Black While Hooded

 “One of the burdens of being a black male is carrying the heavy weight of other people’s suspicions.” J. Capehart, Washington Post

"I live here! I am Benjamin from the third floor," I screamed as I was beaten down to the floor.


It was Saturday, December 16, 2011, amidst the crowded streets of holiday lights and party goers looking to celebrate the season with friends and family, a dark skinned African-American male was spotted gaining entry into a secure north side condominium complex where the units are estimated to be more than a half million dollars. Residents sleep secure knowing the building is adequately protected by the latest technology and neighbors are ever vigilant in keeping their eyes open for any strange and unusual behavior.

On this weekend night, less than a week away from Christmas the building was full of guests waiting to be rung into the building and residents coming and going unaware of the Black gentleman in the lobby that seemed curiously out of place in this particular building. He was dressed for the weather and wearing a hooded sweatshirt that obscured his face from full view.  On the other hand, with a warm smile and proper greeting, he appeared to be pleasant and courteous enough to be given the benefit of the doubt amongst the expectant guests waiting at the locked security door.

Josh was excited to get his annual holiday bash started and decided to personally go down to the lobby and welcome his guests as opposed to ringing them in via his home telephone which is connected to the state of the art building security system. As he happily approached the transparent glass doors where he recognized the beaming faces of his dearest friends, he immediately noticed the dark faced man hiding in his hood amongst his cheery cheeked friends bearing pretty wrapped packages and poorly disguised bottles of wine and Champaign. Josh knew that his building was a target for burglary and vandalism given the uneven demographics of the neighborhood, especially those areas yet to be properly gentrified by the wave of incoming young urban professionals and latter career execs who used city living to exorcize their mid-life suburban crisis. Josh also knew that not all the members of his waiting party was in the building to celebrate the season.

 

With the stage set and the script already written, Josh meticulously opens the door in a way that allows all of those that belong in the building through the door, but when the apparent stranger tries to enter with the arrogance of a dues paying homeowner, Josh immediately launches into action and confronts the stranger by saying “Not you!” As the stranger attempts to claim residency in the building, Josh confidently replies back “Who the fuck are you!” and acting on his instincts, shoves the perceived interloper in the chest, knocking him down to the ground while his guests gasp in horror and surprise at the aggressive actions of their otherwise mild mannered friend and young father. The look in their eyes communicated how unbelievable this entire scene was which was unfolding quickly, but seemingly in slow motion, before them.

 

So lost in the moment was Josh and his visitors that they almost failed to hear the Black man scream as he was falling “Josh, I live here! I am Benjamin from the third floor.”

Stand Your Ground

“On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand—all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking ground.” 

 

The old American adage of crime and punishment which believes that justice is only served when we apply literally the biblical passage, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” will eventually leave us all blind, toothless and even further removed from God.

All over the country countless individuals are ‘standing their ground’ in protest against the killing of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year old African American in Sanford, Florida. These protests are calling for the arrest of George Zimmerman, a white Hispanic, who claims he acted in self-defense, using Florida’s “Stand Your Ground Law” as justification in killing the young teen. But the burning question for me seems to be “On whose ground was Mr. Zimmerman standing?”

The “Stand Your Ground Law” was passed in 21 states, to include Florida, in the last few years giving persons the benefit of the doubt for killing if it is self-defense. But in order for one to stand one’s ground, one must be sure that they have a ground on which to stand. The reality is, with such a law on the books one would almost have to be attacked or shot or knifed before they could claim self-defense against another individual. This is further complicated by the fact that when the law is applied, there is usually only one victim left to justify the killing because “dead men tell no tales.”

Mr. Zimmerman, a member of a neighborhood watch patrol in this middle-class gated Florida community explains his actions by saying Mr. Martin looked suspicious and out of character in this particular neighborhood because of his attire. Apparently, Trayvon was wearing a hooded shirt often referred to as a hoodie! But what is even more disturbing in this particular case is that when the police arrived on the scene, at no time did they restrain or treat Mr. Zimmerman like a suspect in a homicide. As a matter of fact after brief questioning on the scene Mr.Zimmerman was free to go and to this date has not been detained or faced any consequences as a suspect in the shooting.

In essence, a 17 year old African-American “man-child” was killed simply because of what he was wearing and the perception it created for an overzealous neighborhood white-Hispanic vigilante who was warned by the 911 operator not to pursue the youth. The writing staff of Law and Order could not have created a better script to illustrate all that is wrong in society today!  

Just because a person looks a certain way, behaves or has a certain look is not a license to attack and kill. The code language that has developed when we think someone is out to inflict harm is that the person “had a suspicious look.” In many cases the look is African American, young and male.  On Wednesday evening a Million Hoodie March was held in New York, and the participants donned sweatshirt hoodies in solidarity to putting an end to racial profiling and supporting the arrest and filing of charges against the white-Hispanic Zimmerman. 

Closer to home in Chicago last weekend, amidst spring-like temperatures, 49 people were shot resulting in 10 deaths from gun violence. All of humanity is at risk here, our communities are unsafe and states like Florida are responsible for creating laws that continue to perpetuate suspicion and distrust of our neighbors and fellow citizens. After all, justice is only served when there are plucked eyes and pulled teeth. 

Of course, these are not isolated cases and certainly not limited to Sanford, Florida or Chicago, Illinois. All over the country individuals are ‘standing their ground’. In fact, the real ground that we should be standing on comes in the words of Trayvon’s mother, Sybrina Fulton as she talks of her sons killing during the New York protest, “This is not a black and white thing—this is about a right or wrong thing.” 

As a person of deep faith, doing what is right over what is wrong is always rock-solid ground on which we can all stand. May each of us seek to stand on such ground, and in so doing draw us closer to each other and to God. Amen.

Photos of Trayvon Martin

War is HELL?

 “Everybody talkin' 'bout heav'n ain't goin' there…” -Spirituals as expressions of protest

Lament: Christ and the Missionary Position

Lament: Christ and the Missionary Position:   “Nobody dies from a lack of sex. It’s a lack of love we die from.”  -Anonymous  The body of Christ, the church, whose mission is t...

Christ and the Missionary Position

 “Nobody dies from a lack of sex. It’s a lack of love we die from.” -Anonymous 

The body of Christ, the church, whose mission is to be an agent of healing in the world, is in need of its own healing—sexual healing.

While sexuality is one of the hottest topics in our society, whether it’s concerning too much sex on television, if sex education should exist within the classroom, or the genetic engineering to pre-determine the gender or sex of an unborn child; it seems that it rarely comes up in the church. The only exception, quite often is when it is aimed at demonizing homosexuals during the quarterly gay bashing sermon. Then we spend an inordinate amount of time talking about the “sin” of sex and sexuality rather than talking about the importance of the body of Christ liberating itself and others to a deeper understanding of the intersection of spirituality and sexuality. This synergy brings strength to developing responsible and healthy sexual relationships and practices with one another.

During the Last Supper, Christ says to his disciples, “This is my body…” Perhaps this was one of Christ’s ways of opening up conversations with us about our own bodies. By pointing to his body, he infers that we can pay attention to our bodies; our eating, drinking, urinating, defecating, sexual, sensual, erotic and messy bodies. When we own and embrace our bodies, in all of its beauty and fullness—including the sexual, pleasurable, and sensual—our bodies become precious receptacles for God’s revelation and healing.

Some have suggested that we in the church are “erotic-phobic”. As people of faith we are fearful of eros, (the human yearning for sexual love and desire) with its sensual and sexual aspects. Yet, the Bible contains a book, the Song of Songs/Solomon that is visually vivid in its descriptions of the human form and how spiritually sensual the acknowledgement of the body can be.

Pope John Paul II even speaks of the way in which the lovers in the Song provide a true and liberating vision of the love that results when men and women allow the divine fire of agape to penetrate and permeate eros. Of course I believe, and have personally experienced, that God also allows that same desire to be experienced, not only amongst heterosexuals, but also same sex-couples. Love is not exclusive to heterosexuals, despite what we may have been taught which privileges heterosexuals and it oppresses homosexuals.

Eroticism, at its best, is where we learn that pleasure, whether hetero or homo, can be holy. The burden of responsible humanity is to acknowledge that while sex is good, it is not God. Erotic expression is personal and interpersonal, but not a private affair because our bodies do not belong to us, but rather we are stewards of our erotic power, gifted to us by the Creator.

In their new and controversial book, Real Marriage: The Truth about Sex, Friendship, and Life Together Mark and Grace Driscoll openly share how they have struggled in their marriage and how they have found healing through the only reliable source: The Bible.

While there are many that feel the book is yet another example of how a man, who was not having enough sex, uses the Bible (and the Songs of Songs) to influence his wife into changing her attitudes and behaviors, to meet his needs; it does openly address the role of sensuality and sexual expression between a married man and woman who claim Christianity and are committed to each other in both bond and spirit.

I reject, however, their definition and assertion that those two people have to be both a man and a woman and married. Good grief, can’t we all enjoy the love that God grants us through the body?  It is the mandate of the church to make love! When was the last time you made love in your church or at the very least learned how to?

Maybe more churches need to sing out of the Erotic Theologian, Marvin Gaye’s song book and recognize that Sexual Healing is something that’s good for... all those in body of Christ.

Lament: How Gay can become the new Black

Lament: How Gay can become the new Black: "When black church leaders fail to recognize the everyday, ordinary existence of African American gays and lesbians in the church and t...

How Gay can become the new Black

 "When black church leaders fail to recognize the everyday, ordinary existence of African American gays and lesbians in the church and the community, at work and play, in family life and in the pews, they vitiate the forms of generative care and creativity that same-sex loving members cultivate in the black cultural life and in the black church.” -Victor Anderson

Maryland has become the 8^thstate in the U.S. to legalize gay marriage. Marriage equality is clearly moving forward in civil society. Is the Black Church going to move forward as well? There are signs, as Vanderbilt Ethicist Victor Anderson observes, that it may not.


If the Black Church continues to actively oppose marriage equality, can it continue to claim “All are welcome in God’s house” as church banners often proclaim. These banners are deceptive, because there is “fine print” that’s not even written on the banner, but part of the practice. The hidden print reads, “welcome includes adulterer, ex-convict, drug user/abuser, prostitute, thief, murderer, and all other children of God EXCEPT for gays and lesbians!”


Who could imagine that when the Apostle Paul, in Romans, asks the question, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ,” it could be the Church, and certainly the Black Church, given the history of our own oppression in this country, to be the institution separating some from the love of Christ. But that is often the state of things today.


In the Black Church it seems that one can be almost anything and accepted, as long as you are not an avowed homosexual. In 2006, after serving a Baptist congregation for more than 15-years, I resigned and came out. After I spoke truth to the congregation, a well-respected deacon approached me and said, “Pastor, I always knew you were gay, but I am mad as hell you told us!” Gay pastor seeks wholeness Since that time I was completely cut-off from that congregation.


I acknowledge that the Black church is not a monolithic institution and there are several Black Churches who are working hard to address oppression as it relates to its LGBT population. But a majority of African American church leaders are not willing to extend the liberties of civil rights to their LGBT congregants. Those same brothers and sisters that faithfully come to church, support it with their tithes and offering each week, serve the congregation’s committees and ministries, sing in choirs, teach Sunday school and sit attentively in the pews like others seeking the face of God for themselves.


The Black Church gets in its own way! The very cycle of naming and blaming marginalized people for causing their own misfortunes, discrimination and sense of worthlessness are the same tactics used to justify the mistreatment and institutionalized racism against Black people not so long ago in the United States. The saddest fact of all is that in both cases, the Bible has been the chief weapon used to justify why it is okay to believe that All humankind are NOT created equally and therefore should be limited in their access to fair treatment and respect, both in and outside of the church!

Led by the example of Jesus, the Black Church is called to be a witness and an offering to people of all backgrounds, which must include people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. This is how gay can become the new Black. There can be no real freedom until we are all free.  In order to offer empowerment and wholeness to all the people we serve, the Black Church must understand its position toward sexuality and homosexuality in terms of the ministry of Jesus, who’s Holy Spirit offers us freedom from the social boundaries and stereotypes that limit our experience as human beings.


When we decide that we are committed to the struggle for the freedom and rights of all persons in community, then we will better understand the double oppression of African American gays and lesbians in a racist and heterosexist culture.  By denying and/or condemning the issue of homosexuality in the Black Church, we are failing to minister to a significant portion of our people.


While the spotlight in Maryland may well be on the Black Church, and as Black America stands at the precipice, given the ills that plague our community, may we add to the litany of our concerns our prophetic claims as the Black Church and community for the next generation of LGBT people that are growing among us?