DETROIT – It was a 'major coming out party' for Detroit's black LGBT community. The first ever town hall meeting designed to address homophobia in Detroit went off without a hitch last Wednesday, Jan. 28. More than 400 people packed into the auditorium inside the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, filling the seats to capacity, lining the aisles and even overflowing into the museum's rotunda.
Johnny Jenkins, a co-organizer of the event, laid out the ground rules early.
"We want everybody to respect everybody else's opinion," he said. "All opinions are credible and this is supposed to be a productive dialogue. So we can agree to disagree and then we can move on but we want to promote understanding, tolerance and just put a face to this. I know a lot of people personally in this room, and it's an awesome face, it's a diverse face."
Names were another issue of concern.
"As I was driving in there was a song on the radio by Alicia Keys, and the tag line says, 'You Don't Know My Name,' and I thought about it as I was driving here and I said, you know, that's part of why we're here," said Rev. Darren McCarroll, one of the panelists, in his opening remarks. "We want to tell people what you are to call us because we don't want you to call us something that is outside of our name. It's important that we say what our name is and who we are. I am not an abomination, I am not ungodly, I am not filth or dirt. I am something better than that. I am God's child and that's what you can call me."
When asked to explain the Bible's apparent objection to gays, McCarroll said it was a matter of context.
"I hear people say things that are just absolutely irrational and ignorant, when they go to things like the Levitical code and they talk about these things that are an abomination," he said. "And it's interesting that they'll pull out the one that talks about same-gender sex, but when it comes to the abominations like eating pork, and so forth, we just kind of conveniently skip over those because we've got to have our barbeque sales to build our churches.
"We have to take it in context, we have to look at the code in terms of its time," McCarroll continued.
Not everyone was convinced, however, least of all Rev. Walter Cheeks of Detroit's New St. Peter Missionary Baptist Church.
"When we take forms of this nature and make pot shots at people who are not present, to say that all churches sell barbeque dinners to pay the bills is ridiculous," Cheeks said. "That's just like other churches indicting a whole gay community. I believe in respecting everybody, human beings period. But whether you're an adulteress or whoremonger, gay or whatever coin you want to put on it, all of us have got to answer to God for the lifestyle that we choose. And all of them are out of sync with God, whether I'm an adulteress, whether I'm a whoremonger, or in the gay community."
After the crowd stopped hissing, panelist Rosalind Andrews Worthy of Gospel Against AIDS responded to the reverend's comments.
"I know that God wants our attention, and he wants our attention because he has put AIDS upon us and AIDS is no discriminator," said Worthy. "It doesn't know if you are gay or straight or black or white and it's unfortunately doing what we can't seem to accomplish in our good health. So how many more lives have to be taken before we get it together?"
Building political muscle
Religious oppression was not the only issue discussed at the meeting. Panelists fielded an assortment of questions, including several on legal protections for LGBTs. Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson pledged to do what she could to spur the city's legal department, which has been stalling on moving forward domestic partner benefits for city employees, into action.
"Let's see if we can't come up with a city council edict to tell the law department to let our ordinance go," said Watson, before lambasting the city's Human Rights Commission. "The Human Rights Commission needs some muscle, some fire, some fervor. We have got some heavy criticism of their lack of enforcing human rights provisions in the city of Detroit during the budget process. But citizens also should speak up as it relates to opportunities for enforcement, opportunities for nurturing and building in respect to the rights and the dignity of everyone in the city of Detroit. That's part of the mission of the Human Rights Commission and all citizens are not aware of that."
On a statewide level, Michigan Senator Hansen Clarke made several promises to the crowd. Among them, Clark said he would call Detroit Public Schools CEO Kenneth Burnley, who neither showed to the meeting nor sent a representative in his place, to discuss bringing Gay Straight Alliances into the city's school system. Clarke also promised to interview members of the transgender community interested in interning in his office and to sponsor a trip to Lansing to allow LGBT community members to meet and address members of the legislature.
"Politically it's so controversial but who cares," Clarke said. "We know it's the right thing to do. I'm here to stand up for people who may not feel that they have a voice. But I'm not going to be a martyr either. So if the community wants it and you will stand and back me up, then we'll go ahead and do it."
A mother's plea
Of all the pledges made by members of the panel, the most powerful words of the evening came in the form of a plea for help from someone in the audience. Alfreda Nicholas Parker lost her transgendered child last year. Nikki Nicholas was murdered and her body left in an abandoned farmhouse in rural Livingston County. Parker spoke to moderator Charles Pugh, of WJBK Fox 2, about her struggle.
"You have to have somebody to talk to and people get tired of the same routine so I talk to my God and my God knows," she said. "I'm proud, I'm very proud to say that I am the mother of a gay transgendered person. I wish that Nikki was here so that you could guys could see the wonderful person that my Nikki was. My Nikki was a person that brought joy into what could have been a very dreary day for you. She was something."
Nicholas' death remains unsolved, and Parker asked Detroit Assistant Police Chief Harold Cureton for help.
"With all this going on, with all the children that are getting killed and all the people out here that's hurting my children. I'm watching these people die daily and the Detroit Police Department, they seem to care less, less about the lives that these gay people are living."
Cureton vowed to do what he could. He also agreed to take Ms. Parker's call the next day and see what assistance the Detroit Police Department could offer in helping solve the murder of her child.
'Extremely overwhelmed'
"This is a major coming out party for our community politically in this city," said Jenkins at the close of the night. "I hope you understand how important this is and how important it is for us to back this up. Everything that was offered, we're definitely going to follow up with you on it."
Brent Dorian Carpenter, another of the meeting's co-organizers, agreed.
"I'm extremely overwhelmed by the turnout," Carpenter said. "Forty-nine years ago a woman got on a bus and she was sick and tired of being sick and tired and she refused to give up her seat on the bus. History remembers her name as Rosa Parks. History does not remember the name of the man who refused her the seat. This is the civil rights movement of our time. The LGBT community is the Rosa Parks of our time. History will not remember the name of those who seek to oppress us."
Panelist: Detroit Assistant Chief of Police Harold Cureton
What he said: "It's not so much if you're homophobic or not, it's to what degree you're homophobic and I think that most of the heterosexual males in the Detroit Police Department have a certain amount of homophobia."
What he promised: To speak with Alfreda Nicholas Parker to see how the Detroit Police Department can help with the investigation into the murder of her transgendered child, which took place last year in Livingston County.
Panelist: Michigan State Senator Hansen Clarke
What he said: "I want to make sure that no one is ever harassed, fired, beaten up or murdered on account of their sexual orientation or gender identity. That's my official position."
What he promised:
* To follow up with Detroit Public Schools CEO Kenneth Burnley to encourage him to work with the National Conference for Community and Justice to ensure that GSAs are formed in the Detroit Public School System.
* To bring on board a transgendered intern in a non-paying position.
* To sponsor a group trip to Lansing for community representatives to meet with members of the legislature to educate them on the issues of the LGBT community and the distinctions within it.
Panelist: Executive Director of Community Relations for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's office Karen Dumas
What she said: "The mayor is committed to making a difference and we're asking for your input on how to do that."
What she promised: That the mayor would meet personally with organizers of the town hall in the coming weeks.
Panelist: Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson
What she said: "There is one God who loves all people, and anyone who says anything different needs a wake-up call."
What she promised: To propose the city council come up with an edict instructing the city's law department to move forward on domestic partnership benefits for city employees.
The Nine Panelists
Rosalyn Worthy, Executive Director of Gospel Against AIDS
Michigan State Senator Hansen Clark
Harold Cureton, Assistant Chief of Detroit Police
Karen Dumas, Executive Director of Community Relations for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's office
Terry Lynn Howcott, Office of Detroit City Council President Maryann Mahaffey
Natasha Jackson, community youth activist
Rev. Darren McCarroll of Unity Fellowship Church in Detroit
Donna Payne of the Human Rights Campaign and the National Black Justice Coalition
JoAnn Watson, Detroit City Council Member
