Independent since 2002 Issue No. 1102 Week of November 7, 2026 Get the free email dispatch →

Home The Reverend Irene Monroe

Editorial Board

The Reverend Irene Monroe

Oprah Hurts Obama - Inclusion By The Reverend Irene Monroe

BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member and Columnist, The Reverend Irene Monroe is an ordained minister, motivational speaker and she speaks for a sector of society that is frequently invisible. Rev. Monroe does a weekly Monday segment, “All Revved Up!” on WGBH (89.7 FM), on Boston Public Radio and a weekly Friday segment “The Take” on New England Channel NEWS (NECN). She’s a Huffington Post blogger and a syndicated religion columnist. Her columns appear in cities across the country and in the U.K, and Canada. Also she writes a column in the Boston home LGBTQ newspaper Baywindows and Cambridge Chronicle. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Rev. Monroe graduated from Wellesley College and Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University, and served as a pastor at an African-American church in New Jersey before coming to Harvard Divinity School to do her doctorate. She has received the Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching several times while being the head teaching fellow of the Rev. Peter Gomes, the Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church at Harvard who is the author of the best seller, THE GOOD

396 pieces

Commentary

Black Queers Are Tying The Knot

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

More and more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people of African descent are marrying. An idea that was once thought of as an anathema to black queer identity, marriage, in our LGBTQ communities, is being celebrated and on the rise. And many of us are now proudly walking down the aisle to tie the…

More and more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people of African descent are marrying. An idea that was once thought of as an anathema to…

Continue reading 5 min

Cover Story

The Conversation America Won’t Have on Race

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

If we resided in a post-racial society then William Faulkner’s words uttered in the 20th century would not ring true in this century-“The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past.” With the election of Barack Obama as this nation’s first African-American president many of us had hope we could finally close…

If we resided in a post-racial society then William Faulkner’s words uttered in the 20th century would not ring true in this century-"The past isn't dead…

Continue reading 5 min

Commentary

A Black Priest and Her Church Marries a Lesbian Mayor

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

Since the liberal arm of the U.S. Episcopal Church passed a resolution in July to bless same-sex unions, particularly in states like Massachusetts that legalize such marriages, so too has, at least, one black congregation within the Massachusetts diocese. On August 30, St. Bartholomew Episcopal Church in Cambridge hosted the marriage and blessed the union…

Since the liberal arm of the U.S. Episcopal Church passed a resolution in July to bless same-sex unions, particularly in states like Massachusetts that legalize such…

Continue reading 5 min

Commentary

Living While Black in Cambridge

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

None of us African-American residents of Cambridge are surprised or shocked by the humiliation and harassment Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 58, of Harvard University encountered at the hands of Cambridge police. My partner, Dr.Thea James, an Emergency Room physician who would drive from home to work was stopped all the time for “driving while…

None of us African-American residents of Cambridge are surprised or shocked by the humiliation and harassment Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 58, of Harvard University encountered…

Continue reading 5 min

Commentary

Let the Episcopal Church Say Amen

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church voted overwhelmingly to overturn a three-year moratorium on the election of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queers to the episcopate. While many LGBTQ Episcopalians and their allies are jumping for joy, the battle isn’t over. But the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams expressed his concerns about…

The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church voted overwhelmingly to overturn a three-year moratorium on the election of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queers to…

Continue reading 6 min

Cover Story

The Queerness of MJ: A Function of Society’s Homophobia?

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

At Michael Jackson’s memorial service the Rev. Al Sharpton gave a rousing speech that had the congregation at the Staple Center rise to their feet at times with shouts of Amen. Shaprton made one particular statement in his speech to MJ’s three children, addressing the reasons for Jackson’s eccentricities when he said, “I want his…

At Michael Jackson’s memorial service the Rev. Al Sharpton gave a rousing speech that had the congregation at the Staple Center rise to their feet at…

Continue reading 4 min

Commentary

Obama’s Hush-Hush Meeting with LGBTQ Leaders

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

The President has been an Obama-nation on LGBTQ issues since he’s taken office. The political carrots Obama dangled before us as campaign promises are now looking like merely empty rhetoric that was used to court our votes and to collect our campaign dollars. But with a 74 percent disapproval rating the President now has with…

The President has been an Obama-nation on LGBTQ issues since he’s taken office. The political carrots Obama dangled before us as campaign promises are now looking…

Continue reading 5 min

Commentary

Obama Not Marching with Black Pride

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

June is Pride Month. And Black Pride contributes to the multicultural aspect of joy and celebration in the queer communities. Black Pride symbolizes not only black LGBTQ uniqueness as individuals and communities, but it also affirms our varied expressions of LGBTQ life in America. This year will be our first Black Pride parade with an…

June is Pride Month. And Black Pride contributes to the multicultural aspect of joy and celebration in the queer communities. Black Pride symbolizes not only black…

Continue reading 5 min

Commentary

Proposition Hate Redux And Celebrating Our Queer Servicemembers

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

The California Supreme Court ruled again on same-sex marriage. This time it did to uphold Proposition 8, restricting marriage to one man and one woman. In a 6-to-1 decision the justices decided that Proposition 8 would remain part of the state constitution. And the 18,000 same-sex couples that ran to the altar to legally consecrate…

The California Supreme Court ruled again on same-sex marriage. This time it did to uphold Proposition 8, restricting marriage to one man and one woman. In…

Continue reading 9 min

$ $ Contribute $ $