To : "M. AnnaMarie Arnow" <allwayscooking@juno.com>
Subject : EQMD NEWS: Marylanders of Color Collective Urges Inclusive Millions More Movement
Date : Tue, 19 Jul 2005 17:57:11 GMT
News Release
EQUALITY MARYLAND
Contact: Meredith Moise, Field Organizer
Office Phone: 301-587-7500
Cell Phone: 443-668-2361
Email:
meredith@EqualityMaryland.org Contact: Khadijah Tribble, Chair, Marylanders of Color Collective
Cell Phone: 301-518-9642
Email:
godshiva10@aol.com EQUALITY MARYLAND'S MARYLANDERS OF COLOR COLLECTIVE CALLS ON 'MILLIONS MORE MARCH' ORGANIZERS TO REACH OUT TO LGBT COMMUNITY
Homophobic Comments by Organizer Rev. Willie Wilson Hamper Inclusive Nature of Event
Silver Spring, MD - The Marylanders of Color Collective, a subcommittee of Equality Maryland dedicated to making life better for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people of color, condemned Reverend Willie Wilson for comments made during a deeply homophobic sermon and urged Millions More March organizers to embrace the participation of the Black LGBT community in the March. The Millions More Movement is a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Million Man March. Rev. Wilson is the Executive Director of the Millions More Movement.
"At a time when Rev. Wilson should be a force for unity within our community, he is promoting homophobia and ignorance," said Equality Maryland Field Organizer Meredith Moise. "A man of the cloth should seek to heal the rift he has caused by talking to the Black LGBT community and working towards full inclusion of this community in the Millions More Movement."
In a sermon given in early July and printed in the Washington Blade last Friday, Rev. Wilson remarked, "Sisters are making more money than brothers and it's creating problems in families...that's one of the reasons many of our women are becoming lesbians." He continued his attack on lesbians and gay men within the Black community with vulgar sexual language.
"It is grossly irresponsible for someone in his position to be so lewd and disrespectful to women of color who happen to be same gender loving people," said Khadijah Tribble, chairperson of Equality Maryland's Marylanders of Color Collective. "I sincerely hope and expect Rev. Wilson to remember his days as a strong supporter of the Black GLBT family and offer an apology. This is yet another opportunity for organizers of this important march to fully embrace the Black GLBT community by accepting the bid of the National Black Justice Coalition to be one of the National Conveners of this March."
Equality Maryland is Maryland's largest civil rights organization, focused on making life better for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens of Maryland.
The Marylanders of Color Collective, a subcommittee of Equality Maryland, engages lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities of color and its allies in the movement for equality and social justice through visibility, political advocacy, religious dialogue and grassroots education in order to increase awareness and improve the quality of life for LGBT people and their families.
For more information, visit
www.equalitymaryland.org/MOCC
