The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend: "a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."
He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior."
(CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)
Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:
"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians."
(from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).
"Pam is a 'twisted lesbian sister' and an 'embittered lesbian' of the 'self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto.'" -- 9/5/2008
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:
A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist." (Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)
"A nutty lesbian blogger." (MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)
Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.
--Impeach Bush
who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.
Reading Alvin's earlier diary ("From 'outside agitators' to 'wealthy gay activists' - Some of us black folks haven't learned a thing" bumped back up below this post), it's good to remind people that there are black folks who DO get it. Rev. Walter Fauntroy may have been director of the DC bureau of Dr. King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference, but that clearly didn't enlighten him to the fact that civil rights are human rights. He has hopped into bed with charlatan Bishop Harry Jackson.
However many others who were part of the black civil rights struggle, like Congressman John Lewis, who will keynote at Equality Alabama's conference later this month, have our backs.
As an activist who has faced jail for his convictions, as a veteran of more than 20 years service in the Georgia General Assembly, a university professor and a writer, he has been on the cutting edge of social change since 1960.
He was a founder, in 1960 while a student at Morehouse College, of the Atlanta student sit-in and anti-segregation organization and of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). As SNCC's Communications Director, Bond was active in protests and registration campaigns throughout the South.
The chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is well-known as a strong supporter of LGBT equality. He has made it clear to audiences not comfortable with the idea of "civil rights" being used in the context of LGBT rights that there isn't ownership of the term. The man has paid the price on the front lines of the movement to achieve rights under the law for all people.
***
I recently received an email from Julian Bond about the issue of the NAACP and the struggle to move rank and file to support civil equality for the LGBT community, as its national board has. I must confess, however, that when I saw his email in my inbox, I nearly fell out of my chair in awe and paused before opening it.
When I replied I told him about how some of my writing about the intersection of race and LGBT rights has spurred both productive conversation and derision. Getting people in the door at first can be easy; getting black LGBTs to return and advocate publicly for their own rights is another. Salon and Huffington Post have been challenging venues where painfully angry comments by religious black readers cannot fathom that Bond or NAACP CEO Ben Jealous would actually support equality. One delusional commenter cast aside that support by saying they "sold out" to the Homosexual Agenda (are we now paying off people to support us?). When someone stoops that low, I can laugh, but seriously, there are people so intimidated that they want to hold on to this homophobia for dear life in ways I simply cannot understand. But I replied to Mr. Bond and said that will not deter me and others who feel the same way from continuing to start conversations that may be uncomfortable, but sorely needed -- after all, the weight we bear is a feather compared to the weight those on the front lines of civil rights struggles have suffered under over the years. As he so eloquently said to me:
I do not believe the battle for LGBT rights will ever be won until we can diminish the homophobia in black communities and until more in the black LGBT community join the battle openly.
(It is awfully easy for a straight man to say "come out" - I can only imagine the scorn and derision that would follow some who did so.)
I've often wondered what would be the result of black LGBT church goers standing up in the churches they attend and saying "I'm gay - you know me - I'm like you. I am what God made me. Why do you treat me so badly?"
(It is equally easy for a non-church goer like me to say that.)
If not a church goer, I am an optimist - and I believe the day when equality for all reigns will soon come.
He also sent me his 2008 address on equality and LGBT rights to republish on the Blend. It's worth the read. I also have some video from it, taken during the NGLTF's Creating Change Conference. It's also after the jump.
The President delivered a very good speech this evening at centennial conference of the NAACP.
Considering the NAACP event featured a 96-page program full of essential sessions on the promises and challenges facing the black community in America today failed to include anything regarding the inequality black LGBTs face within and outside the community, the President included a message about this that this audience needed to hear.
His full speech is below the fold, but I wanted to pull out this section of interest; it's the Barack Obama we saw during the campaign who dared to challenge the conservative, portion of the religious black community that has been fostering discrimination in the pews, and clearly whose pressure was felt by NAACP head Ben Jealous, an ally, when he chose in his capacity as the organization's national voice to not take any position on marriage equality.
Below is the portion of President Obama's speech. This excerpt is at 9:30 min/sec into this video.
But make no mistake: the pain of discrimination is still felt in America. By African-American women paid less for doing the same work as colleagues of a different color and gender. By Latinos made to feel unwelcome in their own country. By Muslim Americans viewed with suspicion for simply kneeling down to pray. By our gay brothers and sisters, still taunted, still attacked, still denied their rights.
On the 45th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, discrimination must not stand. Not on account of color or gender; how you worship or who you love. Prejudice has no place in the United States of America.
We can only infer that his lack of inclusion of transgender in the "brothers and sisters" remark is not meant as an oversight, but the frequently used inaccurate generalization by the public that "gay" is an inclusive term; seriously, they need to work on that).
But overall, this speech is so powerful because it addresses the breadth of discrimination that has been seen in this country. All of the injustices have one thing in common -- oppression and bigotry are wrong in any context, toward any group of people.
As we know, the President is capable of delivering inspiring speeches of promise; we also know that turning those promises into policy and reality is another thing altogether. It's hard work, and we must continue to lean into the wind, the political wind that tries to wear us down, push us over and change in mid-direction to keep us off stride and take our eyes off of the prize of equality.
We will hold him to those bright, shining promises.
But make no mistake: the pain of discrimination is still felt in America. By African-American women paid less for doing the same work as colleagues of a different color and gender. By Latinos made to feel unwelcome in their own country. By Muslim Americans viewed with suspicion for simply kneeling down to pray. By our gay brothers and sisters, still taunted, still attacked, still denied their rights.
On the 45th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, discrimination must not stand. Not on account of color or gender; how you worship or who you love. Prejudice has no place in the United States of America.
The NAACP is celebrating its 100th year as the nation's oldest, largest and most widely recognized civil rights organization, and it was expected that some LGBT-related issues would be addressed, specifically marriage equality and HIV/AIDS prevention, would come up during its national conference (July 11-16) and in discussions with the MSM as the org marks its centennial in New York.
Looking over the 96-page program, there is no session specifically addressing the issue of LGBT rights, though Barney Frank shows up for a session on "Advancing Big Dreams, Securing Bold Victories: Advocating the NAACP's Federal Legislative and National Public Policy Agenda to Congress." There is also a panel today on "The Great Silence: The Impact of HIV/AIDS on African American Women," clearly providing an opening to discuss homosexuality, bisexuality, and denial and lack of safer sex practices in the community that has caused infections to skyrocket. One can only hope that some honest discussion will take place. BTW, one of the artists to serenade the conventioneers during the Gospel extravaganza is the evangelical, anti-gay recording duo Mary Mary (more on them here). President Obama will speak to the group on Thursday.
Often seen as irrelevant by the younger generation of black activists, the NAACP selected Benjamin Todd Jealous to serve as its 17th president and CEO, the youngest person to hold the position in the organization.
Ben Jealous has has a strong background on social justice issues; his efforts have been forward-thinking in many respects, including outreach to the blogosphere. I met Mr. Jealous last year as he was starting on the job at the NAACP, and I asked him specifically about the organization and its public stance on marriage and LGBT rights. At the time he was quite firm in saying that there is strong support for marriage equality in some individual chapters (they are autonomous) and in leadership in the NAACP(board member Julian Bond is also a strong ally as well).
But it's clear, based on this interview with T.J. Holmes of CNN the other day, that he's getting the message loud and clear from membership that this it's a third rail issue they don't want to touch. Jealous says now that "We don't take a position on that nationally." (CNN, the full transcript is below the fold), here is a snippet.
HOLMES: What do you think when you hear people - I know you heard this comparison, heard out in California plenty of times, where people would compare the gay-marriage debate and struggle with the civil-rights struggle?
What do you think when you hear that? Is that a fair comparison?
JEALOUS: When people say, you know, this is - this is deeply personal for me. I have a young man who I grew up with, the only two black boys our age in the town where we were born. Our moms were best friends. We became blood brothers when were 4. I call him my brother; he calls me his brother. He's transgender; he's gay.
I've seen the homophobia he's been subjected to in the black community. I've seen the racism that he's been subjected to in the gay community. And I know that one of those identities he can - he can and has hid when he's had to. And nobody should have to hide their identity, nobody.
But when people say gay-straight, black-white, same struggle, same fight. Not exactly. Not exactly.
At the same time - now, the - you know, I have been personally very supportive and encouraging of people who are fighting the battle for gay marriage.
Huh? How is marriage itself not a social justice issue? It's clearly an issue in the black community, given how many out-of-wedlock babies are being born into poverty-stricken situations to single mothers without a father present? Would it not behoove the NAACP national to support marriage equality so that more children can be raised and supported in any loving two-parent homes, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity? There are ways to frame this in better terms for the community without rendering black LGBTs in particular, invisible yet again.
I am glad Ben Jealous spoke out in personal, human terms (though he's clearly not down with terminology; it's unclear if his friend is transgender and gay, or he's conflating something, and refers to our relationships and status as "lifestyle decisions")
All of this, including the issue of hostility towards LGBTs of color in the white LGBT community which Jealous also raises here, needs to be aired out before the people at that conference. The debate and discussion needs to happen in the context of all the other social justice issues of concern to the black community that affects all of the community, not just straight ones (and the ones pretending in the closet).
Adam Serwer at The American Prospect has an article following up the announcement last week that NAACP national came out against Prop 8, calling for it to be overturned. The gist of this piece is what kind of fallout, if any, will the move have in the black community.
The NAACP has been walking a tightrope on gay rights. Polls show that African Americans overwhelmingly oppose gay marriage, but much of the high-level leadership of the nation's oldest civil-rights organization opposes legal efforts to deny gays the right to marry. Last week, the national office of the NAACP leapt into the fray when it sent a letter to California legislators urging them to support legislation that would repeal Prop. 8. After meeting with the National Black Justice Coalition, a black LGBT-rights group, and the leadership of the California State Conference, NAACP Chairman Julian Bond and NAACP President Ben Jealous agreed to come out publicly in support of repealing Prop. 8.
The move thrusts the NAACP into the middle of a fight that, until now, it has largely avoided, because of the risk of alienating both board-level leadership and rank-and-file members. The California legislature approved a nonbinding resolution yesterday describing Prop. 8 as an improper revision of the state constitution. The resolution contends that Prop. 8 should have passed a two-thirds majority of the legislature before being placed on the ballot. The California Supreme Court is scheduled to hear challenges to Prop. 8 on Thursday.
Jason Bartlett, deputy director of the National Black Justice Coalition, was excited by the NAACP's move: "It's the boldest thing I've seen in some time, definitely the boldest thing that they've done on gay rights. ... It's historic." Bartlett argues that the NAACP intervening on behalf of gay rights will give other black leaders and organizations cover to do the same. At a meeting of the Caucus of Black State Legislators in December 2008, Bartlett, who is also a state legislator in Connecticut, unsuccessfully tried to get the CBSL to take a position on gay rights. He was rebuffed.
"An executive board member said, 'We will not be the first mainstream black organization to take a position.'" Bartlett says. "In other words, we're not going alone."
Yep, no one wants to be the first one leaping into the pool only to find out there's no water in it. And there's good reason for the sentiment, even if it reflects serious spinelessness, as we've discussed many times here on the blog. Homophobia in the black community -- and we're primarily talking about the religious, socially conservative slice of the community -- is rampant, and it's mostly because it hasn't been challenged by leadership on a faith basis -- that the Bible can and is read and interpreted in more than one way in the community.
With cover from the NAACP, black organizations moving toward support of LGBT rights won't have to go it alone anymore. At the same time, the NAACP still has to deal with opposition to gay rights from within its own ranks. "There is a lot of homophobia in the NAACP," says California Conference President Alice Huffman, who was also a paid consultant to the "No on 8" campaign. "There are a lot of Christians who feel threatened."
And honestly, they are threatened in the same ways white evangelicals are, with the overlay of issues about reluctance to discuss sexuality in general and black masculinity in particular within the church, which is often rife with hypocrisy -- adultery, closeted gay leadership, etc. It's one of the tragic reasons for the spread of HIV/AIDS, particularly black women who aren't encouraged to discuss or advocate for their own sexual health.
The blowback is real and swift when it came to opposing Prop 8. Pastor Amos Brown, the president of the S.F. chapter of the NAACP got a taste of it when he held a fundraiser after declaring his opposition to Prop 8. Serwer reports that a large number of donors pulled out of the chapter over Brown's position. NAACP President Ben Jealous graciously stepped in and raised $19K to bridge the gap left by the homophobic donors.
Perhaps this will silence some of the critics who can't let go of the zombie meme that most blacks are homophobic -- and that leadership won't step up and say something. This hits all the right notes. (via press release, no link):
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People today announced support of measures before the California legislature challenging Proposition 8, which altered the California Constitution to deny same-sex couples the freedom to marry and equal protection under the law.
In a letter to legislative leaders, NAACP national board chair Julian Bond and President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous urged passage of House Resolution 5 and Senate Resolution 7 to put the legislature on record calling for invalidation of Prop. 8 as an improper and dangerous alteration of the California Constitution.
"The NAACP's mission is to help create a society where all Americans have equal protection and opportunity under the law," said President Jealous. "Our Mission Statement calls for the 'equality of rights of all persons.' Prop. 8 strips same-sex couples of a fundamental freedom, as defined by the California State Supreme Court. In so doing, it poses a serious threat to all Americans. Prop. 8 is a discriminatory, unprecedented change to the California Constitution that, if allowed to stand, would undermine the very purpose of a constitution and courts - assuring equal protection and opportunity for all and safeguarding minorities from the tyranny of the majority."
SR 7, sponsored by Equality California (EQCA), will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 24th and will proceed to the full Senate for a vote shortly thereafter. Its companion bill, HR 5, also sponsored by EQCA, passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Feb. 17th and is eligible for a vote before the full Assembly as early as today.
The California State Conference of the NAACP filed briefs with the California Supreme Court in the legal challenge against Prop. 8, arguing that the measure drastically alters the equal protection guarantee in California's Constitution and that the rights of a minority cannot be eliminated by a simple majority vote. Several other civil rights organizations, faith leaders, unions and leading corporations also filed briefs urging the invalidation of Prop. 8.
"The NAACP has long opposed any proposal that would alter the federal or state constitutions for the purpose of excluding any groups or individuals from guarantees of equal protection," said Chairman Bond. "We urge the legislature to declare that Proposition 8 did not follow the proper protective process and should be overturned as an invalid alteration that vitiated crucial constitutional safeguards and fundamental American values, threatening civil rights and all vulnerable minorities."
Needless to say, this is the message that needs to be spread throughout churches in the socially conservative black communities around the country.
The NAACP Image Awards honor the outstanding work of black actors, actresses, writers, producers and directors each year -- and have done so since 1967.
The nominations for 2008 projects, GLAAD reports, include many projects that are LGBT-inclusive. This high-visibility event underscores the fact that black LGBTs exist as a vibrant part of the black community -- and as we all know visibility matters in a slice of society that has way too many closet doors sealed shut.
Outstanding Comedy Series - Ugly Betty
Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series - Paul James*, GREEK
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - Wanda Sykes**, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Outstanding Drama Series - Grey's Anatomy, House, Lincoln Heights, The Wire
Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series - Blair Underwood*, In Treatment
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series - Michael Kenneth Williams*, The Wire
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series - Sonja Sohn*, The Wire
Outstanding Reality Series - Project Runway
Outstanding Independent Motion Picture - Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom
Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series - Liz Friedman & Sara Hess - House - "Lucky Thirteen"
Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture - Patrik-Ian Polk & John R. Gordon - Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom
Where is the mainstream media on this one? As McCain tries to woo women to his side of the aisle (even with his woman-friendly predilection for calling his wife a c*nt in public), another misogynistic quip from the Arizona senator has been unearthed. From his Senate run in 1986, his idea of a joke, via the Tucson Citizen, delivered at the National League of Cities and Towns in Washington D.C. :
Did you hear the one about the woman who is attacked on the street by a gorilla, beaten senseless, raped repeatedly and left to die? When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, "Where is that marvelous ape?"
"I'm not sure exactly what the wording was of the joke, but something was said. Some joke involving a rape and ape was said. Enough women repeated it to me at the time and the McCain campaign had a non-denial denial," said Coile, now with the Arizona Daily Star. "It came after his 'Seizure World' joke, in which he referred to the [retirement community] Leisure World as Seizure World... I just think it reinforced this idea that John McCain is humor-challenged. Whatever his qualities, he seems to have a tin ear for how these jokes will go over."
OK, people. The man just made an ageist joke here -- doesn't that mean his age is fair game? He clearly has no problem making light of senior citizens, even though at his age he qualifies for a room at "Seizure World."
***
And in another bold move for a sliver of the black vote, McCain has decided it's no longer beneath him to step before the NAACP given his loathsome record on civil rights he has to answer for. More below the fold.
For the third year in a row, the National Black Justice Coalition proudly and pro-actively participated in the NAACP annual convention.
Once again NBJC hosted a prominent tradeshow booth where staff members spoke to hundreds of people and distributed many pieces of LGBT affirming literature. We were also welcomed, highlighted and participated in a Sunday church service that was overflowing in attendance. And just a couple of days later, NBJC hosted a reception and awards ceremony honoring 9 LGBT Detroit organizations in a near capacity hotel ballroom with representatives from the NAACP and the Detroit Mayor’s office in attendance.
But in spite of our hard work and successes during the 98th annual NAACP convention in Detroit, I have been repeatedly approached, emailed, and asked: “Did you attend the N-Word mock funeral?”
Reading Alvin's earlier diary ("
I recently received an email from Julian Bond about the issue of the NAACP and the struggle to move rank and file to support civil equality for the LGBT community, as its national board has. I must confess, however, that when I saw his email in my inbox, I nearly fell out of my chair in awe and paused before opening it.
The President delivered a very good speech this evening at centennial conference of the NAACP. 
The NAACP is 
