NBJC at the White House!
NBJC Interim Executive Director Dr. Sylvia Rhue with President Obama
photos taken at the June 29th Stonewall Reception at the White House
A Response to "Gay Exorcism"
 by Robin P. McHaelen, MSW
Executive Director, True Colors
It is not possible to have a nuanced conversation using sound bites--especially if the conversation is around a potentially polarizing topic like homosexuality and religion. First, let me be clear about my ‘agenda’. I am the director of a gay youth advocacy group whose mission is to improve the quality of life for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth.
Recently, a Connecticut church posted a you-tube video of a religious ritual performed on a teenage boy at his request to cast out his homosexual demons. A reporter discovered the video which was quite dramatic, hands-on and visceral. The video has generated an international firestorm about CT’s ‘gay exorcism’. True Colors has gotten calls from media in London, Spain, national radio, national news networks, shock jocks and a myriad of others asking for comment on the situation. One widely reported comment was my “sound bite”: ‘What makes me saddest is that these folks thought they were helping, but I believe what they did was murder this child’s soul.” Here are the thoughts behind the bite:
America was built on the concept of freedom of religion. I believe that people are free to choose and practice their own religious and spiritual beliefs in whatever way they choose – within certain limits. The state can, and has, interfered with religious freedom when they identity the need to protect a child from harm. The question is: does that apply in the case of a ‘gay exorcism’? I don’t think there is a simple answer.
The full editorial is here.
Bridgeport Church Creates Stir With Gay Exorcism Video
Pastor is interviewed about incident:
Video of the "exorcism":
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
Associated Press Writer
June 24, 2009
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - The video shows the 16-year-old boy lying on the floor, his body convulsing, as elders of a small Connecticut church cast a "homosexual demon" from his body.
"Rip it from his throat!" a woman yells. "Come on, you homosexual demon! You homosexual spirit, we call you out right now! Loose your grip, Lucifer!"
The 20-minute video posted on YouTube by Manifested Glory Ministries is being called abuse by gay and youth advocates, who are demanding an investigation. But a church official this week denied that the teenager was injured or that the church is prejudiced.
Full article is here.
Black Victims of
‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’
by Herndon Davis
posted on Saturday, 20 June 2009
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Anthony Woods and Tommie Hawkins |
Over 60 years ago, President Harry S. Truman took a monumental step towards social progress by integrating the US armed forces and civil service. This action allowed African American soldiers to serve in integrated combat units alongside white soldiers. Today, another military battle rages over the issue of allowing openly gay and lesbian soldiers to serve alongside their straight counterparts. For years, gay and lesbian activists have been calling for the repeal of the military policy “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT), which removes openly gay personnel from the armed forces.
The full article is here.
White Supremecist DC Shooting
in Post-Racial America
by Herndon Davis
posted on Tuesday, 16 June 20090
On June 10th, an 88-year-old white supremecist walked into the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, armed with a rifle, and killed a black security guard before being fired upon and apprehended. As usual, local authorities including the Mayor of Washington, DC used two familiar words that were recently uttered in the murder of Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller; “isolated incident.”
The full article is here.
 Today as America celebrates Junteenth we solemnly reflect upon one of the world's most notorious and inhumane treatment towards another group of people. Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Celebrated in 28 American states, the holiday commemorates the end of slavery in Texas.
Even though the Emancipation Proclamation, the executive orders that ended the Civil War and abolished slavery in all Confederate States became effective on January 1, 1863, it had little effect on the slave trade in the confederate state of Texas. It would be 2.5 years later, on June 19, 1865 when General Gordon Granger along with 2,000 federal troops arrived in Galveston, TX to take possession of the state that the emancipation of all slaves was finally enforced.
The full article is here.
Interview with Anthony Woods
Civil rights belong to every citizen, gays included
by Sylvia Rhue, Ph.D
 I am an African-American who participated in the civil rights movement. I learned the basics directly from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I continue to fight for the basic civil rights of African-Americans.
When my African ancestors were brought to these shores as slaves, many of those who purchased my ancestors pointed to the Bible and said, “Slaves, obey your master.”
Before too long, my people began to take in the whole Bible and heard a message of freedom and equality before God.
When Jay Tokasz quoted black ministers in his May 27 article, “Black clergy opposing gay marriage resent civil rights comparison,” I resonated with the sentiment that the horrors of slavery are unparalleled.
But that does not mean that African- Americans are the only people who have suffered or fought for civil and human rights.
Today, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people of all races suffer discrimination, abuse and sometimes brutal death because of their identity.
The full essay is here.
New Hampshire Becomes Sixth State to Recognize Same-Sex Marriage
The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is pleased and excited to see New Hampshire become the nation’s sixth state making full marriage equality the right of all of its citizens, including its LGBT community.
New Hampshire Governor John Lynch signed the bill late this afternoon, giving New Hampshire’s SGL couples the right to affirm their relationships through marriage starting on January 1, 2010.
NBJC continues to share the community's excitement that progress continues to be made for marriage equality. In two short months, three New England states have voted for true equality for gay and lesbian couples and their children.
NBJC Deputy Director and Connecticut State Representative Jason W. Bartlett noted, “I am proud that New England is fast becoming the gateway for marriage equality. NBJC remains committed to advancing justice and fairness in each and every state.”
During the same week the Pentagon discharges a decorated Arabic linguist under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the Obama Administration sends mixed signals on the future of the failed policy, another openly gay and highly decorated Iraqi War veteran is running for Congress and brings a unique perspective to the debate on gays in the military.
Twenty-eight-year-old West Point graduate Anthony Woods led two combat units in Iraq and received a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government before being discharged for being coming out as gay. Woods is running in a special election in California's 10th Congressional District where he grew up. Daily Kos calls Woods "a rising young progressive star", and, if elected, he would become the first black openly gay representative in Congress.
Full story is here.
Blacks must confront their homophobia
By LEONARD PITTS JR.
lpitts@miamiherald.com
May 13, 2009
''The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.'' -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
That's for Marion Barry, who seems to need the reminder.
The former mayor and current city councilman of Washington, D.C. is a longtime supporter of gay rights. So observers were stunned last week when a bill committing the city to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere passed the council on a vote of 12-1.
The ''one'' was Barry.
Full article here.
Posted by Tom Feran
Plain Dealer Reporter
CLEVELAND — A festive atmosphere built through the day at Cleveland City Hall on Thursday as a steady stream of couples used the first chance to register as domestic partners. The registry opened to both opposite- and same-sex couples, but a noontime rally on the City Hall steps made it clear the day carried particular meaning for the gay and lesbian community.
"It's about protection," said Angel Hill, 40, who registered with her female partner Ovettajoi Dixon, 34. "We want to protect each other, just as a heterosexual couple would. And I completely love her."
"Today Cleveland has joined with a movement," said rally organizer Sue Doerfer, executive director of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center of Greater Cleveland. "Equality is spreading much more quickly than the swine flu."
Read the full story here.
Former Detroit anchorman Charles Pugh could become the Motor City’s first openly gay City Councilmember if voters elect him this November.
Former news anchorman Charles Pugh is already a familiar face to Detroit residents. He anchored WJBK’s weekend news for the past seven years, but the openly gay 37-year-old now stands on the brink of making the headlines as opposed to simply reading them.
As of last month, Pugh vacated his post behind the Fox 2 news desk to pursue a run for the Detroit City Council. He is, by all accounts, the first openly gay candidate to pursue a position on the City Council, testing a barrier in a city with a large African American population and socially conservative values.
Should Pugh win, he will be among a small group of out elected officials of color. Jason Bartlett, who is a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives and is the country’s only openly gay black state legislator, said he feels Pugh’s election in Detroit would hold particular significance.
Full story is here.
The NBJC Newsletter was sent to subscribers yesterday. If you didn't receive yours, please sign up so you don't miss an issue!
In this issue:
Greek Tragedies Bow to American Victories
The ancient Greeks had a word for it: “Hubris”.
n. “a scornful, overweening pride, (Greek tragedy) transgression of the divine or moral law through transgression of one of the passions, ultimately causing the transgressors downfall”. (Websters).
April brought the Greek tragedy embodied by the overweening pride of religious rights advocates to national consciousness. It started off with full marriage rights in Iowa, the same in Vermont, acknowledgement of same gender marriage in Washington, D.C. and the push for marriage rights in New York and legal considerations in other states. Some call it a watershed, a turning point, a tipping point. I call it American victories. James Dobson of Focus on the Family delivered his farewell speech and said that they had “ lost the every battle” in the culture war. This is a Greek tragedy that is being remedied by American values through jurisprudence. Iowa Supreme Court justices said that government is not served by discrimination. They are right. The ramifications are that equal justice under the law for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) people is being recognized by law and culture and in the hearts of fellow Americans. The indelible American value of fairness is being more fully extended to LGBT people to the betterment of society. Neither government, or culture, or the human spirit are served by discrimination.
Read the full newsletter here.
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