Rev.
Willie
Wilson
angrily
refused
requests
by
black
gay
leaders
to
apologize
for
a
July
3
sermon
in
which
he
gave
graphic
and
disparaging
descriptions
of
the
sexual
relations
of
lesbians
and
gay
men
and
declared,
“Lesbianism
is
about
to
take
over
our
community.”
Wilson’s
defiant
response
this
week
prompted
members
of
an
ad
hoc
group
of
black
gays
to
call
for
his
resignation
or
dismissal
as
executive
director
of
the
Millions
More
Movement
march,
a
national
black
civil
rights
event
called
by
Nation
of
Islam
leader
Louis
Farrakhan.
The
march
and
related
events
are
scheduled
to
be
held
in
D.C.
in
October.
Wilson
has
refused
all
media
requests
for
interviews
about
his
controversial
sermon,
which
was
recorded
by
church
officials
on
a
CD
sold
in
the
church
store,
similar
to
the
sale
of
all
of
his
Sunday
sermons.
After
the
Washington
Blade
and
other
media
outlets
reported
on
the
July
3
sermon,
church
officials
removed
that
CD
from
the
church’s
shelves,
according
to
press
reports.
The
Blade
obtained
a
copy
of
the
CD
for
the
sermon
and
published
a
transcript
on
its
Web
site
along
with
an
audio
link
to
allow
the
public
to
listen
to
the
part
of
the
sermon
about
gays.
In
a
description
of
lesbian
and
gay
male
sex
acts
that
critics
have
said
was
not
fit
for
children,
Wilson
said
such
acts
“ain’t
natural”
and
go
against
biblical
teaching.
“Can’t
make
no
connection
with
a
screw
and
another
screw,”
he
said.
“It
takes
a
screw
and
a
nut,”
he
shouted.
In
his
sermon
Sunday,
July
17,
Wilson
took
issue
with
portrayals
of
him
as
anti-gay.
“Ain't
no
church
in
Washington,
D.C.,
unless
it's
a
gay
church,
that
has
done
more
to
reach
out
to
the
gay
…
community
than
Union
Temple,”
he
said,
according
to
a
report
in
the
Washington
Post.
In
a
July
16
meeting
for
the
Millions
More
Movement
planning
committee,
which
was
held
at
a
Northwest
D.C.
church,
Wilson
did
not
offer
an
apology
for
his
sermon,
as
gay
activists
had
requested,
and
did
not
mention
the
sermon.
But
he
made
it
clear
to
participants
that
he
was
referring
to
the
sermon
when
he
said
he
had
declined
news
media
requests
for
interviews.
“I’ve
been
called
by
radio
and
TV
all
day
yesterday,”
he
said.
“I
said,
‘I
ain’t
got
nothing
to
say
to
you.
You
don’t
know
us.
Get
off
this
phone.
You
don’t
care
about
us,
our
people.’”
Former
D.C.
Mayor
Marion
Barry,
who
currently
serves
as
a
Ward
8
Councilmember,
met
Tuesday
with
more
than
70
black
gays
to
discuss
Wilson’s
sermon
and
the
Millions
More
Movement
march.
Following
the
meeting,
which
was
closed
to
the
media
at
Barry’s
request,
Barry
told
reporters
he
was
disappointed
in
Wilson’s
sermon
and
called
on
Wilson
to
apologize
to
the
gay
community.
During
the
meeting,
Barry
said
he
was
“horrified”
over
Wilson’s
references
to
lesbians
and
gay
men
in
the
sermon,
according
to
gay
activist
Phil
Pannell,
who
attended
the
meeting.
D.C.
Congressional
Delegate
Eleanor
Holmes
Norton,
gay
D.C.
Councilmember
Jim
Graham
(D-Ward
1),
and
Carol
Schwartz
(R-At-Large)
each
issued
statements
criticizing
Wilson
for
the
sermon.
Norton
and
Graham
said
they
were
disappointed
that
Wilson
had
broken
with
past
statements
of
conciliation
toward
gays
in
his
church.
“I
told
him
I
would
be
expressing
my
long
held
views
on
the
seamlessness
of
human
rights,
my
deep
concern
about
the
offensiveness
of
the
sermon
and
the
special
harm
to
black
gays
who
are
driven
underground
because
they
are
often
shamed
and
shunned
in
their
own
community,”
Norton
said.
Schwartz
said
she
voted
against
Wilson’s
confirmation
in
2000
for
a
seat
on
the
University
of
the
District
of
Columbia
board
of
trustees
because
of
“divisive
statements”
he
made
in
the
past.
Graham,
who
is
openly
gay,
said
in
a
statement
he
was
“troubled”
by
Wilson’s
sermon
but
otherwise
struck
a
positive
tone.
“From
mutual
respect,
we
find
common
ground
that
makes
for
a
better
quality
of
life
for
everyone.
Rev.
Wilson,
as
one
of
this
city’s
leaders,
can
really
contribute
to
that
objective,”
said
Graham.
“I
am
optimistic
in
that
regard
because
my
past
interactions
with
Rev.
Wilson
have
been
positive.”
Mayoral
press
secretary
Vince
Morris
said
the
mayor’s
office
was
preparing
a
statement
on
the
controversy
but
he
did
not
provide
a
statement
by
press
time.
During
a
July
17
meeting,
members
of
the
Monthly
LGBT
African-American
Community
Discussion
group
said
Wilson’s
sermon
followed
nearly
six
months
of
unsuccessful
attempts
by
the
group
to
take
part
in
the
march
planning
process.
The
group
has
been
meeting
for
nearly
six
months
to
plan
possible
black
gay
participation
in
the
Millions
More
Movement
march.
In
a
statement
released
after
the
meeting,
members
of
the
black
GLBT
community
discussion
group
called
on
Millions
More
Movement
leaders
to
demand
that
Wilson
apologize
and
resign
from
his
executive
director’s
post
with
the
march.
The
group
also
called
on
march
organizers
to
designate
a
lesbian
and
gay
male
speaker
at
the
march;
designate
a
seat
on
the
march
steering
committee
for
the
National
Black
Justice
Coalition,
an
African-American
gay
group;
and
designate
the
Monthly
LGBT
African-American
Community
Discussion
group
as
an
official,
organizing
committee
for
the
march.
The
discussion
group
also
called
on
“the
executive
office
of
the
Mayor,
the
City
Council,
affirming
churches,
women’s
groups,
and
other
national
civil
rights
organizations
to
denounce
Rev.
Wilson’s
statements”
about
gays.
As
of
late
this
week,
Millions
More
Movement
officials
had
not
responded
to
the
community
discussion
group’s
request.
“It’s
very
disappointing,”
said
lesbian
activist
Sheila
Alexander-Reid,
one
of
the
organizers
of
the
monthly
black
gay
organizing
committee.
The
lack
of
response
from
the
Millions
More
Movement
leaders
prompted
some
black
gay
activists
to
call
for
a
possible
boycott
of
the
October
march.
Alexander-Reid
said
the
...
