Category Archives: Gender

What You and Your Child Should Know About Bullying (and Cyberbullying) to Keep Them Safe

Hazing. Name-calling. Tormenting. Rumor-spreading. Harassment. Although bullying is identified by many names and comes in many forms, its intent and effects are all the same – to hurt, harm, and cause pain to the intended target. Just a couple of …

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Meditation on a Theme

  Constance Merritt’s brilliantly crafted villanelle has great resonance at this moment we are living in. It invites reflection that will empower us for the work of resistance and renewal. Her poem teaches us that we must create a world …

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Posted in Black Lives Matter, Bullying/violence, Children, Church leaders, Church seasons, Congregational life, Economic disparities, Family, Gay/lesbian, Gender, Hospitality, Housing, Incarceration, Interfaith, Opening to change, Pop culture, Respectability, Social justice, Stigma, Women of color | Comments Off on Meditation on a Theme

Becoming Love Medicine

I stood there in the Norman Manley Airport of Kingston, Jamaica. My small 11-year-old palm connected to my lanky brown hand held tightly on to my mother’s full warm palm center.   What do you do when your home and …

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Posted in Black Lives Matter, Blog, Bullying/violence, Church leaders, Economic disparities, Family, Gay/lesbian, Gender, Interfaith, Sexual orientation, Social justice, Stigma, Women of color, Youth and young adult | Comments Off on Becoming Love Medicine

For Freedom’s Sake: Ending Child Sexual Abuse in Black Churches

I am a freedom fighter, writer, minister, scholar, and survivor of child sexual abuse. I am also the founder of Children of Combahee, a newfound project through the Just Beginnings Collaborative that mobilizes against child sexual abuse in Black church …

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Posted in Black Lives Matter, Blog, Bullying/violence, Children, Church leaders, Family, Gay/lesbian, Gender, Sexual orientation, Social justice, Stigma, Women of color, Youth and young adult | Comments Off on For Freedom’s Sake: Ending Child Sexual Abuse in Black Churches

“But Those Were Just Words”: Things We Should Stop Saying After This Election

By Jameelah Jones, M.A. This commentary originally appeared on Jameelah Jones’ Medium blog.  I won’t type the presidential election results because you already know them. For 24 hours, I didn’t know what so say. For many of us who do …

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Posted in Black Lives Matter, Blog, Economic disparities, Gay/lesbian, Gender, Respectability, Sexual orientation, Social justice, Stigma | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on “But Those Were Just Words”: Things We Should Stop Saying After This Election

Back To School For LGBTQ Justice

  By Rev. Cedric A. Harmon By now, students in our nations’ K-12 schools, colleges, and universities have settled into classes for the Fall. We’re also just completing LGBTQ History Month, and as a person who has dedicated my life …

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Posted in Blog, Bullying/violence, Children, Family, Gay/lesbian, Gender, Opening to change, Religious freedom, Youth and young adult | Comments Off on Back To School For LGBTQ Justice

Treading Water: The United Methodist Church’s Latest Plea

    As I watched the business of the 2016 General Conference of the United Methodist Church, my mind flashed back to my childhood. I remembered being a lifeguard. I used to teach people how to tread water. This was …

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Wave of restroom laws hearken back to Jim Crow

  Remember when our people were highly restricted in the use of public restaurants, restrooms, and water fountains? We had to plan ahead. We carried our own food and beverages, arranged to stop at someone’s house to use the bathroom, …

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Posted in Blog, Bullying/violence, Gender, Social justice, Stigma, Transgender | Comments Off on Wave of restroom laws hearken back to Jim Crow

Queer flesh and worship respectability

    Following the memorial service for Daryl Coley, I stood in awe at the numerous social media posts, re-posts and comments — both of B. Slade’s virtuosic performance of Donald Lawrence’s “When Sunday Comes” and the video clips of …

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Posted in Blog, Congregational life, Gay/lesbian, Gender, Opening to change, Respectability, Sexual orientation, Theology | Comments Off on Queer flesh and worship respectability

Meet me at the intersection of love & justice

Contrary to popular belief, there is power and hope at the intersection of race and LGBTQ life. As a Black, same-gender loving woman who is a pastor, Bishop and activist, I can solidly say that my wife, children, grandchildren, and …

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Posted in Church leaders, Family, Gay/lesbian, Gender, Opening to change, Social justice, Stigma, Straight allies | Comments Off on Meet me at the intersection of love & justice