to head the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
Co-founded by her father, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Rev. Bernice King may be a legacy pick for SCLC, but unfortunately she will not be carrying on his legacy.
As a matter-of-fact, given the homophobic vitriol Rev. Bernice King has spewed out over the years, the LGBTQ community is bracing to see what next she’ll say and do given the bully pulpit she now has.
Honoring Notorious Gladys Bentley
In celebrating Black History Month, I want to celebrate the courage and strength of sistah-warrior Gladys Bentley (1907-1960).
Bentley, a 250-pound African-American lesbian (who today we would consider transgender), was known as "America's Greatest Sepia Piano Player" and the "Brown Bomber of Sophisticated Songs."
Her fall from the entertainment spotlight, however, is a cautionary tale about what can happen to us during a repressive political era when both church and state are our enemies.