About Rev. Elder Darlene Garner

Darlene Garner is an American clergyperson and LGBT activist, and a co-founder of the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays (NCBLG). She was the first African-American elder in the Metropolitan Community Church and she helped create (and now leads) the denomination's biannual Conference for People of African Descent (PAD). In 2008 and 2009, she served as MCC Vice-Moderator. She is a nationally recognized speaker on LGBT religious issues; for instance, she was invited to join several other nationally known speakers to announce the "American Prayer Hour", a gay-affirming alternative to the "National Prayer Breakfast". For her work in the LGBT community, Garner was credited in The African American Almanac as "contributing to the visible image of gays in society" and in 2010 was named a "Capital Pride Hero" by Capital Pride.