CDC: Half of Gay Black Men Will Get HIV; Where Are the Black Churches?

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One of the subjects of my frequent venting episodes is the crisis going on in the black community with HIV infection and the fact that - at least in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia - the black churches and pastors are an obstacle to remedying the tragic situation.  Now, a recently released study by the Center for Disease Control ("CDC") that helps to quantify just how bad the crisis is in fact. As the image above shows, black men who have sex with other men have a 1 in 2 chance of contracting HIV/AIDS.    White gay men in contrast have a 1 in 11 chance of contracting HIV/AIDS.  But the problem is not limited to black men.  The same study found that black women have a 1 in 48 chance of contracting HIV/AIDS while among white women, the chance is 1 in 880.  Why the huge disparity?  In my view, it is simple.  The black community overall - and black churches and pastors in particular - remains extremely homophobic.  The result is men "on the down low" who secretly have sex with other men, often without engaging in safe sex practices, and those who should be tested failing to do so because of their fear of being discovered and the stigma that attaches in that community.  The other find?  That the risk of HIV/AIDS contraction is highest in the Bible Belt states.   Here are some study summary highlights:

A CDC study released in February 2016 provides the first-ever comprehensive national estimates of the lifetime risk of an HIV diagnosis for several key populations at risk and in every state. Overall, the likelihood that an American will be diagnosed with HIV at any point during his or her life is now 1 in 99, an improvement from a previous study using 2004-2005 data that reported lifetime risk at 1 in 78. Despite overall progress, this study reveals stark disparities by race, risk group and geography.

By Race/Ethnicity, African Americans Are at Greatest Risk: While studies have shown that African Americans do not engage in riskier sexual behavior compared to Americans of other races/ethnicities, African American men overall are almost 7 times more likely than white men to be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetimes. The disparity among women is even greater: 1 in 48 African American women will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetimes, compared with 1 in 227 Hispanic women and 1 in 880 white women. Reasons for this higher lifetime risk include higher prevalence within the community, which poses an increased risk of infection with each sexual encounter; lack of access to healthcare; poverty; and stigma.

Lifetime Risk Is Higher for People in the Southern United States: People living in the South are more likely to be diagnosed with HIV over the course of their life than people in other parts of the country. States where risk is greatest include Maryland (1 in 49), Georgia (1 in 51), Florida (1 in 54), and Louisiana (1 in 56).

Bigotry and the embrace of religious based ignorance imposes a real harm on the lives of American citizens.  Sadly, the far right Christofascists care little or nothing about black citizens and, as some recent posts have indicated, many of them are racists who long for the days of Segregation and the Jim Crow laws. 

Documentary Examines Exploitation of the Black Church By Anti-Gay Marriage Forces

I have often voiced my frustration with black pastors who allow themselves to be manipulated by white Christofascists who hate blacks almost as much as they hate gays.  It drives me crazy that these self styled leaders of the black community seemingly know no history and are too stupid to realize that the same folks who opposed desegregation are using them to further discrimination.  As the Christian Post reports, a new PBS documentary looks at the phenomenon.  Here are highlights:

A documentary being broadcast by PBS titled, "The New Black," examines how the Christian right capitalizes on "homophobia in the black community's institutional pillar — the black church" in order to "pursue an anti-gay political agenda."

At the forefront of the conservative pushback against legalizing gay marriage in the state was the Maryland Family Alliance and the Maryland Family Council, both tied to the local congregation, Hope Christian Church led by Senior Pastor Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr. Jackson was a frequent conservative voice in public discussions about the marriage movement in his state.

Partial funding for the Maryland Marriage Alliance came from the National Organization for Marriage, whose "National Strategy for Winning the Marriage Battle" was revealed during a 2012 investigation by the State of Maine into the nonprofit's campaign finance activities. NOM states in confidential internal memos, all dated to 2009, that the "strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks — two key Democratic constituencies."

"Find, equip, energize and connect African American spokespeople for marriage, develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots," reads another memo.

Yoruba Richen, the director, producer and writer for "The New Black," has stated that she believes the fight for gay rights is "a fight for the African-American family."

"In the course of production, I realized that the issue of gay rights in the black community is in many ways a fight over the African-American family, which has been a contested space since the time of slavery," she states on the documentary's website.

"So marriage is not just about marriage for black people – it's also about how blacks have become accepted as legitimate participants in American society. The gay marriage question has forced a conversation in the black community, which is taking place in our churches, our houses, our neighborhoods and the ballot box."

Also making an appearance in "The New Black" is Anthony Charles Williams II (stage name B.Slade, formerly Tonex), an award-winning gospel recording artist who surprised many when he publicly came out as gay in 2009.

Changing Religious Denominational Attitudes on Gay Marriage

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A new Pew Research Center survey confirms what most of us already knew: White evangelical denominations and black churches - often lead by black pastors in my opinion duped into doing the bidding of white racist in "family values" organizations like The Family Foundation here in Virginia - continue to be the main founts of anti-gay bigotry and opposition to same sex marriage.  In these two groups, the embrace of ignorance and modern day Pharisee like selective application of Biblical inerrancy remain the norm.  Among the non-affiliated, support for gay marriage is at 74%.  The Catholic laity and mainline denominations are at well over 50% in support as shown in the chart above.  Here are highlights from Pew:

Among people who are religiously unaffiliated, a solid majority have supported same-sex marriage since 2001... and among Catholics and white mainline Protestants, roughly half now express support for same-sex marriage.  Support among white evangelical and black Protestants remains lower than among other groups.

CNN's Don Lemon First Interview; A Message To Bilerico

I wrote about CNN anchor Don Lemon this morning and his decision to come out in his new book. Today, Lemon did his first interview since the story broke in the New York Times and I've inserted a video clip below of the interview. I have great respect for Lemon and applaud his courage. I do believe that he's correct when he says if more people came out publicly - especially those in role model/celebrity positions - that there would be fewer needless gay teen suicides. I wish Lemon the best as he continues his journey.

As an interesting aside, Don Lemon is a friend of The Bilerico Project for which I am a a regular contributor. Bil Browning, editor of Bilerico, posted a message that Lemon sent to those of us at Bilerico. Here's the message:
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"Today I chose to step out on faith and begin openly living my own truth. And let me say right up front that I hope many of you will be inspired to do the same thing in your daily lives. Some of the things I've chosen to reveal in my book Transparent were very difficult to share with even those closest to me.
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There was a time when I was terrified of revealing these things to the person I love most in this world - my own mother. But when I finally mustered the courage to tell her that I had been molested as a child and that I was born gay, my life began to change in positive ways that I never imagined possible. Yet I still chose to keep those secrets hidden from the world. I, like most gay people, lived a life of fear. Fear that if some employers, co-workers, friends, neighbors and family members learned of my sexuality, I would be shunned, mocked and ostracized. It is a burden that millions of people carry with them every single day. And sadly, while the mockery and ostracizing are realized by millions of people every day, I truly believe it doesn't have to happen and that's why I feel compelled to share what I've written in Transparent.
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As a journalist I believe that part of my mission is to shed light onto dark places. So, the disclosure of this information does not inhibit in any way my ability to be the professional, fair and objective journalist I have always been.
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My book is dedicated to the memory of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi, who jumped to his death from a bridge after his dorm mates streamed his private business over the Internet for the world to see. Tyler might still be with us today if more gay men and women had chosen to live proudly and openly. It is also dedicated to the millions of young, gay people who believe they are alone when dealing with their own sexual identities. You are not alone! There are people, like me and many others, who are thriving in their personal and professional lives and although we sometimes have a hard time with it ourselves, we are here to show you by example that you too can overcome any obstacle as long as you stay strong and, most of all, stay alive."
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With love and honesty,
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Don Lemon
May 16, 2011

A Suicide More Complex Than a Slogan

The New York Times has a piece that looks at the suicide of 26 year old Joseph Jefferson (pictured at right) in New York City last month. While there doesn't appear to have been any anti-gay bullying involved, it does seem that Jefferson - like so many of us - suffered emotional/psychological as a result of living in a far too homophobic society. Being black and coming from a black church experience that is often more homophobic than other faith traditions may not have helped matters either. Like many suicides, we will likely never know Jefferson's final thoughts. However, based on my own experience and suicide attempts, I suspect he just felt overwhelmed and too tired to keep swimming against the anti-gay societal current. I use that analogy because at times I have felt that I am struggling against the current and that it would be easier to simply give up the struggle and allow myself to be swept over the waterfall if you will.

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The sad truth is that in this nation (and many others) being LGBT means that one has to deal with a whole additional ration of crap over and above what others must deal with. And too often, those of us brought up in toxic anti-gay religious denominations have a hard time ever fully escaping from the horrific brainwashing of our youth. The years of inculcated self-hate remains a latent poison beneath the surface just waiting for a trigger. Most of us can beat back the internalized homophobia, but sadly, not all us can do so successfully. Meanwhile, the modern day Pharisees of the professional Christian set continue to push their money making anti-gay agenda , never giving a damn as to the lives being damaged and destroyed as they pay themselves nicely on the equivalent of blood money. Yes, Maggie Gallagher and Tony Perkins, I mean you, among others. Here are highlights from the Times article:
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In one of the last updates he posted on his Facebook page, Joseph Jefferson sounded like yet another young gay person succumbing to overwhelming social rejection, if not outright bullying.
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“I could not bear the burden of living as a gay man of color in a world grown cold and hateful towards those of us who live and love differently than the so-called mainstream,” wrote Mr. Jefferson, 26, who killed himself last month.
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Experts say that two main risk factors for suicide are depression and a prior suicide attempt, both of which were in Mr. Jefferson’s past, although few of his friends or family knew of that earlier close call. (In 2008, he attempted an overdose with pills, according to Michael Roberson, a gay activist who considered Mr. Jefferson his godson.) Mr. Jefferson was especially prone to bouts of depression in the fall, the time of year when his mother had unexpectedly died in 2001, a loss from which he never fully recovered, according to friends.
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Mr. Roberson said that for any gay black man, homophobia is “never not part of the conversation.” “The message that we get from the black church is that we are an abomination,” Mr. Roberson said. “I know he felt that.” And that message, he believed, made Mr. Jefferson more vulnerable to a feeling of worthlessness.
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Why, exactly, did Mr. Jefferson decide to end his life? What was at the bottom of his sense of despair? What services might have reached him? In death, as in life, he was complicated, and he left no clear answers.

Is Homophobia a Factor in HIV Racial Gap?

I serve on the local Ryan White committee and the brother of one of best friends in college heads up the HIV/AIDS program at Eastern Virginia Medical School and, based on all I have seen and heard, the answer to the question posed in this post is a loud YES! In this area, other than the Kool-Aid drinkers at Pat Robertson's coven of crazies at Regent University and CBN, no one is more loudly anti-gay and homophobic than the local black ministers. The pontificate against every pro-gay piece of legislation proposed and worked overtime for their white masters at The Family Foundation to pass Virginia's vile Marshall-Newman amendment which wrote religious based discrimination into the state's constitution. The same cynical manipulation by racists occurred in the Prop 8 battle in California. The result? As is the case nationally, HIV/AIDS is an epidemic in the local black community - for BOTH men and women - and for the most part the black churches do nothing except rant against gays. These "men of God" are killing their own people and time and time again allowing themselves to be manipulated by the descendants of the segregationist of the past. It drives me crazy! Here are highlights on the problem from MSNBC:
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Among gay men in the United States, blacks are more likely than whites to believe that homosexuality is "wrong" - and these feelings might be contributing to the black men's higher risk of HIV infection, researchers suggest.
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According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2006 African-Americans accounted for nearly half (45%) of new infections in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Also, according to recent estimates, they account for a disproportionate 24 percent of reported HIV cases among gay and bisexual men in the U.S. The reasons are not clear. Studies have not found a higher rate of risky sexual behavior among black men versus white men -- but a range of factors are likely at work.
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Using data from a U.S. health survey conducted periodically since 1972, the researchers found that, in general, African-Americans were more likely than whites to report a negative attitude toward homosexuality. In 2008, 72 percent of black adults said that homosexuality was "always wrong" -- a rate that had changed little since the 1970s. Among whites, 52 percent expressed that view in 2008, which was down from 71 percent in 1973.
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A similar pattern was seen among men who reported having sex with other men. Of these men, 57 percent of African Americans said they believed homosexuality was always wrong, versus 27 percent of whites. When the researchers looked at the men's reported rates of HIV testing, they found that those who regarded homosexuality as wrong were less likely to have ever been tested: 36 percent, versus 73 percent of those with a more favorable view of homosexuality.
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This pattern . . . does raise that possibility, they say. For one thing, men who know they're infected with HIV are likely to change their behavior to avoid infecting others. Also, they're likely to seek treatment. According to the researchers, other studies have shown that black men who have sex with men tend to prefer other black partners - who would inevitably bear the brunt of any reluctance to go for HIV testing.
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Roque did agree that homophobia, in general, may be a factor in HIV transmission among gay and bisexual men. Men may be less likely to take care of their health, he told Reuters Health, "if they are hearing that they don't matter, or if they don't feel good about themselves." One issue, according to Roque, is the lack of positive media representations of gay and bisexual men of color.
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Even if the researchers' suspicions are confirmed, homophobia is certainly not the only factor to blame for the particularly severe burden of HIV in American blacks. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its web site that it is presently "conducting research to better understand and plan interventions to address the social, community, financial, and structural factors that place many African Americans at risk (for HIV) and hinder access to prevention and care."
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Once again, we see religion as a force for evil. One has to wonder if and when the black churches will wake up to the damage they are doing.

Sexual Abuse - A Question of Power, Not Sex?

There has been all kinds of analysis of the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal. A timely article in LA Progressive looks at another aspect of sex abuse often left out of the equation: that it's often a question of exerting power and control over the victim, with the sex portion being secondary. The old saying goes that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Both in the Catholic Church context and that of Bishop Eddie Long as discussed in the article, the predators are "men of God" given a near absolute power over their religious flock. Thus the question is, was it about sex or using sex as an abasement and means of control over the victims? If the allegations against Long are proven true, then I suspect that he is a closet case and that it was about power AND sex. However, it was his position and misplaced deference to "men of God" that gave him the power to be a sexual predator in the first place. Ditto in respect to Catholic priests. The article is written by Thomas A. Foster, who teaches history at DePaul University, and who is the author of “Sex and the Eighteenth-Century Man: Massachusetts and the History of Sexuality in America.” Here are some article highlights:
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[T]he conversations about homophobia in the black church or about Bishop Long’s hypocrisy confuse the issue at hand. This is not the story of a closeted gay man who simply needed sexual release. As scholars for generations have shown, sexual abuse – in all its forms – is about power, not sex. And this is true regardless of race. There is a long history, as well as current practice, of black men being sexually abused. Yet the issue is virtually ignored in the news media and in most histories.
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Occasionally, the sexual assault of a black man does become news. In 1997 when Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant living in Brooklyn, was sodomized with a broken broom handle by police officers, the nation paused in horror but then moved on, ignoring or even finding humor in the occurrences of sexual assault that occur daily behind bars. The sexual assault of incarcerated men, disproportionately African American, is more often a source of jokes than a mainstream concern about brutality and violation of human rights. And, sadly, it is more likely to be mentioned on a sitcom than on the nightly news.
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The abuse of black men, of course, did not end with slavery. Perhaps the Bishop Long scandal will create an opportunity for more young black men to tell their own stories as victims of childhood sexual abuse ‹ something rarely discussed in mainstream media and too often swept under the rug by the black community.

I applaud calls for reducing homophobia in America, whether in the black church or in American society at large. Sadly, homophobia is still rampant in our country. We¹ve looked the other way while our children are tormented for exhibiting behaviors and mannerisms associated with being gay. We have made it difficult for patriotic gays and lesbians to serve in the military. We’ve asked thousands of our citizens to accept less than equality in marriage, in adoption rights, in access to federal protection from housing and employment discrimination.
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The important characters in this sad story are the young men, not Bishop Long. When some commentators looked at the Catholic Church abuse scandals and concluded that if only priests could marry, the abuse would never have happened, they failed to see that sexual abuse was about power not sexual release. Let¹s not repeat the same mistakes with this story.

HIV/AIDS Disproportionately Affects Black Washingtonians

Recent news coverage has indicated that Washington, D.C., is also the HIV/AIDS capital of the USA and a story from The Edge focuses upon the fact that the situation of HIV/AIDS infection among black Washingtonians is more than twice as bad as that of the overall population. Why? In large part because of horrifically homophobic black churches that pressure men to be on the "down low" and continue to pretend that the problem of HIV?AIDS doesn't exist. In the Norfolk area a number of black churches take homophobia beyond even the extremes of Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell. Like in Washington, HIV/AIDS is terrible problem in the black community. The other thing that was striking from the Edge story was that 63% of new infections are NOT among gay men. HIV/AIDS has become a heterosexual disease, yet the Bible beaters continue to flog gays as the problem. As I have said before, religion could be a force for good in the world, but unfortunately seems to do more harm than good mosy of the time. Like the Nazi Pope, too many black ministers make the problem worse through their refusal to accept that being gay is normal for some of us and not a sin. The real sin is the way religious leaders treat their fellow man. Here are some story highlights:

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As public health officials continue to express concern in the wake of a report that found roughly three percent of the District’s residents live with HIV/AIDS, the epidemic continues to exert a disproportionately high toll on black Washingtonians.

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The report, which the District’s HIV/AIDS Administration released last Monday, indicated 6.5 percent of black men in the city live with HIV/AIDS. This statistic compares with 3 percent of Latinos and 2.6 percent of white males. The report further indicated men who have sex with men accounted for 37 percent of all transmissions.

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"If you look at a city and map out all the poor areas, they are usually going to be the same areas with high HIV/AIDS rates," he said. "There’s a reason for that."Jason Bartlett, deputy director of the National Black Justice Coalition, pointed out he feels cultural homophobia is another factor that contributes to higher rates of HIV/AIDS among black gay men and MSM. Activists, HIV/AIDS service providers and even public health officials have been critical of the black church for institutionalized homophobia and what they contend is an inadequate response to the epidemic. Bartlett stressed he feels religious leaders and others have a responsibility to address these concerns.

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"Our churches, our leaders are afraid to say gay, say LGBT," he said. "When you’re afraid to say it, it’s going to affect public policy."The District’s report comes less than four years after the Centers for Disease Control released the findings of a controversial survey that found nearly half of black MSM in Baltimore, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco tested HIV-positive.

Gay Marriage and a Moral Minority

A reader,R. J. referred me to a column in today's New York Times that looks at the the issue of the high percentage of black women who voted for Proposition 8 and the thoughts of the author, Charles Blow on why black women voted as they did. While I personally find it far beyond ironic that blacks, and black women in particular, have been perhaps unknowingly duped into supporting the agenda of white evangelicals and Mormons (blacks have been able to hold the priesthood only since the late 1970's) who historically have supported slavery, segregation, Jim Crow laws, and are against affirmative action that assists blacks, the column is interesting and perhaps gives some insight into the dialogue that needs to happen to open some hearts and minds. Here are some highlights:

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There were far more black women than black men, and a higher percentage of them said that they voted for the measure than the men. How wide was the gap? According to the exit poll, 70 percent of all blacks said that they voted for the proposition. But 75 percent of black women did. There weren’t enough black men in the survey to provide a reliable percentage for them. However, one can mathematically deduce that of the raw number of survey respondents, nearly twice as many black women said that they voted for it than black men.

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Why? Here are my theories: (1) Blacks are much more likely than whites to attend church, according to a Gallup report, and black women are much more likely to attend church than black men. . . . (2) This high rate of church attendance by blacks informs a very conservative moral view. While blacks vote overwhelmingly Democratic, an analysis of three years of national data from Gallup polls reveals that their views on moral issues are virtually indistinguishable from those of Republicans. . . . (3) Marriage can be a sore subject for black women in general. According to 2007 Census Bureau data, black women are the least likely of all women to be married and the most likely to be divorced. Women who can’t find a man to marry might not be thrilled about the idea of men marrying each other.

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Proponents of gay marriage would do well to focus on these women if they want to win black votes. A major reason is that black women vote at a higher rate than black men. . . . But gay marriage advocates need to hone their strategy to reach them. First, comparing the struggles of legalizing interracial marriage with those to legalize gay marriage is a bad idea. Many black women do not seem to be big fans of interracial marriage either. . . . Second, don’t debate the Bible. You can’t win. Religious faith is not defined by logic, it defies it. Instead, decouple the legal right from the religious rite, and emphasize the idea of acceptance without endorsement.

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Then, make it part of a broader discussion about the perils of rigidly applying yesterday’s sexual morality to today’s sexual mores. Show black women that it backfires. The stigma doesn’t erase the behavior, it pushes it into the shadows where, devoid of information and acceptance, it become more risky.

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[P]itch it as a health issue. The more open blacks are to the idea of homosexuality, the more likely black men would be to discuss their sexual orientations and sexual histories. The more open they are, the less likely black women would be to put themselves at risk unwittingly. And, the more open blacks are to homosexuality over all, the more open they are likely to be to gay marriage. This way, everyone wins.

Homophobia in Black Churches Fuels HIV

I have long thought that the homophobia in black churches fuels HIV and causes countless black men to be on the down low. In this area a large number of the black churches - some within a mile or so from my office, in fact - are the most vocal of any in denoucing gays and are routinely cynically manipulated to to do the bidding of the Virginia GOP and the white Christianists, most of whom are the descendants of those who supported segregation, opposed inter-racial marriage and still are racially bigoted. Why black pastors cannot figure this out is a bit baffling to me. In this area, HIV infection is the highest among blacks as a percentage of the population - in both men and women - yet all too often one hears nothing but hate filled language from pastors that guarantees that many gay blacks will be on the down low. Now, PageOne Q has an article (http://pageoneq.com/news/2008/bishopjohnselders.html) wherein a black Christian says what I have been thinking for a long time. Here are some highlights:

Even more than this vital educational work, however, now is the time for those of us in the Black church to also start having the difficult conversations about the inconsistencies we've witnessed in our churches. For more than two decades, I've found myself in the midst of a continual stream of conversations both private and public regarding sex, sexuality, sexual orientation and the Black church. What all the conversations have taught me (all the weeping with families who lost someone to the disease, all the counseling with those living with an HIV diagnosis) is that we must start preaching a different message. We have to start talking honestly about the gift of our love and our sexuality.

[I]n the multiple ways we perpetuate the "down low." We do this most obviously when we deny our attraction to people of the same sex. We also perpetuate the down low when we turn a blind and hostile eye to our friends, neighbors, family members and ministers who are looking for a place where they can be honest about who they are. We perpetuate the down low yet again when our pastors and church leaders start HIV/AIDS ministries as community outreach services in our churches while simultaneously abusing our same gender loving brothers and sisters in the pews.

The most prevalent way that HIV/AIDS spreads is through secrecy and shame. If all religious people in particular stopped being agents of the closet and started being agents of healing and honesty, we could stop the down low and could make a mighty dent in the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Rift Over Gay Unions Reflects Battle New to Black Churches

This article in the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/18/AR2007081801167.html?hpid=sec-religion) brings up an issue that I have commented on before: black churches are focusing efforts and resources on fighting gay marriage that would be better directed to the many needs of the larger black community. (The same can be said about majority white denominations that likewise should be focussing their attention on more serious issues) Worse yet, black ministers are being cynically manipulated by anti-black, anti-gay, anti-minority, anti-immigrant white Christianists to push the Christianists anti-gay agenda. These highlights show the battle between the Christianist view point and a Gospel of love (the pastors of Covent Baptist Church are pictured at left):

Never in a "million years" did Robert Renix think he would find a Baptist church that would accept someone like him: a black Baptist gay man. Never mind one that would allow what happened one Saturday last month, when a tuxedo-clad Renix stood in front of the pulpit at Covenant Baptist Church in Anacostia, exchanging vows with his partner, Antonio Long. It didn't turn out to be that simple, though.

Most major historically black denominations have taken strong stances against homosexuality. The National Baptist Convention USA Inc., the nation's largest predominantly black denomination, and the African Methodist Episcopal Church forbid clergy from officiating at ceremonies for same-sex couples, and Pentecostal denominations such as the Church of God in Christ consider homosexuality a sin. The Progressive National Baptist Convention, of which Covenant Baptist is a member, has not taken a stand on homosexuality or same-sex unions.

"We, as African Americans, should be the last people in the world, based on our history, to turn around and oppress others," said Dennis Wiley, who took over as Covenant's pastor from his father, the Rev. H. Wesley Wiley, 22 years ago.

But embracing gays can come at a cost. Victory Church, a black megachurch near Atlanta, lost 2,500 members -- half of its congregation -- after its pastor, the Rev. Kenneth L. Samuel, started preaching acceptance of gays several years ago. "I did not know that my theological view would be so negatively reacted to," Samuel said. Even now, he said, "we are ostracized and criticized throughout the city by pastors and religious people of all types, certainly within the black community."