Opponents of antigay prejudice and arrogance gathered in south Florida two months ago at the Anti-Heterosexism Conference to expose the deceit of the ex-gay and antigay movements.

Dr. Sylvia Rhue, Ph.D., presented the first keynote. Dr. Rhue serves as Director of Religious Affairs with the National Black Justice Coalition and is a scholar, writer, educator and sought-after public speaker. The title of her presentation was “STRAIGHT” Rackets: Why the Religious Right Needs Reparative Therapy.

The conference organizers have now made video of this address available. Video length: about 58 minutes.

Sylvia Rhue, Ph.D. from SOULFORCE on Vimeo.

Some thoughts raised for consideration:

• Homophobia in the black church is an artifact of archaeology, and not an artifact of faith.
• Authoritarian religious movements, filled with fear and loathing, wage an ongoing war against love.
• Ten years ago, the ex-gay movement patterned a national ad campaign in a fashion some found starkly reminiscent of past campaigns against Negroes. In those times, southern Americans, largely Baptist, would conduct castrations and lynchings on Saturday nights and worship on Sundays without a hint of schizophrenia or guilt.
• Jesus is not in the orientation-changing business, because sexual orientation is God-given and morally neutral
• From Fred Phelps to Harry Jackson, numerous Christian Rightists demonstrate a basic lack of understanding of human sexuality and a lack of empathy for the harm they do.
• The need of some Christian Rightists to be at war with some segment of the population highlights a lack of integrity and confidence in their theology.
• The word “homosexuality” was invented in 1869, didn’t arrive in states until the turn of century, and did not appear in the Bible until c. 1940 as a mistranslation.
• Most evangelical youth leave their church, never to return: They want faith, but not their parents’ faith.

The Anti-Heterosexism Conference was co-sponsored by Soulforce, the National Black Justice Coalition, Truth Wins Out, Box Turtle Bulletin, Equality Florida, and Beyond Ex-Gay.

Pam Spaulding breaks the situation down with her usual excellence and candor:

A black teen-ager who was verbally assaulted and “exorcised” by his pentecostal church earlier this year tells a skeptical Tyra that he is cured of his sexual orientation.

Basically my feelings are this: Unless the black community comes to grips with the fact that lgbts of color exist and talk with us instead of looking at us as outsiders, expect more nonsense like this.

(Crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters)

The National Black Justice Coalition is a civil rights organization dedicated to empowering black LGBT Americans.

In a Nov. 19 article for The Advocate, NBJC CEO H. Alexander Robinson offers insights about the black-white divide and how to mend it going forward.

Excerpt:

…We can draw some lessons from an analysis of turnout and its correlation to racial demographics that are obvious on their face. For one, we know that too few resources were dedicated to influencing African-Americans’ perceptions (and votes) on LGBT issues during this election. Of the approximately $40 million raised to fight the propositions, scant resources were directed toward the black vote in California, no attention was paid in any meaningful way in Florida, and we were hardly considered as a group to influence in other states with anti-LGBT propositions.

President-elect Obama was against Proposition 8 because he did not feel that states should put discrimination into their constitutions. Although he has said that he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman, he also believes our families should have all the rights, benefits, and responsibilities afforded to him and his wife. A serious consideration of his nuanced position would have been a good place to start a discussion about full equality in the African-American community.

As we go forward, we need to be mindful that our foes will continue to attempt to use President-elect Obama, the black church, and campaigns of deception and fear to foster their own agenda in manipulative and devious ways. President-elect Obama’s opposition to same-sex marriage is grounded in his view of marriage as a religious institution. We must be steadfast in not allowing public officials to use religion to determine their positions on matters of justice. We know as a community all too well that this reasoning can be harmful to blacks as well as LGBT people.

On Election Day, 70-percent of African Americans voted to take away a gay person’s right to marry primarily based on a book – the Bible – that calls on slaves to obey their masters. Mormons funded the measure – even though religious discrimination drove them from Missouri and Illinois in the 1830’s

The defeat of Proposition 8 can’t be blamed exclusively on African Americans and Mormons. There were plenty of white Catholic and protestant religious leaders – such as pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church – that share responsibility. And, there are legitimate questions about how the No On 8 campaign was run, which will be endlessly debated. For example, did the campaign’s decision to closet gay people in its ads lead to defeat?

Still, there is something particularly galling and repugnant about people who have felt the sting of discrimination, turn around and step on another minority. What happened at the ballot box feels like a personal betrayal and the hijacking of history. (Read More)

While most protesters have been peaceful, some protests against the passage of antigay constitutional amendments in Arizona, California, and Florida — but especially California — have been marred by attendees who shouted racist epithets.

Truth Wins Out condemns this scapegoating.

Antigay African-Americans, in particular, are not solely nor even primarily responsible for the passage of special-rights amendments for heterosexuals. Furthermore, many African-American and Hispanic LGBT Americans worked hard for marriage equality.

Now, having achieved special-rights amendments in three key states, Focus on the Family, Exodus International, and other intolerant religious-right organizations have vowed to swiftly take their special-rights amendments for heterosexuals to the U.S. states that have not yet constitutionally excluded gay Americans and gay-affirming religious institutions from equality under the law.

The heterosexual special-rights amendment in California, Proposition 8, might have been defeated if adequate support had been provided to African American and Latino organizations that support gay equality not only in marriage, but also in health care, education, and employment.

One such organization is the National Black Justice Coalition. (Facebookers, visit the NBJC Cause.) The NBJC eagerly welcomes new supporters.

Please don’t forget to support Truth Wins Out as well. The unethical and illegal tactics of the amendment supporters remind us that Focus on the Family, Exodus International, and their political allies will tell any lie and exploit any parent’s child if it helps to divide and separate American minorities from their constitutional freedoms.

Whatever you do — don’t just do it online. Become engaged with others in your community that support freedom and equal opportunity for all.