NO
SINGLE
PROTEST
I
have
participated
in
has
garnered
as
much
attention
as
the
“Outing
Black
Pastors”
campaign
that
I
did
with
my
colleague
Keith
Boykin.
It
was
a
simple
idea
hatched
in
a
casual
conversation
of
black
gay
activists
while
in
Washington,
D.C.
Frustrated
with
the
increasing
number
of
attacks
on
same-gender
loving
people
by
black
pastors,
we
decided
to
take
action.
The
action
in
this
case
was
calling
out
black
pastors
on
their
hypocrisy
as
it
relates
to
gay
issues
and
their
relationship
to
the
current
Bush
administration.
Each
day
for
one
week,
we
profiled
a
black
pastor,
highlighting
his
relationship
with
the
Bush
administration,
recent
homophobic
gay
comments,
and
ending
with
the
question:
Is
this
pastor
gay?
Starting
with
mega-church
pastors
Eddie
Long
and
T.D.
Jakes,
we
included
profiles
of
other
prominent
ministers,
including
Los
Angeles’
Noel
Jones
and
Charles
Blake,
D.C.’s
Willie
Wilson,
Chicago’s
Gregory
Daniels,
New
Orleans’
Paul
Morton,
Georgia’s
Creflo
Dollar,
and
ended
with
a
profile
of
ex-gay
gospel
singer
Donnie
Mclurkin.
For
the
record,
there
is
nothing
wrong
with
asking
a
question.
My
experience
has
shown
that
the
people
who
are
the
most
adamant
on
certain
issues
also
tend
to
be
dealing
with
their
own
issues.
People
who
are
comfortable
with
who
they
are
usually
don’t
care
as
much
about
what
other
people
are
doing.
Which
led
me
to
an
obvious
question:
Are
these
pastor’s
gay?
REMEMBER
THAT
DESPITE
all
of
his
racist
rhetoric,
former
senator
segregationist
Strom
Thurmond,
now
dead,
fathered
a
black
daughter
to
everyone’s
surprise.
Conservative
pundit
and
frequent
GOP
candidate
Alan
Keyes
caused
a
stir
during
the
2004
Republican
convention
by
labeling
Vice
President
Dick
Cheney’s
lesbian
daughter
a
“selfish
hedonist.”
Alan
Keyes’
daughter
Maya
is
a
lesbian.
Being
able
to
point
out
the
hypocrisy
on
our
issues
is
why
we
have
a
democracy.
I
have
received
more
than
1,000
e-mails
regarding
this
campaign,
and
they
continue
to
come
in.
While
a
good
number
are
positive,
I’ve
also
received
threats
on
my
life
for
“bringing
harm
to
a
man
of
God.”
And
if
the
e-mail
wasn’t
a
threat,
I
was
blasted
for
speaking
badly
about
men
of
God
and
put
on
notice
that
I
was
on
a
direct
path
to
hell,
as
opposed
to
a
more
scenic
route.
Must
we
be
reminded
that
anyone
can
claim
to
be
a
man
of
God?
Jim
Jones
said
he
was
a
man
of
God
and
because
of
him,
913
people,
many
of
whom
were
black,
died
in
a
mass
murder-suicide.
President
Bush
claims
he
was
called
upon
by
God
to
lead
this
country
and
look
at
where
we
are
today.
Rev.
Craig
Ward
of
the
Brookins
African
Methodist
Episcopal
Church
considers
himself
a
man
of
God,
but
he
was
still
arrested
in
Oakland
for
trying
to
negotiate
a
$20
oral
sex
act.
TO
DATE,
OUR
campaign
never
specifically
“outed”
anyone’s
sexual
orientation
or
secret
sex
lives.
But
we
did
expose
in
depth
the
ties
that
certain
black
pastors
have
with
the
Bush
administration,
which
is
equally
dangerous
and
harmful
to
black
people.
To
bring
about
change,
sometimes
you
have
to
deviate
from
traditional
methods.
We
pushed
the
envelope
and
brought
the
discussion
of
homophobia
in
the
black
church
and
President
Bush’s
“faith-based
initiative”
to
mainstream
black
America.
Had
we
simply
complained
about
yet
another
black
preacher
spewing
anti-gay
hate,
we
wouldn’t
have
garnered
as
much
attention.
This
campaign
was
a
way
to
challenge
the
authority
of
people
using
God
to
oppress.
It
sent
a
clear
message
that
we’re
tired
of
the
hypocrisy
about
same-gender
loving
people,
and
we’re
willing
to
take
this
conversation
into
mainstream
black
America.
I
feel
especially
duty
bound
to
take
up
the
issue
of
homophobic
black
pastors
so
they
can
redeem
themselves
before
it’s
too
late
and
go
to
heaven
with
me
and
everyone
else,
including
lesbian
and
gay
men
who’ve
earned
a
place
up
there.
