"There are of black people who are gay, members of families, pastors of churches, who serve in the military – they're everywhere. "The point is not whether is gay or not or he denies or admits it, but this is really about how people feel that black people should be represented in public, and that is about being heterosexual," says Melinda Chateauvert, an African-American studies professor at the University of Maryland, in College Park. Some in the African-American community worry that the allegations will deepen mistrust of homosexuals, especially because of the age of the alleged victims (although no criminal charges have been filed). How black evangelicals will respond to the allegations against Long is difficult to tell. Jones said, tend to accept gay members and "really make an effort to try to understand them and the love stays there." Longtime black gay activist Billy Jones, in an interview last year with the online magazine Blacklight, said many blacks see the gay movement "as a means of destroying the black family" and see gay black men as "unmanly, weak."īut many blacks take a different view when faced with a family member who comes out as gay.
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In 20, Chicago saw a number of shootings and even killings aimed at gay black men, including a choir director who was shot shortly after coming out in a TV interview. Homophobia in the broader black community – which some say is fed by the black church, as well as by prevailing views on masculinity and family – has in the past spilled into violence. but it will also spark a renewed dialogue," says Shayne Lee, a Tulane University sociologist and author of "Holy Mavericks: Evangelical Innovators and the Spiritual Marketplace." "The fact is, Eddie Long is one of the most respected black Christians in the country, he's very popular and very influential, and that's why this is going to get a lot of people talking about the issue of sexuality. The nature of the complaints in two civil lawsuits and the involvement of one of the black church's most popular leaders have shocked the black community, especially in Atlanta, where Long made his name and fortune.īut because Long through his ministry helped perpetuate homophobia, his critics say, the case could affect his career, challenge the antihomosexual stance of many black church members, and even offer hope to black gay men who struggle for acceptance and a role in black society. One of his books is "Gladiator, the Strength of a Man."
He has called himself the "spiritual daddy" to young black men in search of salvation. Long faces civil charges, which he has denied, that he took sexual advantage of two teenage boys from his flock.īishop Long is one of the most visible members of a group of high-powered black evangelicals, often sporting muscle-cut shirts that show off his thick arms.
In 2004, Eddie Long, one of the richest and most powerful pastors in the black megachurch movement, led a march in Atlanta against homosexuality.
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