Analyzing and refuting the inaccuracies lodged against the lgbt community by religious conservative organizations. Lies in the name of God are still lies.
The legendary Ms. Josephine Baker is a perfect example of why I post a "Know Your LGBT segment" on my blog. I try to tell my lgbtq brothers and sisters, particularly the younger folks to not allow ignorant people to get them down, steal their glory, or mar their potential. We all have the potential for greatness and those of us who are lgbtqs can soar just as high, regardless of those who try to weigh us down with their ignorance.
Josephine Baker did in spite of racism and ignorance.
AND she was family, as one of her 12 children attested to:
Baker was bisexual. Her son Jean-Claude Baker and co-author Chris Chase state in Josephine: The Hungry Heart that she was involved in numerous lesbian affairs, both while she was single and married, and mention six of her female lovers by name. Clara Smith, Evelyn Sheppard, Bessie Allison, Ada "Bricktop" Smith, and Mildred Smallwood were all African-American women whom she met while touring on the black performing circuit early in her career. She was also reportedly involved intimately with French writer Colette. Not mentioned, but confirmed since, was her affair with Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Jean-Claude Baker, who interviewed over 2,000 people while writing his book, wrote that affairs with women were not uncommon for his mother throughout her lifetime.He was quoted in one interview as saying:
"She was what today you would call bisexual, and I will tell you why. Forget that I am her son, I am also a historian. You have to put her back into the context of the time in which she lived. In those days, Chorus Girls were abused by the white or black producers and by the leading men if he liked girls. But they could not sleep together because there were not enough hotels to accommodate black people. So they would all stay together, and the girls would develop lady lover friendships, do you understand my English? But wait wait...If one of the girls by preference was gay, she'd be called a bull dyke by the whole cast. So you see, discrimination is everywhere."
Breaking Down The '31 Out Of 31 States' Talking Point - The religious right is quick to claim that when given the chance to vote on marriage equality, 31 states voted against it. Equality Matters demonstrates why that talking point is simple crap.
Video: Lou Dobbs hosts negligent LGBT panel (w/ Ablow, Perkins, and no dissent) - PLEASE pay attention to this, folks. If you thought Chris Matthews was bad when he was lauding over Tony Perkins, then you will absolutely freak over this one. Imagine a network giving anti-gay talking heads the chance to tell their lies with no dissent whatsoever. It's happening on Fox News and it will most likely become worse.
Richie and John are a UK couple who have been together for 15 years. The video showcases them and their very adorable children, Justin and Jasmine.
The point is simple. We've heard people like Maggie Gallagher, Tony Perkins, and even Mitt Romney talk about how a "mother and father" dynamic is the best situation for children to be raised.
We know this isn't necessarily true. Sometimes the mother and father dynamic is a good place to raise a child. And sometimes it's not.
But that's not the point. Everyone seems to miss the point.
Families come into all shapes and sizes. It can encompass one parent or two, or father and mother figures who aren't necessarily biologically related to the child.
Why should there be a competition when it comes to families? We have no business creating a caste system in which we favor one family dynamic over another. All families which provide the basic needs for children, as well as love and support, should be celebrated and looked upon as equal.
Or better yet, look at this video and tell me just what is wrong with this family?
I must say that I am getting a kick out of reading and watching those on the right, particularly the religious right, predict how African-Americans will desert President Obama come election day due to his support of marriage equality.
It's hilarious to me to read the right-wing publications and blogs give room to a supposed angry black pastor/pastors who whines about how Obama has betrayed the black community, of course omitting the fact that said pastor/pastors never really supported Obama in the first place and that these individuals live off of the attention given to them by the religious right.
I get a kick out of the pundits who are predicting the same in their all-white panels (yes I said it) or panels with just one African-American pundit who can't seem to get a word in edgewise. Of course why should the black pundit get a word in edgewise? His words don't matter. Only the fact that he is seen on television as a token so that the news program can claim that they weren't being racist or omitting black folks.
And don't even get me started on the absence of lgbtq of color pundits.
I find it funny because when push comes to shove, these so-called concerned individuals don't give a flip about the black community. They look at us as monolithic Borg type creatures who are motivated by solely by pastors with big titles and even bigger mouths.
God forbid that they actually sit down with a group of us to have a real discussion on the matter. Some are only interested in driving a narrative. And when how we act doesn't suit their narrative, they show their true colors, such as Media Research Center director of media analysis Tim Graham. This is what he said on twitter recently:
So apparently if African-Americans vote for Obama, we are not Christians anymore because Graham sits on the right hand of God. Who would have thought?
"The black community is in an adulterous relationship with President Obama," Jackson said. "He is asking us to stray from the most basic tenets of Scripture – that marriage is an institution made by God for man and woman to become one and procreate. He's telling us it's fine to hold onto our beliefs but that it's also okay to accept his stance on a position that goes against that core belief."
"This is no different than a married person having a relationship with someone other than their spouse," said Jackson.
So according to Jackson, black people who vote for Obama is akin to having a sexual relationship to one who is not your spouse.
All Jackson's and Graham's comments come down to are the real reasons why African-Americans will probably still support Obama in massive numbers. We are not a monolithic community and our actions are not dictated by whomever is the pastor of what church we attend.
We are people who will vote for the person who we feel will do right by our community and country, just like any other voter. And as such, we should be treated like any other voter. Not like people who are dominated by father figures, and not like folks who are willing to cut off our noses to spite our faces in pursuit of a single issue.
Perhaps if we were treated like such by folks like Graham and Jackson, more of us would be inclined to vote their way.
But we all know that's not going to happen. Because they, like so many other conservatives and pundits in general, seem to think that they know us better than we know ourselves.
Fox News distorts its poll – are they liars or just really stupid? - A little from column A and a little from column B. I've said more than once that Fox News is potentially one of the biggest hurdles the lgbtq community could face to equality in that they would give a voice and microphone to folks like Tony Perkins and Maggie Gallagher to spout their inaccurate homophobic talking points without courtesy of an opposing voice. And we know that many fake journalists on the network are in the tank with the anti-gay industry.
Last night, a Facebook source of mine indicated that the National Organization for Marriage may be eyeing another supposed victim of the alleged gay agenda for its failed Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance project:
This guy posted his blog post on Maggie Gallagher's wall and she asked him to message him with more info. Its about someone in Australia on the EOC allegedly having to resign because he supports 1 man 1 woman marriage. In case any of the bloggers in here want to follow up with the real story, since Mags may be writing about it eventually. Or maybe someone from Australia in here knows the true story?
The piece in question is entitled Equal Opportunities Are Only For Some written by a man named Bill Muehlenberg. Muehlenberg runs a blog entitled CultureWatch.
The piece makes the accusation that member of Victoria's Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC), Professor Kuruvilla George was forced to resign because he was one of 150 doctors who wrote a letter to a Senate inquiry opposing marriage equality. Muehlenberg's piece is filled with innuendo and ad hominem attacks against the gay community:
As one news item reports: “A member of Victoria’s Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission board has resigned after stirring controversy by signing a petition opposing gay marriage. Professor Kuruvilla George is also Victoria’s deputy chief psychiatrist and one of a group of 150 doctors who wrote to a Senate inquiry on marriage equality.
“The doctors’ submission argued children with a mother and father were healthier than children with same-sex parents. The petition has drawn criticism from other doctors and families of same-sex couples and yesterday prompted Victoria’s chief psychiatrist to issue a statement defending Professor George.”
The Greens, the homosexual lobbies, and other militants all demanded his blood, and they have got what they wanted. As but one example, the former head of the AMA, lesbian activist Kerryn Phelps said the doctors should “hang their heads in shame” and that an immediate review of Prof George’s position on the board should be undertaken.
So now he is gone, barely 24 hours after the furor erupted. Yep, another scalp for the gaystapo and their intolerant colleagues in arms. This is yet another example of the pink mafia in action, with yet another good and honourable man forced out of his job.
So no doubt when Muehlenberg placed his post on Gallagher's Facebook wall, one could almost picture her salivating of the chance of pushing false claim yet again of how marriage equality could damage someone's religious liberty and freedom of speech.
Wipe your mouth, Ms. Gallagher. Don't even think about attempting to push this piece.
Like all of the times in the past that NOM has made specious claims about the alleged gay menace, there are extenuating circumstances which refutes the charge.
According to an interview conducted with the World Today, the chairman of the Human Rights Commission, John Searle, said that Professor George was thinking of resigning long before this controversy took place. Searle also defended George's right to sign the letter:
JOHN SEARLE: Today Professor Kuruvilla George has tendered his resignation by way of letter to the Governor. His resignation from the board is something that has been weighing on his mind for some months and indeed he first discussed it with me toward the end of last year because he has time constraints and personal issues that he was dealing with and today he has decided is the appropriate time to tender his resignation.
ALISON CALDWELL: He has only been in the job since June last year.
JOHN SEARLE: I think that's correct and perhaps he didn't quite realise what the time commitment involved was - that is something that you'd need to take up with him - but as I said, he did raise concerns about the time commitments and personal issues with me towards the end of last year.
ALISON CALDWELL: Speaking of timing, the timing of his announcement is rather coincidental given the controversy regarding him signing that letter in the submission from Doctors for the Family about same sex marriage.
JOHN SEARLE: Well, of course he signed that letter in a personal capacity and people are entitled to have their personal views and their private views and the views that he expressed in that letter are obviously not the views of the commission, neither are they the views of the board. But I think the timing has been brought to his attention and the need for him to consider his position on the board. He felt this was the right time to do so.
ALISON CALDWELL: Do you think he has resigned because of the controversy? I mean, it was in the newspapers, it was on the news.
JOHN SEARLE: Oh look, I suspect the controversy helped focus his mind on his issues in remaining on the board, the issues that had been around for some period of time and this was therefore a focusing point that allowed him to come to a conclusion.
ALISON CALDWELL: Yesterday the State Government actually said that he had no case to answer.
JOHN SEARLE: Well, look as I said, he has expressed his personal views, he has expressed his private views and he is entitled to do that.
So basically Professor George was not forced to resign after signing that letter and should NOM attempt to push this idea, we have proof of it beforehand.
This is what you call slaying the dragon before it has a chance to breath fire. And the lgbtq community do this more often.
Editor's note - And to make matters worse, the letter in question is fraudulent, using studies which have nothing to do with same-sex couples raising children (i.e. HIV statistics) and also citing information from Mass Resistance, a known anti-gay hate group in Massachusetts.
Of course the religious right still cites his work, but are very careful not to mention him by name. Of course there are some, such as Peter LaBarbera, who will deliberately cite Cameron's work, even though he knows that the work is flawed.
Cameron found himself in the news recently for comments he made regarding President Obama's recently announced support of marriage equality. During an interview with Christian radio station, Cameron asserted that Obama was gay. He also said that one of the prime goals of the gay rights movement was to introduce homosexual sex acts to children.
Naturally, Pakman pressed him on these claims, revealing an interview which is was at times pathetic, infuriating, and sad. Cameron, in an offhand and flippant manner, reveals a terrible childhood incident which most likely put him on the road to destroying so many lives in the lgbtq community with his lies. And although the interview did not delve into the specificity of these lies in a manner which I would have liked to, it is still an excellent job by Pakman at deconstructing the sad mind of a man consumed with reducing the gay community to wanton sex acts.
I came out of it feeling a twinge of pity for Cameron, but not enough pity to ignore the damage he has done to the lgbtq community over the years:
PFOX Complains to School Board - Imagine that. Suing a school district so that you can peddle inaccurate and negative information about the gay community to children.
Congressman Maintains It Should Be Legal To Fire Someone For Being Gay, Attacks ThinkProgress - Think Progress got him dead to rights and yet he still says he was unfairly attacked. And now he says he is being threatened. Blah, blah, blah. Bear in mind that I am not trying to trivialize any threats but come on now. That's always the defense of homophobes. - i.e. that they are being attacked for beings "Christians" and then "someone" is threatening them.
Earlier this month, the Portland Press Heraldannounced the creation of a third anti-gay group fighting this November’s voter initiative to legalize same-sex marriage in Maine – the Maine Marriage Allies PAC, which will be a project of the ironically named Maine Equal Rights Center (MERC). On its Facebook page, MERC is described as a “grass roots campaign to educate voters on same sex marriage.”
Equality Matters also points out that while this group is fighting marriage equality, its presence may actually help the cause of marriage equality because of the information it is trotting out to smear the lgbtq community:
MERC’s website, however, is a deluge of misinformation, confused political analyses, and some truly cringe-worthy writing.
The website is organized into a number of tabs meant to provide visitors with information about the proposed marriage initiative. Each tab varies wildly in content and tone; some inexplicably focus on criticizing the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) while another includes an image of President Obama riding a unicorn.
That would be this picture:
Equality Matters also points out that the founder of this group, Erik Bennett, is a failed politician with a penchant for bizarre youtube ads and vicious homophobic slurs:
One wonders what the National Organization for Marriage thinks about Bennett. All in all, it promises to be a very interesting time in Maine.
As usual, David’s done his homework, calmly citing, among other things, the oeuvre of prominent Yale historian John Boswell, who wrote prolifically about the intersection of LGBT issues and religion. Brown’s only response is to dismiss Boswell completely, because after all (as Brown says), he “practically died of AIDS.”
And it only goes downhill from there. When Pakman challenges Brown’s tired (and totally discredited) talking point about the immutability of the historical definition of marriage, Brown resorts to condescension. Check out the video below — he tries to lecture Pakman on how to prepare for an interview, seizing the opportunity to hawk his self-published book (which, apparently, must be a respectable source, despite the fact that no publishing house — reputable or otherwise — would print it, because it includes “1500+ endnotes and massive research.” (Hmmmm, overcompensating much?) When Pakman presses Brown further to cite the specific sources he drew upon to formulate his exclusionary “historical definition of marriage,” he suddenly chickens out remembers that he has something else to do, saying that he didn’t realize this wasn’t a “serious interview” and mischaracterizing Pakman as a ‘gotcha’ journalist out to “[set] people up for quotes.” Then, after essentially telling Pakman again to read his book before he interviews him again, Brown hangs up.
It just goes to show that when religious right figures are asked serious questions about their claims, they can't handle the pressure
The increasingly obvious danger in mag-bombing black barbershops - Oh look. Matt Barber thinks he knows the black community. Sorry guy, but don't let folks like Harry Jackson fool you. Our beliefs are nuanced and an interloper like yourself will have no bearing on how we vote.
Right after he and Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) practically teamed up to annihilate the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins on Hardball, Chris Matthews joined MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell to further call attention to Perkins' inaccuracies concerning families and the lgbtq community:
Apparently Obama's support of marriage equality is pulling all of the homophobes out of the closet, so to speak, including this one:
Transcript:
Well, the timing is I think miserable for his reelection. I would have expected him, as you did, to wait until he was the new president and say, “Guess what? I’ve changed my mind,” or, “I’ve evolved.” But homosexuality is the one sin, or the one habit, that is 24/7. It is homosexuality all the time. And actually, while I’m not sure about the claims by the various people who have reported that Obama has at least participated at times with them in homosexual acts, this certainly lends some credence.
. . . Mark my words clearly; the long term goal of the homosexual movement is to get every little boy to grab his ankles and every little girl to give it a try. They will not rest until every one of our children at least gets to try, has the opportunity and maybe is forced to at least once experience homosexual acts. There is no retreating from that, they made it very clear earlier on—now they don’t take about it—but that’s what they want, they will not be happy until they get it, marriage is just a step along the way.
Those who are regular followers of my blog know this man. He is Paul Cameron, a man whom I consider to be the grand daddy of all religious right distortions involving the lgbtq community. At one time, he was the go-to guy for all anti-gay distortions used by the religious right. He is the man is responsible for pushing the following myths about the gay community:
Lesbians are more likely to die in car wrecks,
Gay men molest children at a high rate and are more likely to be serial killers,
Gay men stuff gerbils up their rectums,
Gays and lesbians in the military are more likely to rape their heterosexual counterparts.
Of course the religious right still cites his work, but are very careful not to mention him by name. Of course there are some, such as Peter LaBarbera, who will deliberately cite Cameron's work, even though he knows that the work is flawed.
And there are othesr, like the National Organization for Marriage, who, when caught citing Cameron, will turn backflips in order to distance themselves from him (sorry Maggie Gallagher, but a link is in fact an endorsement).
For me, Paul Cameron is old news. He doesn't even shock me anymore.
But not one time, at least to my knowledge, have any of these groups ever been questioned regarding their usage of Cameron's work on any news program.
Getting Tony Perkins, Maggie Gallagher, or Peter Sprigg to answer questions regarding the usage of Cameron's work on a program such as Hardball sounds like a new project to me.
Editor's note - Those who are my friends on facebook are advised to de-friend me as Alvin McEwen. That address has been hacked (do not click on the picture of the shoes!). Please friend me at Charle King.
Patrick Wooden
Those who are against marriage equality are constantly pushing this "victim complex," i.e. claiming that they are being unfairly vilified for their opposition to marriage equality.
This is a lie. It's not their opposition to marriage equality, per se, but the distortions they engage in to fight marriage equality.
And unfortunately, often times, the media is their ally in how it frames the argument.
A perfect example of this sad fact is a recent New York Times article, Churches split over gay marriage. All in all, it is an excellent article which makes a good point in showing that the fight of marriage equality is not necessarily a fight which pits the gay community on one side and the religious community on the other. The article demonstrates that religious beliefs dictates both sides of the issue.
However, it also sugarcoats the reputation of a certain North Carolina minister:
At a black Pentecostal church in Raleigh, N.C., the Rev. Patrick Wooden entered the sanctuary on Sunday to a standing ovation, exulting that God’s “high hand” had led voters last week to pass a statewide amendment banning same-sex marriage. He took to the pulpit and denounced President Obama for taking a stand “in support of sin,” and “in opposition to the biblical model of marriage.”
. . .On Sunday, after Pastor Wooden quieted the standing ovation in his sanctuary in Raleigh, a sea of pink hats and dresses in honor of Mother’s Day, he went into a sermon that portrayed the fight for the same-sex marriage amendment as a divinely ordained cause.
Quoting from Exodus, he said God had led people to the polls with a “high hand,” just as God led the Israelites out of Egypt. Mr. Obama went “against God,” the pastor said. He invoked the New Testament passage from Romans in which men turn away from women and burn in their lust, “men with men.”
Pastor Wooden’s 3,000-member congregation, the Upper Room Church of God in Christ, is part of an African-American denomination that declared in 2004 that it would “never allow” or bless same-sex unions. The declaration cited passages from Scripture: that God created “the woman for the man,” (I Corinthians 11:9), and that “marriage is honorable” (Hebrews 13:4).
Pastor Wooden was in the forefront of the political fight over the marriage amendment in North Carolina, serving on the executive committee for the campaign and voicing radio advertisements heard around the state. He said that he had been raised by a single mother, and that he believed children needed both a mother and a father.
Those of us who know Wooden know that this isn't the only thing he said in regards to the gay community. He has made deliberately untrue comments regarding gay men and sex:
To omit - and I think this was by accident by the writer - Wooden's history of demonizing the gay community via slander and the bearing of false witness is serious mistake on two accounts. For one, it sanitizes Wooden as a simple pastor rather than exposing the entirety his homophobic animus and the article misses a chance to delve into a key complaint by the lgbtq community in regards to those who oppose marriage equality, i.e. that they are quick to vilify us amongst each other, but in front of the press, they act innocent as lambs.
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council have been hitting different spots in the media in response to President Obama's announced support of marriage equality. Though Perkins has been having a rough go at it - and it's about time too - the following video montage is the basic reason why we need to constantly remind the media to continue to ask Perkins and representatives of FRC tough questions whenever they appear:
You have probably seen this video already. But if not, God help you for watching it.
The following is not a joke. It is testimony at a Lincoln Nebraska City Council hearing this week to review a proposed LGBT protection ordinance. There is nothing I can say which will prepare you for this, but I will say that sometimes homophobia is so bad that it's funny:
Editor's note - Reportedly the woman on this video has mental health issues, something which was not known at the time of its posting. This piece of knowledge should cause further discussions when it comes to mental health, but in all honesty, how many times has the lgbtq community heard these statements - albeit in a more coherent fashion - from religious right organizations and figures? Us laughing at this woman's testimony should be not be seen as insensitivity on our part. For one thing, we didn't know she mentally ill when the video was originally posted. For another, many of us saw her statements as "here they go again."
For all of the talk about the division between homosexuality and the Black church, no one talks about how much gays and lesbians have influenced gospel music.
Gospel performer and singer who is widely acclaimed among the greatest soloists in gospel history. Clara Mae Ward, daughter of evangelist Gertrude Ward was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in April of 1924. Like so many of her contemporaries, she gained her first musical experience singing in the church. As gospel music began to reach a wider audience in the first half of the twentieth century,Ward started singing professionally with her mother and her sister Willa with the Ward Trio (1934-1937). Later as the group enlarged its membership and became the Ward Singers, the Clara Ward Specials and finally the Clara Ward Singers which became very popular. The group included such outstanding individuals such as gospel great Marion Williams and appealed to audiences both sacred and secular. In the 1950s, the group was at the height of its power, appearing at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival and other prestigious venues. Under Ward's direction the group later broadened its appeal and became very show biz oriented which caused her to be shunned by some gospel singers for obvious religious reasons.
Despite her career success, Ward's life was an unhappy one. Financial hardships caused her and her family to move 19 times before her adulthood. Sexually abused in childhood by a cousin and relentlessly driven as prime breadwinner by her mother throughout her life, Clara's life was one of constant work and little joy. According to her sister Willa, Gertrude Ward recognized Clara's exceptional musical ability when Clara was a child and controlled and manipulated her throughout her life. In her biography of Clara, Willa attests that Gertrude worked to prevent Clara from forming any romantic attachments. Although Clara eloped as a teenager (at age 17 in 1941), her mother forced her to tour and the strain caused the always frail Clara to have a miscarriage. Her marriage ended after only one year. Willa describes Clara as explaining her occasional lesbian encounters as the sexual expression likely to escape her mother's notice. Her only real happiness seems to have come from her longtime romance with Rev. C. L. Franklin (with whom the Ward groups extensively toured), the famous Detroit-based preacher and father of the legendary Aretha Franklin.
Also known as "Little Axe," "Wilbur," "Willie," and "Wilmer," was an African-American hard gospel quartet singer. A tiny man with glasses and a high, powerful tenor voice, he worked and recorded with many of the most famous and influential groups of his day.
Broadnax was born in Houston in 1916. After moving to Southern California in the mid-40s, he and his brother, William, joined the Southern Gospel Singers, a group which performed primarily on weekends. The Broadnax brothers soon formed their own quartet, the Golden Echoes. William eventually left for Atlanta, where he joined the Five Trumpets, but Willmer stayed on as lead singer. In 1949 the group, augmented by future Soul Stirrer Paul Foster, recorded a single of "When the Saints Go Marching In" for Specialty Records. Label chief Art Rupe decided to drop them before they could record a follow-up, and shortly thereafter the Golden Echoes disbanded.
In 1950, Broadnax joined the Spirit of Memphis Quartet. Along with Broadnax, the group featured two other leads -- Jethro "Jet" Bledsoe, a bluesy crooner, and Silas Steele, an overpowering baritone. This was one of the most impressive line-ups in quartet history. The Spirit of Memphis Quartet recorded for King Records, and Broadnax appeared on their releases at least until 1952. Shortly after that, however, he moved on, working with the Fairfield Four, and, in the beginning of the 60s, as one of the replacements for Archie Brownlee in the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi. Until 1965 he headed a quartet called "Little Axe and the Golden Echoes," which released some singles on Peacock Records. By then, quartet singing was fading as a commercial phenomenon, and Broadnax retired from touring, though he did continue to record occasionally with the Blind Boys into the 70s and 80s.
Upon his death in 1994, it was discovered that Broadnax was female assigned at birth.
Pastor: We suffer more under marriage equality 'than we would have under segregation' - Introducing the single most ignorant comment in regards to marriage equality by a black pastor this year. Yeah I said. Forget the lgbtq community, my heterosexual black brothers and sisters need to get mad at the predominantly white wannabe Christian publications which provide a forum for black pastors to make fools of themselves.
Queer Theologian & Comic Peterson Thomas Toscano reveals the hilarious reason that distracts some folks from effective conversation about LGBT issues & lives:
