"There is something immoral and sick about using all of that power to not end brutality and poverty, but to break into people's bedrooms and claim that God sent you," Sharpton told a full house on Sunday."It amazes me," he said, "when I looked at California and saw churches that had nothing to say about police brutality, nothing to say when a young black boy was shot while he was wearing police handcuffs, nothing to say when they overturned affirmative action, nothing to say when people were being [relegated] into poverty, yet they were organizing and mobilizing to stop consenting adults from choosing their life partners."
via Harriet's Daughter (via Pam's House Blend)
Related:
Justice for Oscar Grant-Please spread widely!
Justice for Oscar Grant: Update on Fruitvale BART Protest
Quick Hit: Why Prop 8 Won
Prop 8 Aftermath
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Real talk.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/11396
Ya know, I don't always agree with Al Sharpton...but I can do nothing but applaud him here.
This is yet another example of the ways in which the black community is working to fight homophobia. The rhetoric and the vicious racism in the wake of the passing of Prop 8 did a lot of harm. Already I have seen rejection of the commentary from Al Sharpton as "not representative of how blacks feel". It seems that only when our thoughts can be constructed to present a certain point of view is it accepted. The black Caucus has also spoken very favorably of same gender marriage but to listen to the racists in the GLBT community you would think that every single black person was necessarily homophobic.
Personally as a trans lesbian I love the statement and think it's awesome that Al Sharpton stood up for us, despite the fact that he's claimed he doesn't agree with homosexuality on a religious basis (actually, I think that makes it even more awesome).
However, as a white person, I don't really feel like my opinion on this statement is overly meaningful. As much as I'd like the black community to support queer rights, I also feel like it's something that has to be addressed from within the black community itself.
I'm not always a fan of all of Sharpton's particular brand of rhetoric, but I could not agree more with that statement. Rock on.
We need more people with the power and reach of Al Sharpton to articulate so clearly the dangerous and hypocritical attitude of oppressive, bigoted Church actions. It's a great statement. Thanks for posting it, Ann.
Wow! Way to go, Rev. I'm pleasantly surprised.
Real conversation began affably... Has then passed in the sincere... Any minute it it became a pity to me, it is very a pity... It masked tears behind a grin... And I even have shed a few tears... (((