Eddie Long scandal now includes pictures

This situation with Eddie Long has just gotten more interesting, including pictures:

New details and scandalous pictures have emerged on the internet showing the once prominently viewed Pastor and Bishop Eddie Long who’s known from growing the church from 150 members when he was appointed as Pastor in 1987 to now close to 30,000 members, in a controversial position.

As previously reported on HipHopRx.com, Bishop Eddie Long, Pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta (Lithonia, GA), is accused of sexually abusing some of his young male followers who were teens at the time that the incident(s) allegedly took place.

Earlier this week, the three men who are now in their 20’s filed separate lawsuits against Eddie Long, a married man and father of four. The latest alleged victim filed a lawsuit against Long, the church as well as Longfellows Youth Academy Inc.

On Thursday, pictures hit the Internet like a whirlwind and no one knows how the photos surfaced which show the Bishop wearing spandex and workout clothes which is stated to have been sent to an accuser in November of 2008. According to attorney B.J. Bernstei who is representing the three men suing Eddie Long, they received dozens of emails from Long, but they are not overly sexual.

The same day, Eddie Long was expected to make an appearance on the Tom Joyner Show following the sex abuse accusations (Thursday morning), but he canceled his appearance which seemed to have occurred after the photos were leaked. Long’s attorney Craig Gillen instead took his place and spoke on behalf of his client stating that the young men were taken on trips as part of a mentoring program.

One of the young men is accused of breaking into the Pastor’s office.

The young men accused Bishop of Eddie Long of offering them gifts, money, luxury hotel rooms and more to lure them for sexual favors.

Meanwhile, Bishop Eddie Long states that he would like to respond to the allegations which he states are false, but he is following the advice of his attorney and expects to address the sexual allegations against him on Sunday at his church during service.…

Where he no doubt will receive a standing ovation. Between you and me, I would like to here more details about these pictures. They are definitely causing discussion but they are no smoking gun.

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*WARNING: No civil rights legacies were ably examined in the making of this ad - So those on the right get angry at what they feel is the unfair appropriation of Martin Luther King Jr or the black civil rights movement by the lgbt community. But they have no probelm exploiting the two themselves.

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The Black Church, Homophobia, and Pastor Eddie Long - And now Newsweek is on the case. I TOLD you all that this would explode.

What will the Eddie Long scandal do in addressing black homophobia in the church?

Even though we still don't know the truthful particulars in the Eddie Long scandal, there is a lot of speculating as to what it means on so many ends.

And according to the Christian Science Monitor, one end is how will affect homophobia in the black church:

 . . . because Long through his ministry helped perpetuate homophobia, his critics say, the case could affect his career, challenge the antihomosexual stance of many black church members, and even offer hope to black gay men who struggle for acceptance and a role in black society.

"This might be a time of scandal [for the black church] ... but it will also spark a renewed dialogue," says Shayne Lee, a Tulane University sociologist and author of "Holy Mavericks: Evangelical Innovators and the Spiritual Marketplace." "The fact is, Eddie Long is one of the most respected black Christians in the country, he's very popular and very influential, and that's why this is going to get a lot of people talking about the issue of sexuality [in the black church]."

Homophobia in the broader black community – which some say is fed by the black church, as well as by prevailing views on masculinity and family – has in the past spilled into violence. In 2007 and 2008, Chicago saw a number of shootings and even killings aimed at gay black men, including a choir director who was shot shortly after coming out in a TV interview.

Longtime black gay activist Billy Jones, in an interview last year with the online magazine Blacklight, said many blacks see the gay movement "as a means of destroying the black family" and see gay black men as "unmanly, weak."

But many blacks take a different view when faced with a family member who comes out as gay. Black families, Mr. Jones said, tend to accept gay members and "really make an effort to try to understand them and the love stays there."

I'm cynical about the entire situation. If there is any discussions on the matter, my guess is that those who are lgbts of color won't be invited to the table.  And that is the problem with being an lgbt in the African-American community. It's not so much the ignorance, it's that us who are lgbts of color can't seem to get a word in edgewise in the black community when it comes to discussing our lives.

Related posts:

Eddie Long hit with third sexual coercion lawsuit but is defended by congregation members

Prominent anti-gay black pastor accused of sexual coercion