News brief special - Gospel singer Kim Burrell faces wide condemnation for ugly words against the gay community

Kim Burrell faces rightful condemnation for her ugly words about lgbts.

 “I came to tell you about sin . . .That sin nature… That perverted homosexual spirit, and the spirit of delusion and confusion, it has deceived many men and women… You as a man, you open your mouth and take a man’s penis in your face, you are perverted. You are a woman and will shake your face in another woman’s breast, you are perverted.” - gospel singer Kim Burrell in a sermon  uploaded Friday on Facebook
 

Pharrell’s Singing Partner Caught On Tape In Homophobic Rant - When I logged on Saturday morning, this was the talk of so many black folks, particularly black gay men, cause you know we love our Jesus, our church, and our gospel singers (seeing that quite a few are in the closet). And it has not abated. Kim Burrell has been justifiably blasted from all sides because of her words. And I noticed how religious right groups have not really defended her. They may come to her aid, but if they don't, do not think it's because her words were THAT vicious. Most likely they feel that they can't fundraise to other white evangelicals about a controversy in the black church community. 

Famous gospel singer Kim Burrell attacked after preaching sermon on the ‘sin’ of homosexuality - Looks like I spoke too soon. The right-wing Blaze jumps in the controversy and check out the headline in that it makes Burrell look like a victim. Between me and you - avoid the comments section of this article. It's a drag.  

Pharrell Williams, Yolanda Adams & Others Speak Out Against Gospel Singer Kim Burrell’s Anti-Gay Sermon - Another gospel singer, Yolanda Adams, not to mention Chaka Khan, Octavia Spencer, and a few others call out Burrell. 

 Kim Burrell: Gospel star defends homophobic comments - That's nice because everyone else is calling you to the carpet, girlfriend. And you should be called to the carpet.

Janelle Monae Says Homophobic ‘Hidden Figures’ Singer Won’t Perform On ‘Ellen’ - And here is the grand irony of it all. Burrell was supposed to appear on Ellen this week to sing a duet with Pharrell Williams from the soundtrack of 'Hidden Figures,' a movie slated to grab many critics' prizes, including the Oscar. Talk about timing. BAD timing. 


Editor's note - I say this as a black gay man raised in the church. This situation demonstrates the nuances of the Christian religion that the media tends to ignore and the religious right likes to omit. It is taken for granted that the black church community believe that homosexuality is a sin. Not all of us believe that and those who do don't believe it to the point where they completely stand against lgbt equality.  Some folks may feel that homosexuality is a sin, but even they don't like to see us smeared and they respect us, our lives, and families. 

And I can honestly say that a huge number don't believe that religious right tripe of  "Christians being persecuted in America."  This is a serious lesson for the lgbt community to remember in terms of not allowing folks like Franklin Graham or the Family Research Council bogart talks of religion, particularly when it comes to the lgbt community and the black community. 

Lastly, this post is not meant to attack Burrell on her looks or any other thing which has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

Anti-transgender legislation rooted in lies & fear

Rewire, an independent newsletter, has an excellent breakdown on the rise of anti-transgender legislation in the United States, as well as how those advancing this legislation rely on fear tactics. A portion of the article reads as follows:

Anti-trans bathroom rhetoric is a perfectly whisked concoction of ignorance and fear for a general public still trying to come to terms with gender variance. Much like the false claim that same-sex marriages would diminish the long-standing heterosexual ones, the bathroom issue paints trans people as a threat to the safety of women and children—and usually white ones.

“The bathroom commercial that [HERO opponents] ran used a little white girl in the ad,” said Houston-based writer and blogger Monica Roberts. “They tapped into the fear and demonization of trans folks. It’s similar to the old Jim Crow fear of Black folks into generating a fear of trans folks.”

The Jim Crow tactic Roberts references relates to the idea that increased access for Black people in the United States—specifically Black men—would result in white women being at a higher risk of violence, harassment, and sexual assault. It was often used as a moral case against desegregation of public spaces in the South, but was exposed in Southern Horrors: Lynch Law In All of Its Phases by historic Black journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett. More recently, convicted murderer Dylann Roof seized on this trope as a reason for committing the Charleston massacre and taking the lives of nine Black people. President-elect Donald Trump also has used the it against Latinx communities when he insinuated that Mexicans are rapists in a campaign speech during the 2016 presidential election.

In a similar fashion, conservatives often strip trans women of their womanhood and paint them and all transfeminine individuals as hypermasculinized, hypersexual predators, despite a major lack of evidence for this case. However, due to continued ignorance on gender identity, anti-transgender politicians maintain a hold over the general public when it comes to the bathroom debate.