Author Archives: Rev. Cedric A. Harmon
Back To School For LGBTQ Justice
By Rev. Cedric A. Harmon By now, students in our nations’ K-12 schools, colleges, and universities have settled into classes for the Fall. We’re also just completing LGBTQ History Month, and as a person who has dedicated my life …
Wave of restroom laws hearken back to Jim Crow
Remember when our people were highly restricted in the use of public restaurants, restrooms, and water fountains? We had to plan ahead. We carried our own food and beverages, arranged to stop at someone’s house to use the bathroom, …
The Black church: Bold and bad enough to accept and affirm
The Black Church has been a strong pillar of the community. I pray that it will have the courage not only to accept, but affirm its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender children. The recent VH1 segment, Out in Hip Hop: …
Addressing injustices everywhere they are found
Eric Garner’s death at the hands of a policeman was alone distressing, sad, unsettling, and painful–even more haunting is to see the video of it happening. The Grand Jury decision not to indict the policeman inflamed an already raw and unhealed …
Southern Clergy Voices Signal a Shift throughout the Black Community
For many, the very idea of an African American pastor or clergy person publicly embracing LGBT equality is unimaginable. You know the story; the Black Church is conservative and homophobic. That story is shifting. While the larger society has …
African American clergy speak up for equality
At a press conference two weeks ago pastors stated the case for Black church support of equality, justice and fairness for gay and lesbian people in Maryland. They definitively declared, “We stand united in the conviction that the government has …
Three Ways that “Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin” Falls Short
In my experience, people want to be nice. Our desire is to treat people fairly, not rustle feathers or cause each other to feel uncomfortable. We avoid saying upsetting things to one another. Often we contort our minds to find a …
It’s a Family Affair
Recently, in conversation with affirming and inclusive ministry colleagues, one raised the question of how to successfully present marriage equality to Black churches in Maryland. A year of such equality was just then being celebrated in Washington, DC—a predominantly African …
Enough love to speak
Do you ever wonder, as I do, will the beloved community just show up one day? Are you waiting for people to simply “get it”? Do slow progress and endless votes annoy and unnerve you? Have you become impatient for …
Sweet Tea: “We haven’t forgiven ourselves for being gay.”
On a recent Saturday night I went to see playwright E. Patrick Johnson in his one man performance, Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South. One point he brilliantly made during a monologue has haunted my thoughts, “We haven’t …