Al Sharpton Bashes Black Churches for Homophobia

Last week The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the keynote at the Human Rights Ecumenical Service at Atlanta’s Tabernacle Baptist Church and called out the Mormon Church and other conservative faiths for mobilizing to support Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage in California while refusing to be as involved in any other social concerns.

In his speech, Sharpton told a packed audience…

It amazes me when I looked at California and saw churches that had nothing to say about police brutality, nothing to say when a young black boy was shot while he was wearing police handcuffs, nothing to say when the they overturned affirmative action, nothing to say when people were being delegated into poverty, yet they were organizing and mobilizing to stop consenting adults from choosing their life partners… There is something immoral and sick about using all of that power to not end brutality and poverty, but to break into people’s bedrooms and claim that God sent you,”

Image via WikipediaSharpton said he was “tired of seeing ministers who will preach homophobia by day, and then after they’re preaching, when the lights are off they go cruising for trade.”

Sharpton then continued taking Black Mega-Churches to task for their support of Proposition 8 while remaining silent on issues like homelessness and poverty.

We know you’re not preaching the Bible, because if you were preaching the Bible we would have heard from you… We would have heard from you when people were starving in California, when they deregulated the economy and crashed Wall Street you had nothing to say. When Madoff made off with the money, you had nothing to say. When Bush took us to war chasing weapons of mass destruction that weren’t there you had nothing to say. … But all of a sudden when Proposition 8 came out you had so much to say, but since you stepped in the rain, we gonna step in the rain with you.”

Sharpton was in Atlanta to celebrate the launch of the Alliance of Affirming Faith-Based Organizations. This service for human rights will be held annually at a different church in Atlanta each year and Sharpton has agreed to serve as the national spokesman of the organization and help to recruit new members.

Founded by Rev. Dennis Meredith, who recently came out as bisexual, the Alliance includes; Dr. Kenneth Samuel, pastor of Victory for the World Church; Rev. Paul Graetz of First Metropolitan Community Church; Rev. Geoffrey Hoare of All Saints Episcopal Church; and Rabbi Joshua Lesser of Congregation Bet Haverim.

http://marriageequalitynow.com/2009/01/13/sharpton-churches-lets-move-on/