Sep 30, 2005  | COMMENTS     

Religion and the HIV epidemic among African-Americans took center stage at the first National Black Justice Coalition conference held last week in Washington, D.C.

Grassroots activists, religious leaders, union organizers and elected officials, like Rep. Gwendolynne Moore (D-Wis.), attended the three-day summit that addressed problems facing black gays, transgendered people, bisexuals and lesbians. The National Black Justice Coalition, which organized the event, was founded in 2003 to advocate on behalf of black gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people.

“HIV is the No. 1 priority for this community,” said Phill Wilson a conference panelist and chief executive officer of the Black AIDS Institute. “If we fail here we fail everywhere.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 46 percent of black gay and bisexual men surveyed in five major cities were HIV positive. Sixty-five percent of transgendered women in D.C. tested HIV positive, trans rights activist Earline Budd told conference attendees.

Like many topics at the conference, HIV was intertwined with other social justice issues like homophobia, poverty and access to affordable health care. Budd noted that some HIV-positive trans teens she works with who are prostitutes and homeless are “comfortable” with their HIV status because it may mean they will receive benefits.

Prison is one of the most devastating sources of the HIV crisis in the black community, several speakers said.

Panels also addressed homophobia within the black church [see related story, Page 1]. While there was consensus that homophobia in the black church was a problem, panelists and attendees differed on strategies and tactics.

“I think we are too nice with dealing with the black church,” said one audience member. “I have left it. When you leave, tell them you are taking your money with you.”

Tonyia Rawles, a panelist and pastor at the Unity Fellowship Church in North Carolina, said it is not just homosexuality that the church needs to better address but sexuality in general.

“Sexuality as a whole is not dinner table conversation,” she told the Blade in a telephone interview. “The church should acknowledge we are sexual beings and that we don’t have to be apologetic for being sexual beings.”

Several speakers also pointed out that coming out is essential to combating homophobia in the faith community, the black community at large, as well as internalized homophobia.

“Black folks don’t feel safe,” said one audience member. “They only come out when they hit the club. How do we get folks to come out?”

But it was not only anti-gay actions inside the black church that were criticized, but also the U.S. government’s courtship of black pastors, specifically through the faith-based initiatives program. Many have criticized faith-based initiatives as eroding the line separating church and state and rolling back civil rights protections. Many fear that religious organizations that receive federal funding may be allowed to discriminate against gays in hiring.

“The government co-opted us,” said panelist Rod Oden, the gay mayor of Palm Springs, Calif. “By giving them money they bought their allegiance. Faith-based initiatives undermine political advancements. They’re short-sighted.”