BET's Meet The Faith meets the gays

On Sunday night BET’s episode of Meet The Faith discussed homosexuality in the black church with CNN regular Keith Boykin, original Broadway Dreamgirl Sheryl Lee Ralph and Bible-thumper Bishop E. Bernard Jordan.

It was a fiery discussion exposing hypocrisy within the black community, both in and out of the church. The show reminded us how deeply saddening religious people can be with bizarre clips of dramatic pastors condemning homosexuality, using "faggot" and "sissy" right at the pulpit. I'll never understand how religious people are some of the angriest people I have ever met in my life.

Nonetheless, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Keith Boykin fearlessly challenged these archaic constructs. Bishop Jordan hypothesized the reason why many in the black community are homophobic is because they just aren’t around gays. Well, Miss Sheryl Lee Ralph, reading my mind, shot back, “Yes they are! A lot of people are around a lot of homosexuals, they just may not know it — they just may not want to accept it! Come on — in the church they are sitting right there in the pew right next to you!” Don’t you just love an outspoken straight woman?

Of course the conversation shifted to the semantics of the Bible: does it or does it not say homosexuality is wrong.? A passionate Keith Boykin put Bishop Jordan into a stuttering babble fest, challenging him with facts and history. Jordan’s Jim Crow Christian mind just couldn’t separate God and right wing political agendas. Boykin immediately brought up how blacks and whites were unable to marry until 1967 because the races were supposedly “separated by God”. Poor Bishop Jordan just sat with a glassy stare and pulled out some random rhetoric. Somebody pray for him…

The amazingly entertaining and informative special also covered the media hype of the “DL” and featured an interview with former NBA player John Amaechi.

The usually conservative and one-sided BET should be applauded for this special and I hope to see more in the future. John Amaechi said it best: “When you have a voice of such power you have a responsibility to speak with eloquence and education. If you cannot do that, you have a responsibility to just shut up!” Take notes, Isaiah!

Click here to watch the full episode.