Orlando Sentinel Profiles City's Black Gay Community

When you think of the black gay community and Florida, the first cities to come to mind are probably Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Orlando, the state's third largest city, usually does not come to mind, and, The Orlando Sentinel profiles the city's largely unseen black gay community.

"For the most part, being black and gay in Orlando is to live beyond belonging. There are no black bars or clubs. No black gay organizations. No support groups for blacks at Orlando's Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Community Center of Central Florida. ...

Orlando's black gay community exists largely as an unseen, unorganized, underground network where people gather in one another's homes, join invitation-only social clubs, or frequent the once-a-week black gay nights at clubs such as Parliament House and Club Mambo.

"You don't see the average black gay person in a lot of the openly gay scenes. They are still trying to hide," said Brei Taylor, pastor of Oasis Fellowship Ministries, a 2-year-old predominantly gay black church in Casselberry.

Oasis Fellowship is singled out for attention as one of the few, vibrant public places where black gay men and lesbians gather. One of the worshipers, Jay-Michael Jarrod, a 39-year-old paralegal, says says the only the black gay person he heard of growing up around Gainesville, FL was the distant relative who was shunned by his family.

Jarrod says he was "rejected by his family, his church, his community. And when he turned to Orlando's gay community, he found a lack of acceptance there as well. 'The black gay community and the white gay community, there's no real closeness between the two.' "

He and the other black gay men interviewed say they felt comfortable at Oasis Fellowship and "the music sounded like his Pentecostal upbringing, the pastor preached in the familiar cadence of the black ministers he grew up with, and the people in the pews shouted 'Hallelujah' and 'Thank you, Jesus.' 'When I walked in, I felt at home,' he said."

Orlando's black gays, lesbians quest for acceptance [OS]

Comments

[TheRevKev]

Rod,

Now you know that this piece has caused me to weep...and to fume.

It's so glorious to see people like us have a place of refuge and family that makes them feel connected, especially in an area where they feel so disconnected and where they can simply BE! What a powerful story and thank you so much for reminding us, especially those of us who sit in major cities/areas and forget about our siblings in places where they can't be as free and as supported as us enjoy in NYC, ATL, DC and other meccas.

Now, if we could only get our brothers and sisters to support our places of worship, that love and support them, in the New York/New Jersey area in real ways. I know that our churches, especially Unity Fellowship Churches, in Newark, New Brunswick and of course New York City, are wonderfully progressive and fruitfully blessed. OH, but what a mighty and awesome thing it would be, spiritually, socially and emotionally, for our people to walk into Sanctuary, where we are fully and freely welcomed. For every one of our churches in the area and throughout the country, we, Black gay men and lesbians, are still walking into places of worship and getting our butts kicked...and paying (tithing) for the privilege.

Yes, I know I am a Unity Fellowship Church pastor. But I have spent hours upon hours on the phone and in counseling with brothers and sisters who want to know the Lord, but who, for some reason, just don't seem to know how to commit to coming to places where they are accepted and, yes, loved!

I PRAY FOR THE DAY WHEN WE WILL COME TO CHURCH TO BE FED AND NOT JUST TO APPEASE OUR PARENTS AND FRIENDS.

Thank you again for this post. It makes my soul happy to know that our people are still looking for and finding Sanctuary.

[ATL Kid]

Rev Kev, as always, thanks for sharing your stirring words. Similar thoughts were going through my head. Thanks, Rod for posting this. My family is from Orlando and Tampa and I can attest there is very little social life for black gay men along the I-4 corridor and particularly in Orlando.

I'm not familiar with this church but will definitely look it up the next time I travel home. The Rev Kev makes an excellent point, Too many of our black gay and lesbian brothers and sisters attend churches where we are taught we are "less than." I'm very lucky to attend an LGBT affirming congregation that accepts ME for ME.

[Jon R]

Rev Kev, thanks so much for your comments. I always enjoy reading news about you on Rod 2.0 and in the comments section. You have a unique perspective and your words are always inspirational.

The Orlando Sentinel article is very interesting. I've been to Orlando several times to Disneyworld and Epcot, and, at least twice to the Parliament House in Orlando. There are not many black gay men who are out there, that is for sure.

[elg]

Religion fuels homophobia among straights and self-hatred among gays.

A straight relative of mine invited me to an event at his church and I am having feelings of anxiety about attending. The event is a retirement party for his wife, a NONreligious event, but I am STILL feeling anxiety.

I "grew up in the church", my mother was VERY religious. But after all the suffering among gays I've seen and experienced, much of it a direct result of religion, religion gives me the creeps.

Can black gays find other ways to come together?

[A Ronald]

Thanks for the article. I'm always interested in reading how other brothers and sisters are coping with acceptance and social networking in their lives.

[Duwayne]

This is a great article Rod. I enjoyed reading it. My partner grew up in a black Baptist church and I grew up in a multiracial liberal Methodist church and eventually we decided to find an opening an affirming congregation which ended up being a Methodist church right in the middle of the gay part of our city. It took a while for my partner to feel accepted by a Christian congregation after all of the hate filled speech he had heard throughout the years coming from the pulpit of his church. I probably am the exception to many here because my congregation, minister and parents were accepting of homosexuality when I was growing up. I feel there is a need for churches to reach out to GLBT men and women of color because many are yearning for a spiritual home where they feel accepted. I have noticed in recent years several mainline churches in the Los Angeles area have been very welcoming of GLBT's of color. Many of the Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopalian and United Church of Christ churches in the area within the last 10 to 15 years have opened their doors to diversity and to persons of various sexual identities. I think it is great Rod has continued to profile these churches on his blog.