Anti-Gay Mega-Church Pastor on Rahm Emanuel Transition Team

Chicago Mayor-Elect Rahm Emanuel names his transition team and there are no openly gay or lesbian appointments. That was not necessarily a "cause for alarm for the community" but the appointment of anti-gay mega-church pastor Rev. Byron Brazier (left) is "troubling", reports Windy City Times.

Bernard Cherkasov, chief executive director of Equality Illinois, indicated the lack of LGBT representation in Emanuel's transition team should not be a cause for alarm for the community. His organization's PAC joined a large coalition of LGBT community leaders in endorsing Emanuel's mayoral campaign last month.

"We look forward to working with the team of co-chairs to help identify the priorities for the city of Chicago, including the priorities of the LGBT community, and figure out a path to addressing them as soon as the mayor is in office," Cherkasov said.

Brazier's presence on the transition team is an eyebrow-raising choice, however. Brazier's father and the previous pastor of the Apostolic Church of God, the late Bishop Arthur, supported the Federal Marriage Amendment. Additionally, the church is affiliated with the Pentecostal movement, which generally condemns homosexuality as sinful. At press time, Brazier had not return Windy City Times' request for an interview.

Rev. Irene Monroe, coordinator of the African American Roundtable of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry at the Pacific School of Religion, said Emanuel's selection of Brazier while not including any LGBT co-chairs was an intentional, and troubling, choice. "It is a great concern," Monroe said. "Why that particular church when there are so many progressive churches he can choose from?  Monroe added Emanuel's choice reminded her of President Obama's friendship with some anti-gay religious leaders.

The Apostolic Church of God is one of the city's largest and most prominent mega-churches. The church campus  includes a television studio.

The Apostolic Church is a fundamentalist, charismatic branch of the Pentecostal movement that views homosexuality as sinful. The churches are overwhelming hostile to gays and gay rights, but have a long history in the Black community of attracting and being home to many Black gay youth and gay men. Gay members have been encouraged to pray, speak in tongues or even more.

Chicago's LGBT community was generally very supportive of Emanuel. Much of its leadership endorsed the mayor-elect. Can't say this news shocking in the least, tho.

Comments

[Distant Lover]

This is a cause for alarm. Whenever I see the words FUNDAMENTALIST, RELIGION, CHRISTIAN and CONSERVATIVE, my shields go up and my warpaint goes on. If he gets out of hand, call ACT UP!

[Derrick from Philly]

OK, let me get into trouble here.

I don't know why Mayor Emanuel thinks the only way to keep Black Chicagoans happy is too put an anti-gay Black preacher on his transition team. It's a similar strategy he used to protect President Obama's image among church folks--bringing all those disgusting preachers.

But I do know this: No mayor of a big city can ignore and neglect that big city's gay population. He/She needs them to win election and she'll them to be re-elected.

We had a mayor here in Philly named John Street. Back when he was City Council President he showed his contempt for Gay Philadelphians. By the time he left the mayor's office he had done more for Gay Philadelphians than any mayor before. He even took a chance on angering BLack Philadelphia by putting a Gay man as head of the Minority Business Bureau (or whatever the hell they called it). THe Gay guy was Black but that didn't stop the anger by some in the BLack business community.

No Democrat can be elected the mayor of a major city without the Gay vote. Emanuel will suddenly do in the Mayor's Office what he refused to do in the WHite House: become very very Gay friendly.

[butchie]

I know that this may not be a popular point of view, but I did not see any indication that Rev. Brazier would be anti gay. The article stated that his father was anti gay, but there was no indication that the younger Brazier has expressed any proclivity towards anti gay behavior.

This is almost homophobic by association. It would be the same thing if people assumed that I was a drag queen or that I was into bondage and leather because I am gay. I am gay, but I have no desire to dress in drag (not that there is anything wrong with dressing in drag, it that's your thing). I have a cousin who knows that I am gay and always finds a way to bring the show RuPaul's drag race into every conversation that I have with her. She assumes that because I am gay, I am into drag. That is the same thing that we are doing in this case.

Just because he is pastor of an Apostolic Church does not mean that he will be anti gay. I am a member a pretty large Apostolic church in the DC area. I have been going to this church for about 5 years and I have never heard my pastor make a comment regarding gay people, gay marriage or gays in the military.

I think we should reserve judgment until we have heard from the Reverend or until we see his actions.

[Marco]

If he's anti-gay, so what? Many Americans are anti-gay; many Christian churches have a problem with homosexuality. That's reality. If Emanuel has no openly gay or lesbian appointments, maybe there weren't any who were qualified and wanting to be in public scrutiny. Must we have quota systems?

[Greg G]

Marco: Of course, most churches are antigay so majority rules. And even though Chicago had an openly gay school supt, transit chief and aldermen and state reps ... there was not ONE he could name to a 10 person transition team.

You're either straight and a troll or closeted and clueless. You mimic the exact same talking points of antigay Republicans and church people.

Trifling.

[Chitown Kev]

Marco, and you obviously don't know how many queens Daley had in his adminstration...quite a few.

[Account Deleted]

WHY DO THEY THIS? Why?

[Honut Sinti]

And here we go...