Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people of African descent have no public voice in media. With major black publications staying away from the subject of homosexuality, and white media sensationalizing it, Black Commentator saw the need for my voice - an African American lesbian ordained Christian minister.

In this era of the Christian Right, religion continues to play a profound role in discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. And when the only voices the American public hear on the issue of marriage equality concerning gays and lesbians in the African-American community are those of fire and brimstone, bible-thumping ministers, espousing ownership of civil rights, Black Commentator provides the space to hear the other side of the debate.

Why is Black Commentator so vital to the African American gay and lesbian population?

What the American public knows of this population is largely distorted. And what the American public see of this population is seldom seen through the lenses of how both white straight and gay racism and black compulsory heterosexism exact a toll on our lives.

As a fractured group both politically and socially, African-American lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people reside as resident aliens who too often live bifurcated existences in African American and white gay communities. While our black skin ostensibly gives us residence in our black communities, our sexual orientation, most times, evicts us from them. And while our sexual orientation gives us residence in the larger gay community, racism constantly thwarts any efforts for coalition building, which weakens the larger movement for sexual equality.

To be tangentially aligned to these communities dangles our lives precariously on a thin thread with the nagging feeling of marginalization, if not complete dispossession. and the American public needs to know of our daily experience. And I try to inform the public about our daily lives, especially of the role religion plays in discrimination against us.

Why is this important ? For two reasons.

First, because homophobia is both a hatred of the "other" and it's usually acted upon "in the name of religion.” And by reporting religion in the news I aim to highlight how religious intolerance and fundamentalism not only shatters the goal of American democracy, but also aids in perpetuating other forms of oppression such as racism, sexism, classism and anti- Semitism.

Second, because much that is written about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people is by heterosexuals. And much of who we are is seen and written through a complicated prism of homophobia that projects and condones lies, fears and violence perpetrated upon us for the holy sake of moral virtue and family values, ignoring the distinctive epistemology that shapes not only our identity, but also shapes our distinctive interpretative lens we zoom onto the world about politics, race, class, gender, sexual orientation, arts, music, and ostensibly religion.

Black Commentator provides a venue for engaging in healthy conversations on the issue by including the voices and stories of those left out of the public discourse.

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Thank you,

Rev. Irene Monroe
BC Columnist

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