Slur spewing pastor taking center stage in North Carolina

Donald Fozard

Those against marriage equality in North Carolina pushing the race card extremely hard.

Yesterday, the National Organization for Marriage pushed a portion of an Associated Press article which focused on a group of black pastors who supported the upcoming anti-marriage equality amendment.

Today, NOM pushed the below video on its blog claiming the following:

An ABC news video on the North Carolina debate. The black church is taking a leading role, to Democrats dismay.

But when one looks at the video, one sees that the claim is false:




Now Focus on the Family has done the same thing, i.e. pushing the idea that the black church is going to "save" North Carolina from "the gays.":



Focus on the Family’s audio and the video featured by NOM have two things in common. Both omit the fact that the state NAACP has been very vocal in opposition to the amendment. And both feature a pastor named Donald Q. Fozard of the Mount Zion Christian Church. He is the man who is speaking in the FOF audio and the man calling another a “liar” in the video.

From the way Fozard has made himself available to NOM and FOF, one gets the idea that he is trying to be the southern Ruben Diaz.

However, one could say that Fozard is a bit more like Fred Phelps. This is him in 2004:

From this past Sunday's sermon, one would think the Rev. Donald Q. Fozard Sr. likes saying the word faggot. The pastor of Durham's Mount Zion Christian Church hollers the word's last syllable as if he were exorcising a demon, or as if he were a movie star who understands that notoriety rises when you do something incendiary.

"Faggots across the nation, heading churches. Homos on the pianos. Faggots in the choir. What kind of spirit is leading that church?" he asked his 150 worshippers.

. . . Fozard continued with his own spectacular show. "And now? Men with men, women with women? Let me remind you of Sodom and Gomorrah. That sin will bring fire from heaven. I tell the homosexual man: repent, turn and get a woman. I tell the woman who wants to get married: get yourself a man."

(If Fozard stresses the last syllable of "faggot," he sounds out each vowel and consonant of "homosexual".) "The Reverend Al Sharpton says it doesn't matter who you sleep with?" he said. "I'll tell you one thing: the Reverend ain't no Reverend. All of them are running around saying it doesn't matter who you sleep with! They want that little 1 percent of faggots that go to vote."

I assure you that this is no joke. Thanks to NOM and those who are trying to stop marriage equality in NC, a slur speaking awful excuse for a reverend has now taken center stage.

This mean unfortunately that yet again the religious right - particularly NOM - is exploiting the black community. And yet again the black church is allowing itself to be used as a tool against its own people.

But most specifically what will a young African-American lgbtq think after seeing this?

That seems to be the one thing which no one thinks about – not the gay community in its justified anger, not the black church in its self-righteous pose, not the black pastors who spew such vitriol in pursuit of attention and monetary gain (because if you don’t think money has changed hands when black pastors come out against gay equality, you are fooling yourself), and certainly not the organizations like NOM or FOF instigating this mess.

For every "faggot" or "liar" that comes out of Fozard's mouth, I see a young lgbtq of color pushed deeper into the closet, sneaking out at night, and engaging in unsafe behaviors because he or she feels that they are going to hell anyway so why bother being careful.

Or even worse, moping in their rooms making unnecessary prayers to God about changing their sexual orientation instead of looking at it as a gift from Him - which it is.

You wanna know why HIV and AIDS is affecting the black community at a high rate? Listen to pastors like Fozard, who seem to be so concerned with the spotlight that they are pushing our children to their doom with their hateful  rhetoric.

Well as long as you get camera time and a chance to primp in front of your congregation, who gives a care?

Right, Mr. Fozard?

 Hat tip to Pam's House Blend and Good As You.