Civil Rights leader Julian Bond recently spoke out about Bishop Eddie Long being a homophobe (http://www.bvblackspin.com/2010/09/28/julian-bond-calls-eddie-long-a-raving-homophobe?icid=sphere_aol_blackvoices). I know very little about Bishop Long but I have heard this sentiment from others. And with the accusations that have recently been blasted into the public forum, I am more intrigued. As a black gay man, my first concern is that the truth, whatever it is, is brought to light. If it is proven the four young men have fabricated their stories, I will be deeply embarassed and disturbed. If it's brought to light that their stories are true, I hope it encourages healthy dialog between America's black population and its LGBT members.
There has been no racial/ethnic community that has uniformly embraced its LGBT people. The Black American community is no exception. There have been many within the mainstream gay community who have voiced their disbelief that there are homophobic African-Americans. It seems the assumption is that since blacks experience racial discrimination, we should know better than to discriminate against others. I understand this simplistic reasoning. I had the same question when it came to racism within the LGBT commuity. I'll share my thoughts about that at a later time. But if you want to read another's op-ed about racism in the LGBT community, please read out gay actor Doug Spearman's (http://illvox.org/2009/08/spearman-lgbt-racism-prevalent/) titled, "LGBT Racism Prevalent". I think it's a really good read.
Now back to Bishop Eddie Long and homophobia in the black church. I was not brought up in a religious home. My religious experience and education as a youth was sporadic, to say the least. But I cannot deny I was affected by the expectations of America's Judeo-Christian tenets. One of which is that to be a homosexual is to be a sinner, worthy of severe punishment. I can't say I knew I was gay as a child, but I was aware that something needed to be hidden. My nuclear family never specifically said being gay was bad, but I did sense they would have not been thrilled if I had skipped into the living room after school and shouted, "Guess what? There's this boy at school that me and the girls think is really cute!" To this day, I don't completely know what fueled it, but I suppressed my sexuality and my sexual orientation for many years. I was a card-carrying member of the asexual club and deemed myself above such base desires. But regardless of orientation, suppressing your sexual nature damages your overall psyche. It can eat away at the fabric of who you are, making you an angry and miserable person. And if it goes unchecked for too long, I believe it does cause one to make inappropriate and damaging decisions.
Bishop Long is one of several religious celebrities who vehemently lambasts the LGBT community, often quoting the bible passage "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." (Leviticus 18:22). I'm not a bible scholar but I don't think it's intent was to encourage justifiable hatred and violence. But then again, I don't know. I will say that being gay is not a choice. I repeat, being gay is not a choice. It's not. No one wants to be ostracized from his/her family and community, especially our young people. And most of us discover we're gay not by "the act" but by the hateful comments those around us can make. There are other passages from Leviticus that are just as violent, but it seems most within the religious community either dismiss or ignore them.
I will admit there is a part of me that will rejoice if the allegations against Bishop Long are true. He is known for firing off very hateful comments and accusations against the LGBT community and I would rejoice in seeing one of the "mighty" fall.
But once the dust has settled and if the allegations are indeed true, I hope I remember what it was like as a self-hating, closeted gay man. When you're in that space of being afraid to stand of front of yourself to face this reality, it can be crippling. I was afraid I'd lose the love and support of my family and close friends. I was afraid that even if I only admitted it to myself, everyone would know. And there is the very real threat of verbal and physical violence. If it's proven the four young men were coerced into sexual relations with Bishop Long, he does need to acknowledge his mistake and pay the consequences. I won't excuse that. But over and beyond this, I hope his story encourages the African-American community to stand in front of itself and ask, "Am I coming from a place of love or hate whenever I interact with a lesbian, a gay man or a transgendered man or woman?" I'd also like us to move a little closer to realizing that regardless of its source, homophobia is not only damaging to the gay man or woman, but it also damaging to the community that surrounds them.
