Minister won’t apologize for anti-gay sermon
Black gays ponder boycott of Millions More march

By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Friday, July 22, 2005


Rev. Willie Wilson angrily refused requests by black gay leaders to apologize for a July 3 sermon in which he gave graphic and disparaging descriptions of the sexual relations of lesbians and gay men and declared, “Lesbianism is about to take over our community.”

Wilson’s defiant response this week prompted members of an ad hoc group of black gays to call for his resignation or dismissal as executive director of the Millions More Movement march, a national black civil rights event called by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. The march and related events are scheduled to be held in D.C. in October.

Wilson has refused all media requests for interviews about his controversial sermon, which was recorded by church officials on a CD sold in the church store, similar to the sale of all of his Sunday sermons. After the Washington Blade and other media outlets reported on the July 3 sermon, church officials removed that CD from the church’s shelves, according to press reports.

The Blade obtained a copy of the CD for the sermon and published a transcript on its Web site along with an audio link to allow the public to listen to the part of the sermon about gays.

In a description of lesbian and gay male sex acts that critics have said was not fit for children, Wilson said such acts “ain’t natural” and go against biblical teaching.

“Can’t make no connection with a screw and another screw,” he said. “It takes a screw and a nut,” he shouted.

In his sermon Sunday, July 17, Wilson took issue with portrayals of him as anti-gay.

“Ain't no church in Washington, D.C., unless it's a gay church, that has done more to reach out to the gay … community than Union Temple,” he said, according to a report in the Washington Post.

In a July 16 meeting for the Millions More Movement planning committee, which was held at a Northwest D.C. church, Wilson did not offer an apology for his sermon, as gay activists had requested, and did not mention the sermon.

But he made it clear to participants that he was referring to the sermon when he said he had declined news media requests for interviews.
“I’ve been called by radio and TV all day yesterday,” he said. “I said, ‘I ain’t got nothing to say to you. You don’t know us. Get off this phone. You don’t care about us, our people.’”


Officials denounce sermon

Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, who currently serves as a Ward 8 Councilmember, met Tuesday with more than 70 black gays to discuss Wilson’s sermon and the Millions More Movement march. Following the meeting, which was closed to the media at Barry’s request, Barry told reporters he was disappointed in Wilson’s sermon and called on Wilson to apologize to the gay community.

During the meeting, Barry said he was “horrified” over Wilson’s references to lesbians and gay men in the sermon, according to gay activist Phil Pannell, who attended the meeting.

D.C. Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, gay D.C. Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), and Carol Schwartz (R-At-Large) each issued statements criticizing Wilson for the sermon.

Norton and Graham said they were disappointed that Wilson had broken with past statements of conciliation toward gays in his church.

“I told him I would be expressing my long held views on the seamlessness of human rights, my deep concern about the offensiveness of the sermon and the special harm to black gays who are driven underground because they are often shamed and shunned in their own community,” Norton said.

Schwartz said she voted against Wilson’s confirmation in 2000 for a seat on the University of the District of Columbia board of trustees because of “divisive statements” he made in the past.

Graham, who is openly gay, said in a statement he was “troubled” by Wilson’s sermon but otherwise struck a positive tone.

“From mutual respect, we find common ground that makes for a better quality of life for everyone. Rev. Wilson, as one of this city’s leaders, can really contribute to that objective,” said Graham. “I am optimistic in that regard because my past interactions with Rev. Wilson have been positive.”

Mayoral press secretary Vince Morris said the mayor’s office was preparing a statement on the controversy but he did not provide a statement by press time.

During a July 17 meeting, members of the Monthly LGBT African-American Community Discussion group said Wilson’s sermon followed nearly six months of unsuccessful attempts by the group to take part in the march planning process. The group has been meeting for nearly six months to plan possible black gay participation in the Millions More Movement march.

In a statement released after the meeting, members of the black GLBT community discussion group called on Millions More Movement leaders to demand that Wilson apologize and resign from his executive director’s post with the march.

The group also called on march organizers to designate a lesbian and gay male speaker at the march; designate a seat on the march steering committee for the National Black Justice Coalition, an African-American gay group; and designate the Monthly LGBT African-American Community Discussion group as an official, organizing committee for the march.

The discussion group also called on “the executive office of the Mayor, the City Council, affirming churches, women’s groups, and other national civil rights organizations to denounce Rev. Wilson’s statements” about gays.

As of late this week, Millions More Movement officials had not responded to the community discussion group’s request.

“It’s very disappointing,” said lesbian activist Sheila Alexander-Reid, one of the organizers of the monthly black gay organizing committee.


Boycott of march?

The lack of response from the Millions More Movement leaders prompted some black gay activists to call for a possible boycott of the October march.

Alexander-Reid said the community discussion group had already planned to hold a rally for African-American gay people at Freedom Plaza in downtown D.C., during the weekend of the march. Initial plans called for marching from the rally to the site of the Millions More Movement march, which is set to take place on the National Mall.

Alexander-Reid said the “non-response” by march organizers to Wilson’s sermon and their apparent refusal to accept black gays as full partners in the march has prompted nearly all members of the discussion group to conclude they could no longer participate in the march.

“For months, we were unclear about whether we should get involved,” Alexander-Reid said. “Now, we know we should not.”

She noted that the black gay community became hopeful and enthusiastic earlier this year when Farrakhan invited gays to take part in the march and said gays would be fully included in the planning process.

“That was double-speak,” she said. “Now we know he was insincere.”

Katherine Volin contributed to this report

http://www.washblade.com/2005/7-22/news/localnews/minister.cfm