nuptials

Michael + Jamil’s Fabulous Wedding Erupts Into College Controversy of Gaudy Proportions

Depending on your taste level, the nuptials of Michael Cole Smith and Jamil Smith Cole were either fabulous, or gauche. But that’s none of our concern: Two men just got happily married in an extravagant ceremony! Let us be joyous for them! Except: Then the photos from the Sept. 13 wedding in Minneapolis (where, to be sure, gay marriage isn’t recognized) made their way into the email accounts of staffers at Morehouse College President Robert Franklin’s office, and the social commentary began.

Just like they were on Dlisted, the photos (originally uploaded to the couple’s Facebook profiles) were passed around between Sandra Bradley, an administrative assistant, and a coworker. And the commentary wasn’t so nice: “I can’t believe this wedding. It’s 2 men. They don’t smile in a lot of pictures and they look like a few brothers I’ve seen in the streets looking STRAGHT. Black women can’t get a break, either our men want another man, a white woman (or other nationality that’s light with straight hair), they are locked up in jail or have a “use to be” fatal disease. I’m beginning to believe Eve was a black woman and we Black women are paying for all the world’s sins through her actions (eating the apple).”

From there, the daisy chain made its way to Fulton County government employees, and then to the newspaper Southern Voice, which inquired with Morehouse’s Franklin. The college president, who runs the all-male HBCU (that’s “historically black college/university”), said they “are investigating and will take appropriate and prompt action.” And now: Bradley has been fired.

Which is good to hear, because really, discussing the quality of your gaydar isn’t exactly fit for your work email account. But at the same time, we understand the pain of Ms. Bradley, who made the comments about the photos. Straight black women do have it bad! Good black men can be hard to find!

Just don’t hate on the gays ’cause god makes us so pretty, ok? And when it’s your turn to have a fabulous wedding, we hope you’ll invite us. Because hell, we like including the sisters in our ceremonies, too!

(Franklin says in a statement: “It is my sincere hope that the gay and lesbian community, and most specifically Michael Cole Smith and Jamil Smith Cole—whose wedding photographs became the subject of an unkind and intolerant email sent and forwarded by a Morehouse College employee—will accept my official apology on behalf of the College community.”)

More wedding photos follow!

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