Posts Tagged ‘homosexuality’

The tweets were likely fleeting in nature, consistent with how the multitude of us use Twitter to socially interact. Momentary thoughts, ephemeral emotions…140 character snapshots of one’s conscience. CNN commentator Roland Martin has come under fire for two tweets during the Super Bowl which GLAAD argued were homophobic and encouraged violence against the LGBT community.

Regardless of whether one finds merit in GLAAD’s complaint or instead supports Martin’s sense of humor, know that the response from the LGBT community was swift, direct and immediate in nature. GLAAD has asked for CNN to fire Martin. As of this writing, CNN had not offered a final decision.

UPDATE: CNN Suspends Roland Martin (2.8.12)

That was Sunday, both the controversial action and the subsequent response.

Monday, parents mostly Latino in nature protested the inaction and lack of communication in the wake of the arrest of two teachers for sexual misconduct at Miramonte Elementary School in Los Angeles. In response to the protests and other public outcry, the whole of the teaching staff was immediately replaced.

Immediately.

Also Monday, the social pariah Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth Baptist church in Atlanta offered an apology to the Anti-Defamation League in response to a controversial “coronation” ceremony performed by Rabbi Ralph Messer the previous week. The video of the service went viral, instantly sparking immediate outrage from Jewish community leaders.

The Jewish community outrage and eventual apology were separated by fewer than 48 hours.

That was Monday.

Three separate ethnic and/or social constituencies used their social capital to leverage media and public opinion to force an immediate redress of issues.

Although the outrage in regards to the Eddie Long ceremony in New Birth (an African-American church) was unanimous irrespective of race, nobody within the African-American religious community stepped forward and demanded an apology. In fact, let the record reflect that Eddie Long took fewer than 48 hours to offer a public apology to the Jewish community for an offensive ceremony, yet to this day has said nothing about the foolishness surrounding his behavior leading up to his sexual coercion settlement involving five young males.

There has been no widespread public call within the religious community demanding for him to step down, be sat down or altogether shutdown.

One might wonder why some of the other African-American megachurches haven’t leveraged their power individually and collectively to express their own outrage at Bishop Long. Right now, the ADL seemingly has more power in affecting Eddie Long’s behavior than his own peers. As of this writing, not one Black megachurch preacher has spoken out against Eddie Long.

Not one. Zero. Null set.

UPDATE 12.9.12: Although I knew of Bishop Paul S. Morton’s youtube video and public rebuke of Eddie Long, Mo’Kelly was originally under the impression that St. Stephens was not a megachurch.  Some local readers to the area have emailed Mo’Kelly indicating that St. Stephens is in fact a megachurch.  Thus noted here.

T. D. Jakes of the Potter’s House in Dallas, TX recently offered the following to CNN while discussing Long’s impending divorce and previous sexual coercion charges.

If there was actually misconduct, the young men involved in the case were old enough to make their own decisions. They are not juveniles.”

Jakes conveniently skipped over the fact that Long was married and adamantly against all types of homosexual behavior. Jakes blithely disregarded the inherent moral and ethical contradictions given Long’s position and power. Despite Jakes’ stance, it really is acceptable to assess blame on the married man engaging in sexual behavior with adolescents (they were not 18) in the discussion of said man’s divorce. Jakes, for whatever reason, stopped short of finding ANY fault with Long.

But true to form, Jakes did find time to blast the GOP for supporting Newt Gingrich over his children as janitors remarks and that Gingrich is “a thrice-married, twice-divorced adulterer.”

Evidently multiple marriages, divorces, adultery and disparaging behavior towards young people don’t apply to Long; who is now twice-married/divorced with an 8-figure settlement connected to homosexual acts of adultery.

The hypocrisy is beyond staggering, it is stupefying. The remarks on both Gingrich and Long came THE SAME DAY, December 11, 2011 in two different interviews.  The links don’t lie.

What Jakes doesn’t seem to understand is that when viewing someone head-on, it makes talking out of both sides one’s mouth much more obvious.

Prosperity preacher Creflo Dollar, with ministries in Atlanta, New York and his own private jet to ferry him between the two, told those in his audience who came to his church after leaving Eddie Long they should “go back.”

He too absolved Long of guilt and blame.

Eddie Long remains in his pulpit after an alleged 8-figure sexual coercion settlement, impending divorce and the only people in the religious community adamant in their anger towards him were Jews…for reasons wholly unrelated to the more serious ones?

Really?

Seriously?

One of Long’s accusers Anthony Flagg, alleged he accompanied Long on overnight trips to New York, Dallas and other cities; most of which “coincidentally” connected to other Black megachurch preachers in league with Long on the Federal Marriage Amendment.

A coincidence, to be sure (wink, wink).

Flagg in subsequent interviews also indicated he stayed in the W Hotel in Times Square, which happens to also be the place where megachurch pastor Zachery Tims was found dead with a powdery substance on his person.

Just in case you were wondering, Flagg says he also stayed with Long at the W Hotel in Dallas, just 12 miles from T.D. Jakes’ main campus.

Of course this is all coincidental and circumstantial (wink, wink).

How quickly were the late Joe Paterno and the university president removed and fired respectively for their mishandling of the Penn State sexual abuse scandal?

Exactly.

Eddie Long continues to “offend” people specifically because we in the African-American community have abrogated our responsibility to protect our children. We have allowed his ministry to continue with little more than angry editorials and spirited radio commentary.

New Birth is not just “a” cult but seemingly a link in a chain of interconnected, prosperity-preaching cults; guided not by sound Christian tenets but something altogether nefarious and un-Christian in nature.

The common thread between Penn State, Miramonte and New Birth is that somebody did nothing when circumstances required far more; allowing young people to be abused. If there is immediate action in the moment, future misdeeds can be averted. The communities surrounding Penn State and Miramonte took immediate steps to make sure the right actions were taken.

New Birth…nothing.  We as African-Americans did nothing.  This is on us, as are his future transgressions.  We have allowed Long to proceed with impunity. He will embarrass and “abuse” the African-American community again and again, until we put an end to it and his ministry once and for all. We just have to care enough and love our own children enough to stand up for them.

The Mo’Kelly Report is a syndicated politics and entertainment journal. Visit http://mrmokelly.com for the latest from Mr. Mo’Kelly. Contact him at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

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From CNN:

Long has “been successful at building a ministry at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church that places a special emphasis on outreach to men, reinforcing to men the importance of partnering with a ministry that will grow them spiritually and will help them develop the life skills needed to become successful in the workplace and teach them how to become entrepreneurs and leaders,” the court documents said.

“Bishop Long admits that he mentors many young men from challenged backgrounds, who have often been without the benefit of a male role model,” according to the documents. “The mentor/mentee relationship between Bishop Long as mentor and the mentee is firmly grounded on expressed promises of honesty and truthfulness.”

Long provided cars for the youths so they would have transportation to school and work, according to the responses, and provided them housing when they needed it — in the case of LeGrande, for instance, because his school had no dormitory and he was living in a hotel room, and in the case of Flagg, because he could not return to his mother’s home after he was arrested for allegedly assaulting her during a confrontation. Long provides many church members with employment, the responses said.

Long admits that he “provides opportunities for travel, education and personal growth to many members of his congregation” and claims in the responses that he often shares hotel rooms with members of his congregation when traveling.

Some of the young men have said that Long encouraged them to call him “Daddy.” In his responses to the suits, Long’s attorneys say that the “entire New Birth membership calls Bishop Long ‘Daddy’ or ‘Bishop.’” Participants in the pastor’s LongFellows Youth Academy call him “Pop,” according to the documents, and members of other churches call Long “Granddaddy.”

“The references to and association between Bishop Long (and other religious leaders) and a ‘Spiritual Father’ is based upon the crisis in the African American community of fatherlessness,” the documents said.

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and www.eurweb.com. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse…as well as entertain. For more Mo’Kelly, http://mrmokelly.com. Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

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(Click on news source for complete story.) Most accounts of the turnout ranging from “tens”…to “dozens” to about “75″…depending on the story.  It’s going to take far more than that to generate any heat under Long in order to force his resignation.  You’ll probably need a couple thousand at the minimum.

Just sayin’.

WALB News 10

Reuben Armstrong, the outspoken radio talk show host from Dallas, TX and author of “Snakes in the Pulpit,” organized the rally to demand the resignation of Bishop Eddie Long, who has been accused in a lawsuit of sexually coercing young men from his church.

Long, the leader of New Birth Misisonary Baptist Church, has denied the allegations.

“I would equate Bishop Long to Jim Jones,” Armstrong said to a modest crowd. “I won’t be surprised if the followers did not drink the Kool-Aid this morning.”

One after another, six speakers took the podium with the same message.

“I’m here today to demand that Bishop Eddie Long step down from the pulpit,” said Peter Laberbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality.

From his podium, Armstrong told the crowd some of the allegations in the lawsuit filed against Long.

“The boy went to his room and Bishop Long licked his lips to sleep,” he said.

Atlanta Journal Constitution

Minister Adisa Franklin, National Association for Religious Accountability founder, asked why there were no other Atlanta pastors at the rally. “There’s got to be someone to take accountability,” he said.

Will Haymon, a Stone Mountain insurance agent, attended New Birth for five years. He left the church in January, but  said it had nothing to do with the recent scandal. “It was time for us to move on,” said Haymon. “My wife felt like we were not growing.”

Haymon stopped by the rally to hear what speakers had to say. He has been listening to all sides but has not made up his mind about Long’s innocence or guilt. He is willing to let the matter work its way through the courts. “I think there really should be concrete evidence,” Haymon said.

Kianna Sams, who watched the rally, previously visited New Birth several times and was there when Long first addressed the congregation after the allegations. She wants Long to step down because “this is hurting New Birth’s image now.”

EURWEB.com

“It’s a shame that the church is becoming a corporate entity with the pastor acting as CEO, but the people are the shareholders,” Armstrong said.

Among those in attendance were members of a South Carolina Tea Party group.

“We believe that Christians need to stand up for wrong,” said Michael Brady of the Boiling Springs Tea Party. He said the allegations are a “crime against the community, and a crime against humanity, and Christians have to stand up against that.”

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and www.eurweb.com. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse…as well as entertain. For more Mo’Kelly, http://mrmokelly.com. Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

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CNN breaks down the different books and sermons of Eddie Long and comes up with some very “interesting” quotes, passages and realizations.

“The word of God is potent. The word of God is His sperm,” Long thunders. “The job of the preacher is to bring fresh sperm and when he speaks it, the womb — the church — is to take it in and say, ‘Sho’ you’re right.’ ”

“In a society, where little boys are exposed to grubby, cursing, dirty, cigarette-smoking road construction worker women, is it any wonder they stop chasing women and start chasing men?”

“Once the flock of God leaves the green grass and clear water of God’s presence to gnaw on their shepherds,” he writes, “their insurrection kills their blessing and aborts their corporate victory.”

Full story HERE.

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and www.eurweb.com. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse…as well as entertain. For more Mo’Kelly, http://mrmokelly.com. Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

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It is what it is…

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and www.eurweb.com. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse…as well as entertain. For more Mo’Kelly, http://mrmokelly.com. Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

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There is a real and measurable percentage of African-American men who engage in bisexual relationships. The exact number…who is to say? Regardless of the exact number, there is no argument to be had that the percentage is real and measurable. Additionally, there are men who engage in bisexual relationships who have both a wife and children. A wife and child do not absolve one from the possibility of a clandestine homosexual relationship.

These are the facts and they are indisputable.

The only “phenomenon” related to the “down-low” discussion was that the African-American community was actually discussing it AT ALL in the public space.

The hindrance to that discussion heretofore can rightfully be blamed on African-Americans’ collective stigma placed on anything and anyone connected with homosexuality.

This is not an editorial in support of Gay Rights or an endorsement of any type of alternative lifestyle. It’s just a statement of fact as to African-Americans and our collective conceptions of those things considered “virtuous” and “shameful.”

Conversely, the stigma that accompanies all things homosexual within our community has led to the ubiquitous hyper-faux-masculinity found in our music, movies and our general everyday mentality.

This is not an editorial meant to diss hip-hop or its related elements. It’s just a statement of fact as to African-Americans and our collective conceptions of those things considered “virtuous” and “shameful.”

R&B singer Johnny Gill, recently took to the radio airwaves to “clear his name” in regards to the rampant rumors surrounding his “rapport” with actor/comedian Eddie Murphy. In an interview on the nationally syndicated The Ride with Doug and Dede, Gill pleaded his case as to how he “is” heterosexual, “has always been” heterosexual and “always will be” heterosexual.

“I got a stable (of women), I keep a stable. I’ve got all kinds of girls from Whites, Blacks to whatever you want to call them. I’ve got ‘em all. Cuz that’s the way I choose to live…working with the hand I was dealt. And until somethin’ comes along, one of them get their hooks in me…hey, I’m livin’ and having fun.”

- Johnny Gill

Since we now know for a fact that Johnny Gill reads anything and everything in relation to him in the media, he’ll be reading this edition of The Mo’Kelly Report too.

Having said that, Brotha…(and those like him) pay close attention.

Although I’ve had comedic fun with Johnny Gill on a number of occasions regarding these “rumors” and his supposed “rapport” with Eddie Murphy, his public statements serve as the perfect entry point into the serious discussion on the definition of “manhood” and “masculinity” within our African-American community.

What’s not included in Gill’s quote but should be noted is the fact that it was made with his illegitimate 23-month old son in his lap. What’s not included in the quote is that it is coming from Gill “the son of a minister.” The Black church and its role in the stigmatization of homosexuality and misguided reinforcement of an erroneous definition of manhood must also be acknowledged if we are to honestly and intellectually address this issue.

This is not an editorial meant to libel the Black Church; just a statement of fact.

Having a “stable” of women doesn’t make any male “more manly”…and surely doesn’t prove heterosexuality. It just means the male equates women with animals, to be used at his breeding whim.

None of which “equals” masculinity or heterosexuality. But “stupidity”…absolutely.

“I got a stable (of women), I keep a stable. I’ve got all kinds of girls from Whites, Blacks to whatever you want to call them. I’ve got ‘em all. Cuz that’s the way I choose to live…working with the hand I was dealt. And until somethin’ comes along, one of them get their hooks in me…hey, I’m livin’ and having fun.”

It is also though part and parcel of a larger problem…how we as African-American males are socialized and brainwashed to believe that sexual conquest is tantamount to “manhood.” It is indicative of a symptom of a larger malady as to why 70% of African-American children (including Johnny Gill’s) are born out of wedlock.

There is something inherently wrong with a Black man getting on national radio and arguing his “heterosexual masculinity and manhood” through his objectification and dehumanization of women “from Whites, Blacks to whatever you want to call them” as Johnny Gill said.

Just in case Johnny Gill didn’t know…it’s quite alright to spend your life with a woman, and not just the night. It’s quite alright to defend your manhood through the respect of womanhood. And it’s quite alright to let one’s manhood speak for itself through quietly through actions, not instead “speaking up” through the debasement of women with misplaced words.

Yes, Johnny Gill has a bevy of women he sleeps with, without commitment or consideration…because he’s “livin’ and having fun.”

Yes Johnny, that surely is a compelling argument in support of heterosexuality and if actor Rock Hudson were still here he would probably agree with you.

There are thousands upon thousands of men who engage in homosexual activities daily in prison who would not dare characterize themselves as “gay.” There are thousands upon thousands of African-American men who likely engage in homosexual behavior in the free world who would not dare label themselves as “gay”…and promptly go home to their wives and families afterwards.

This is not an editorial intended to diss or disparage the homosexual lifestyle…but it is a statement of fact as to what transpires in our African-American community.

Let’s get beyond the “labels” and get to the heart of the matter of what’s important and it isn’t Gill’s sexuality one way or the other.

Johnny Gill’s public plea for Black people to “believe” whether he’s wholly heterosexual is a red-herring and neither here nor there. It really doesn’t matter whether Johnny Gill (or Eddie Murphy) is gay, beyond their respective insecurities over what “fans” think and say.

I don’t care either way and neither should anyone else, truth be told.

What DOES matter is Gill in his attempt to “save” his masculinity, he threw women under the bus, further ingraining the misguided stereotypes found in the faux-hyper-masculinity permeating our community.

This “fake manhood” is at the root of why HIV/AIDS is rampaging through our communities at breakneck speed, disproportionately affecting our Sistas. This “fake manhood” is why Johnny Gill’s own son is likely to eventually start his own “family” with children out of wedlock. And this “fake manhood” is the largest variable in the equation of why “street cred” tends to trump education and puts our young men on the path to the prison.

Personally, Johnny Gill’s appearance on the The Ride with Doug and Dede reeked of the classic Shakespearean quote, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”

No underhanded “lady” pun intended…just how the quote reads.

In the end, I’m more alarmed at how Gill fashioned his illogical rebuke of the rumors at the expense of African-American women…while metaphorically beating his own chest in the process. Johnny Gill did not “prove” his manhood, he simply reinforced the fact that he is anything BUT a man, irrespective of his sexuality, heterosexual or otherwise.

Click HERE to hear the Johnny Gill interview in full.

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ALSO: PBS Documentary linking misogyny, homophobia and the media

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse…as well as entertain. The Mo’Kelly Report is syndicated by Newstex. For more Mo’Kelly, http://www.MrMoKelly.com.

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Morris W. O’Kelly can be reached at Mo@MrMoKelly.com and he welcomes all commentary.