Lithonia, George's New Birth Missionary Baptist Church's most recent webcast sermon is "Year of Victory." So maybe the Sunday death of Pastor Eddie Long was part of that victory?
You knew someone truly horrible had passed when noted homophobe Bernice King rushed forward to offer her "heartfelt thoughts and prayers."
Of course, Bernice would. As many have noted, you can't be so publicly against the LGBTQ community without many people wondering if you yourself are gay?
And the never-married Bernice has raised many rumors.
While she screams against marriage equality, Atlanta's wags have long dubbed her "Sista On The Down Low."
Bernie loved her some Eddie Long.
He was her kind of gay man
A homophobic bigot who used his position to groom young boys for relationships that he would turn sexual once they reached the age of consent.
Yes, that's who passed away today.
Bernice always stood with the sexual predator. When her mother Coretta Scott King passed away, Bernie overruled a ceremony at Coretta's church of four decades Ebenezer Baptist (and where services for her late husband, the legendary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., were held). Instead, Bernice wanted her mother's service to take place at a church of greed, a mega-church known for preaching homophobia.
As BLACKFOLK noted longtime friend Julian Bond spoke out:
In June 2006, Bond famously refused to attend the funeral of Coretta Scott King that was held at New Birth MB Church. At the time he said, "I knew her attitude toward gay and lesbian rights. And I just couldn't imagine that she'd want to be in that church with a minister who was a raving homophobe. And I couldn't see myself in my church either."
Stan Simpson (HARTFORD COURANT) observed in December, 2011:
Bishop
Eddie Long is taking time off now to supposedly recharge, regroup — and
make a final attempt to repair his broken marriage. Many of the flock
from his Atlanta megachurch are taking flight as well.
Vanessa Long is doing now what the entire New Birth Missionary Baptist Church should have done in May after Eddie Long settled a sexual coercion lawsuit filed by five young men — divorcing herself from the charismatic preacher.
Vanessa Long is doing now what the entire New Birth Missionary Baptist Church should have done in May after Eddie Long settled a sexual coercion lawsuit filed by five young men — divorcing herself from the charismatic preacher.
Simpson noted that the settlements flew in the face of Long's insisting he was innocent and would fight the charges.
The young boys were groomed by Long and preyed upon by him.
First two came forward, then the number became five.
GEORGIA VOICE covered the scandal:
“You hope these charges are not true because it’s bad news for his family, bad news for his church,” Bond said.
“If they are true, it’s typical of people who are raving homophobes who are secretly homosexual. They have this self loathing, self hate, and they have to let it come out some way.”
Long has said homosexuality is worthy of death, his church offers “ex-gay” counseling and seminars, and in 2004 he led a march through the streets of Atlanta against same-sex marriage. In 2005, two black gay activists targeted Long as well as other prominent anti-gay black pastors in an online “outing” campaign.
Bond said while he isn’t a psychologist, there is a common phenomenon that has played out over and over in national headlines where many publicly anti-gay people who are actually gay themselves eventually are exposed through scandal.
“There’s a phenomenon among many groups of people that are stigmatized by larger society as being unworthy of equal treatment. Some members of these groups internalize this and become self loathers and dislike themselves. They become self-hating and act out against their own kind,” Bond said.
“It’s awfully destructive to the person, and to the larger society.”
And that was Eddie Long, "destructive to the person and to the larger society."
He's dead now.
May his victims find some peace in that.
And may Eddie Long be hurried along to his promise.