RENWL

Prize fighter for freedom: Reverend Eric Lee, head of the Los Angeles chapter, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (Photo courtesy NY Times)

LA’s gay community and equality activist scene dropped the ball BIG TIME with Reverend Eric Lee. Head of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership (SCLC), Rev. Lee was the only black heterosexual community leader and man of the cloth gay or straight—to jump front row and center in the line of fire last year in speaking out for equality before AND after the defeat of No On 8.

As a result of his courageous actions, the man caught hell from the black church community which included retaliatory actions like ministers distancing themselves from him and no longer booking him to speak at their churches.  His own employer SCLC—the civil rights organization founded by Martin Luther King–threatened to fire him for his outspokenness (and we’re still not clear about his status as of yet).

To add insult to injury, for his outspoken equality work California’s gay community and equality organizations have lovingly repaid Rev. Lee by abandoning him as well. To be fair, Rick Jacobs of the Courage Campaign did endorse Rev. Lee we believe as much as he could last year. He even held a book signing at his home for Rev. Lee’s book Marriage Equality: Proposition 8 The California Divide, published last summer. However, as far as other equality, human rights and gay orgs go, he doesn’t exist.

While they tripped over themselves to make a poster child out of the likes of Dan Choi, and are quick to laud and worship at the feet of any second-rate giggling celeb who drops a comment as an afterthought about how gay people deserve to legally hump each other, they have blithely ignored the risky contributions of Reverend Lee. And after all that, he’s STILL speaking out.

California gay folks, gay political organizations and the like—SHAME ON YOU.  Y’all know y’all need to show this man some luv. Seriously. How can we criticize or go toe to toe with non-supportive black folks or anybody else in regards to equality when you ignore a brotha’ who put it the line for your rights and suffered significant loss as a result?

Take the “C” out of chicken shit and do the right thing—YA HEAR ME GEOFF KORS?

That’s all we’re gonna say about that.

Local black community newspaper the Los Angeles Wave published a scorching opinion piece written by Rev. Lee a while back aimed at the black community and the attitudes of some regarding marriage equality and apathy concerning the alarming rise of HIV/AIDS in our community. We featuring the link one mo’ ‘gin. As usual he ain’t holdin’ nuthin back. Click on the link below to check it out.

Los Angeles Wave: Guest Editorial: Are we imprisoned by our own apathy?

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