Pastor Rick Warren is super stoked to be the first white dude to speak at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Martin Luther King’s church, which he’ll do on Jan. 1, but black gay rights activists aren’t going to let it happen without a fight– a major protest is planned to make it clear just how big a difference there is between MLK, who preached love for his fellow man and Warren, who preaches that gays are comparable to pedophiles and sheepfuckers.
The Washington Blade explains:
“Several dozen gay and lesbian activists gathered at the state Capitol Monday to discuss plans to protest the appearance of Rev. Rick Warren at Ebenezer Baptist Church on Jan. 19 as part of Martin Luther King Day festivities. The protest will take place at 9 a.m. at the corner of Jackson Street and Auburn Avenue, across from the church.
“Warren not only compares women having an abortion to Nazis, and pro-choice supporters to holocaust deniers, but he also opposed the right of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and queer folk to marriage, as well as [admittance] to his church,” said Craig Washington, a founding member of the Atlanta Black LGBT Coalition, which is organizing the protest.
“These views, these words, are acts of oppression,” Washington said. “They are incompatible with the dream of the beloved community Martin Luther King envisioned, and the spirit with which Coretta Scott King founded the King Center.
“We cannot build bridges by rewarding those who build walls that lock certain groups out,” he added.
The local protest is part of the national outcry among some gay activists due to President-elect Barack Obama tapping Warren to deliver the invocation at his Jan. 20 inauguration. The Atlanta Black LGBT Coalition called on Ebenezer to drop Warren from the MLK Day lineup, but the request went unheeded.”
mark
If you want to protest Warren lay down outside Saddleback church and make his dumb ass flock walk over or around your bodies EVERY Sunday.
If you are angry at the hateful Bernice King protest at HER Church.
A disruptive protest at MLK Memorial will cause a MAJOR BACKLASH not helpful to the LGBT community.
I recommend we remember what a GREAT ALLY we had in Coretta and Martin…who personally judged their gay friends by the content of their character….I really miss Coretta.
toe edge
“A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages.”
– Coretta Scott King
March 2004: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-03-24-king-marriage_x.htm
toe edge
I disagree with Mark. I think a peaceful protest is acceptable. Mark has some good ideas however I think visibility would be beneficial on MLK day. Ebenezer Baptist Church should not get a pass on civil rights activism. Bring on the peaceful protest and remind the black southern baptists community of Coretta Scott King’s support of gay rights.
If I still lived in Atlanta I would join in the effort.
Jon
Mark, the protest is at Ebenezer Baptist Church, not the MLK memorial. And that is exactly where it needs to be.
And Japhy, I seriously doubt Warren will be the first honkey to speak at the church. My former synagogue was “sistered” with EBC and we held many MLK events at both their church and our temple. I’m sure my rabbi was invited to and spoke at church services at least once a year.