Leading Black Pastor Eulogizes Slain Ugandan Gay Rights Advocate David Kato

One of the leading African American ministers in the country stood in his pulpit to eulogize Ugandan gay advocate, David Kato, who was murdered after having a death threat against him published on the front page of a local newspaper. The Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III, head pastor of the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, announced to the 150 people gathered at the memorial service on Monday, February 7, 2011, that he was “beginning the conversation” to engage Black church leaders to save the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender leaders such as David Kato.

"Tonight we make an important first step in bridging the chasm that separates gay & straight people in the church," Butts proclaimed. "This discussion on human sexuality should have happened a long time ago and if it had maybe Kato's and many many other's lives would have been saved."

Frank Mugisha, Executive Director of Sexual Minorities of Uganda, who worked closely with David, said, "Being here tonight inspires me and gives me strength to carry on David's work advocating for gays and lesbians, bailing them out of jail, providing financial support and protection. Before coming here I did not know that a religious leader could stand up freely and support gays and lesbians. In Uganda when a pastor did that he was excommunicated."

Uganda has been under international scrutiny as it continues to consider a law that would included the death penalty for gay people. Conservative Evangelicals have been documented spreading anti-gay sentiment to Uganda so that Ugandan LGBT people are now having to flee their homes due to threats and persecution.

"So long as these laws remain in force millions of people will continue to live their lives under the threat of arrest and in some cases even execution. These laws legitimize homophobia by giving it a government sanctioned seal of approval,” said Charles Radcliffe. "Our first challenge has to be the decriminalization of homosexuality." Mr. Radcliffe is the chief of global issues for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

New York City Speaker Christine C. Quinn, in a written statement read by a representative, called Kato's death "a reminder that every single individual has the power to promote equality and stand up against injustices both near and far.”

Pastor Joseph A. Tolton, Pastor of Rehoboth Temple and organizer of the service, praised Dr. Butts for his leadership in this critical moment. “The gay and lesbian African American community had a historic homecoming in this memorial service for David Kato. We found ourselves welcomed home to the cradle of the Black Church. We are clear that we all walk under the banner of love where our community will work together and not allow ourselves to be divided because of sexual orientation or gender identity. This is our first step in a long journey.”

The service, reminiscent of those held for the many martyrs who paid the ultimate price for freedom in the US, included a solitary portrait of Kato bearing the words "Demand Justice" positioned in the front of the church. Local church choirs and a featured solo from violinist Juliette Jones brought the gathered community to their feet with tears in their eyes. The memorial was one of two memorials held in New York City just two weeks after Kato was murdered in his home in Uganda. His death captured international attention and yesterday's memorial will certainly carry forward the discussion of homophobia in Uganda, the United States and the 70 countries that still imprison or execute gay and transgender people.

HISTORIC HARLEM CHURCH TO HOLD SERVICE FOR UGANDAN GAY ADVOCATE

HISTORIC HARLEM CHURCH TO HOLD SERVICE FOR UGANDAN GAY ADVOCATE

As gay and transgender Ugandans and same-gender-loving faith leaders in the United States mourn the death of gay leader David Kato, the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City is opening its doors to host a memorial service for Mr. Kato. The Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III one of the leading African American ministers in the United States will preside over the service in a congregation known as the “cradle of the Black Church.” Info: http://gaybygod.net/david-kato/

WHO: The Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III, pastor Abyssinian Baptist Church

Pastor Joseph W. Tolton, pastor of Rehoboth Christ Consciousness

Pastor Michael Walrond Jr., pastor of First Corinthian Baptist Church

Bishop Yvette Flunder, presiding bishop of The Fellowship

Frank Mugisha, president of Sexual Minorities Uganda

Charles Radcliffe, Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

WHAT: Memorial Service and call for solidarity in remembrance of slain Ugandan gay rights advocate, David Kato.

WHEN: Monday February 7, 2011. 7pm

WHERE: Abyssinian Baptist Church 132 Odell Clark Place, NY, NY (W 138th St)

For Directions: http://www.abyssinian.org/contact/contact/

WHY: On Wednesday January 26, 2011 David Kato, a Ugandan gay rights advocate, was beaten to death in his home. His death comes just months after his name, picture and home address were published by the Ugandan newspaper, Rolling Stone, where Kato and 99 others were pictured in an article calling for their execution. Uganda came under scrutiny last year as its parliament proposed the death penalty for gay people. Many believe American Evangelicals who visited Uganda in 2009 helped create the bill and fomented a climate of fear leading to violence.

The memorial, will remember Kato's work, celebrate his life, and mourn his death while challenging lawmakers, foreign and domestic governments and citizens of this world to respond with action against anti-gay movements stoked by religion.

Arts.Advocacy+Wellness: "Loving to Death"...NotEnoughGood.com

Loving to Death

by

Thenera Bailey

President, The SISGI GROUP and Founder, NOTENOUGHGOOD.COM

David Kato was probably murdered because of how he loved. That was his only crime. Not because he treated people badly. Not because he stole or created terrorism. His murder probably occurred because he was an openly gay man and an outspoken advocate for gay rights in his country. He was bludgeoned to death on January 26, 2011 just a few weeks after winning a court injunction against the magazine that called for the death of many of Uganda’s gay citizens.

At his funeral, rather than sharing remarks about the loss of a beautiful person or the ways that David’s life touched and empowered others, Regardless of how you might feel about someone in life it seems unforgiveable to speak badly about him or her while acknowledging his or her passing. It seems an extreme and cruel action when the individual is not alive to neither defend nor address your actions. But somehow it has become a popular method at the burials of LGBT citizens around the world. Here in the US, a religious group actively seeks out funerals of LGBT citizens as a way to spread their beliefs against homosexuality. It seems so counter to the messages of love and respect for your neighbors that are throughout Christian scripture.

Over the weekend, I watched a 2009 Lifetime movie called Prayers for Bobby. Sigourney Weaver played Mary Griffith, a devoutly Christian women who’s son was gay and eventually killed himself, in part because his close knit and religious family indicated their disgust for his actions and pushed for him to change. Unable to change as they requested, even after therapy, prayers and a consistent desire, he took his life by jumping off a bridge into oncoming traffic. Mary Griffith struggled with his death and her understanding of scripture and allowed the minister at his funeral to speak negatively of her child and his lifestyle. Eventually Mary comes to understand how wrong she was and becomes a strong advocate for gay rights. Unfortunately, she had to lose her son to get to this place of understanding.

In Uganda, living as a homosexual can bring you a sentence of life in prison. In many other places it can lead to capital punishment, torture or exile. For those involved in human rights and for individuals who are working for social change, we must continue to understand these types of larger social policies around the world. Most importantly, we must continue to question the harshness of laws around the world.

If this were an issue of individuals of different races loving each other, one might be quick to state how wrong it is to stop people from loving one another. It has become a societal norm for the most part in the U.S. to not make issue of interracial relationships. It was only a fewdecades ago where these same relationships would have been illegal. At the time, bible verses about separation were also used as reasons against race mixing and individuals that went against this societal norm faced persecution. Today, that type of thinking seems almost comical and represents a sad moment in our country’s history. We learned that loving someone of another color is not wrong and does nothing to erode the fabric of the how our society functions. For the sake of more lives, it is hopeful that one day the same will be true for the David Katos and Bobby Griffiths of the world, who love the same gender.

Thank you Thenera for providing this story on A.A+W Wednesday atTheFutureForward.net. To Read this article in its original form and to comment (We invite you to leave a comment and share your thoughts) Log on to:

http://notenoughgood.com/2011/01/loving-to-death/

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David Kato's Harlem Memorial Service: Monday, February 7, 2011

Your 101 Class on What's Really Going On in Uganda

Here are the Cliffs Notes on a past year of Gay, Human & Civil Rights that are being threatened in Uganda. We hope this helps you get up to speed.

October 14, 2009

Anti-homosexual bill in Uganda introduced by David Bahati

February 5, 2010

US condemns Uganda anti-gay law

The Obama Administration called Uganda to task as the African nation considers a law that would criminalise homosexuality. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she had expressed U.S. concerns about the bill to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

February 17, 2010

Anti-gay bill finds support in conservative Uganda

March 25, 2010

International Uproar over Uganda Anti-Gay Bill, Study Finds American Evangelicals Encouraging Homophobia

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/25/international_uproar_over_uganda_anti_gay

Proposed anti-gay legislation in Uganda has sparked international uproar. Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, but the new bill would impose much harsher punishments including life imprisonment and even the death penalty for some homosexual acts. We speak with a leading Ugandan gay rights organizer and a Zambian priest who has documented the role of American evangelicals in fostering homophobia in Uganda.

October 2, 2010

Ugandan media, politicians campaign against homosexuality

Gays and lesbians in Uganda say they are living in fear, targets of a media and political campaign to wipe homosexuality from the face of the East African country. Tabloid newspaper Rolling Stone is spreading anti-gay hatred and identifying gays in Uganda. In its Oct. 2 edition, the newspaper launched a campaign to identify 100 "top homos" in Uganda, adding on the front page, "Hang Them."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/11/22/f-uganda-anti-gay.html#ixzz1CTU2d7oc

December 8, 2010

Rachel Maddow - David Bahati "Kill The Gays" Bill Uganda Sponsor

- Part 1

December 14, 2010

African Americans protest Bahati’s US tour to promote “kill the gays” in Uganda

LGBT People of African Descent and our allies, family and friends are responding to the immediate attack on our fellow brother and sisters in the country of Uganda. The conservative Christian right organization known as The Family and so-called “ex-gay” activist Scott lively exported hatred to Africa with a direct threat to the LGBT community in Uganda by funding and sponsoring the “Anti-Homosexuality” bill which would introduce the death penalty for gay people and require extradition of gay Ugandans around the world.

LGBT communities of color in the USA and across the globe are at greater risk for hate crimes and persecutions. Killing LGBT people in Uganda or anywhere else around the world is wrong.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR BROTHERS AND SISTER IN UGANDA

Learn more about Frank Mugisha and the POWERFUL work he is doing.

Frank on NPR: (December 20, 2010)

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/20/132147169/anti-gay-atmosphere-permeates-uganda

Activist Calls for US Black and Gay Media to Report on Injustice in Uganda

As confirmation of the death of Ugandan gay activist and Sexual Minorities Uganda officer David Kato hit stateside on Wednesday, January 26, 2011, it has left many in the black and LGBT community’s with lingering questions. As the details of the case unfold, what is clear is that the hatred and homophobia that is rampant in Uganda must be met with swift resistance before it spreads any further.

SMUG Chairperson Frank Mugisha, who has been on an east coast tour of the U.S. to garner support against anti-gay legislation and discriminatory behavior in his homeland, will hold a press conference exclusively to members of the black and gay media, urging them to “tell the story” of violence, and injustice that is threatening black and gay people in Uganda.

On Friday, January 28^th at Noon

BLACK FAITH ALLIANCE FOR GLOBAL LGBT JUSTICE

The Global Justice Institute, GLAAD, GLO TV Network, BGM Network, GBMNews, GayByGod.net, The Fellowship, MCC New York, Rehoboth Temple

Called an Emergency Call To Action to challenge black and gay media to tell the story of Uganda's current plight against murder, discrimination and bigotry. This is what was discussed with Frank Mugisha and Pastor Joseph Tolton.

Ugandan lesbian asylum seeker wins last minute reprieve from deportation from UK

by Jessica Geen
28 January 2011

www.pinknews.co.uk

photo courtesy of Brett Lock, Outrage!

Gay rights campaigners are hoping that a lesbian Ugandan woman will be spared deportation from the UK this evening.

Brenda Namigadde is to be placed on a plane at 9.20pm after the UK Border Agency decided that she had no right to remain in the UK, as there was not enough evidence to show she is gay.

Supporters of the 29-year-old say that they would not be championing her case if she was not a lesbian and argue that there is plenty of evidence to show she will face persecution if returned to Uganda, where homosexuality is illegal.

Today, a 30,000-signature petition was delivered to Home Secretary Theresa May urging her to stop the deportation and allow Ms Namigadde to make a fresh asylum campaign.

The Ugandan’s case has been reviewed twice by a judge and her supporters say two of her witnesses were unable to attend a recent hearing.

She says that she was forced to leave the country after the home she shared with her Canadian girlfriend was burned down.

This week, the Ugandan MP responsible for the country’s notorious gay execution bill, David Bahati, said that she would be welcome in Uganda if she “repents”.

Ms Namigadde is now in the unfortunate situation of her actual sexuality being irrelevant, as she is to be deported from the UK to a country where she is now believed to be gay.

She told PinkNews.co.uk yesterday that she expected to be killed upon her return.

Paul Canning, of campaign website LGBT Asylum News, said of Ms Namigadde’s asylum application: “Lesbians have been found to be disproportionately placed into the ‘fast track’ system, which means after that one hearing Brenda’s chances of avoiding being removed are dramatically reduced.

“The government has been asked to recognise that sexuality-based asylum cases are almost always complex, should be allowed more time and therefore not place them in ‘fast-track’ but they have refused."

“LGBT Asylum News has three separate and independent pieces of evidence that say that Brenda is a lesbian. We would not have embarked on this campaign if we believed she was not.”

Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has also called for Ms Namigadde to avoid deportation.

He said: “The Home Secretary, Theresa May, last year promised that the coalition government would not deport lesbian and gay refugees to countries like Uganda where they would be at risk of persecution."

“She should honour her pledge by halting the removal of Brenda Namigadde and allowing her to make a fresh asylum appeal."

“If she is forced back to Uganda, Brenda is likely to be arrested at the airport and probably jailed and tortured – or murdered by a homophobic mob.”

Ms Namigadde’s solicitor put in a fresh asylum claim this week, which the UK Border Agency is expected to respond to today.

The decision may well come at the last moment, although Ms Namigadde’s supporters are still urging Ms May to use her power to halt the deportation order.

Story continues:

Ugandan Lesbian Asylum Seeker Wins Last Minute Reprieve from Deportation from UK

Uganda: Anti-Gay Pastor Blasts David Kato's Funeral, Villagers Refuse to Bury Body

By Rod 2.0:Beta

David Kato

An unfortunate and absolutely vile update to the horrible murder of David Kato, the leading Ugandan gay rights activist who was brutally killed in his own home on Wednesday. As hundreds gathered at today's burial for the slain pastor, fights erupted after a local pastor grabbed the microphone and blasted homosexuality.

To add more disrespect: Villagers then refused to bury Kato's body. Kato's gay friends had no choice but to carry the body themselves to the burial site, reports Reuters.

"The world has gone crazy," the pastor told the congregation through a microphone. "People are turning away from the scriptures. They should turn back, they should abandon what they are doing. You cannot start admiring a fellow man."

Gay activists, wearing T-shirts featuring Kato's face with sleeves coloured with the gay pride flag, then stormed the pulpit and grabbed the microphone.

"It is ungodly," the pastor shouted, before being blocked from sight. "ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE US"

An unidentified female activist then began to shout from the pulpit. "Who are you to judge others?" she shouted. "We have not come to fight. You are not the judge of us. As long as he's gone to God his creator, who are we to judge Kato?"

Locals intervened on the side of the pastor and scuffles broke out before he was taken away to Kato's father's house to calm the situation. Villagers then refused to bury the body at which point a group of Kato's friends, most of whom were gay, carried his coffin to the grave and buried it themselves.

And yet another heartbreaking chapter in Uganda's state-sponsored anti-gay terror campaign, where gays cannot even be buried in peace ...

Meanwhile: Police report no leads on Kato's murder. Investigators refuse to link Kato's murder to his activism or the vicious anti-gay tabloid outing where his name and photo made the front page with the headline "Hang Them".

Anti-Gay Atmosphere Permeates Uganda reported by NPR

Stephen Wandera/AP

Thousands of children demonstrate against homosexuality in Uganda's capital, Kampala, in January. A bill being considered by the Ugandan Parliament would increase penalties for homosexual conduct and criminalize many related activities.

by Barbara Bradley Hagerty

NPR.com

In October, a tabloid called Rolling Stone — no relation to the American magazine — published an article headlined "100 Pictures of Uganda's Top Homos Leak." The article listed names, addresses and hangouts of gay men and lesbians.

Frank Mugisha saw his photo. Then he noticed the subhead: "Hang them."

"I was shaken up. I was freaked out. I was scared," says Mugisha, who heads up the group Sexual Minorities Uganda. "I'm like, hang them? What is the general Ugandan community going to do to us if the media is calling for us to be hanged?"

On Tuesday, a judge in Uganda is expected to decide whether Rolling Stone may continue to publish the names of gay men and lesbians. Gay activists say that outing them puts them in danger. For example, a couple of days after his name and photo were printed, Mugisha received a text message from a university student.

"It said, 'We don't like homosexuals in Uganda and you guys should be executed. We know where you live, we know who you hang out with, we know who your friends are and we shall come and deal with you as the youth of Uganda.'"

Mugisha was not physically attacked. But others were, says Christopher Senyojo, a retired Anglican bishop who works with gays in Uganda.

Click here to listen to the NPR radio report: Anti-Gay Atmosphere Permeates Uganda

"I know a girl whose house was stoned [and] had to run away for some time from that neighborhood," he says. "I've known people who have been attacked, because after this publication, bad elements started to hunt them down."

Across Africa, gay men and lesbians have been targeted for punishment or violent attacks in Malawi, Zimbabwe, Senegal and Cameroon. But Mugisha says, in Uganda, there's an American connection.

"Homophobia has always existed in Uganda," he says. "But I would say it's greatly increased over the past two years, ever since American evangelicals came to Uganda."

Specifically, he's referring to a conference in March 2009, when three Americans spoke to hundreds of people in Kampala about homosexuality. One of them was Scott Lively, who told the group: "The gay movement is an evil institution. The goal of the gay movement is to defeat the marriage-based society and replace it with a culture of sexual promiscuity."

Lively, who declined an interview, heads Abiding Truth Ministries, a conservative evangelical group in Massachusetts that claims people can be healed from homosexuality. On that same trip, Lively met with members of Uganda's Parliament, and a few months later, Parliament member David Bahati introduced a bill that would impose the death penalty on gays.

"I am trying to make sure there is a way to protect our children and make sure our traditional family, the culture that we believe in, is not polluted," Bahati said in an interview. He spoke to NPR while he was in Washington to attend an economic conference, but was prohibited from entering the building where the conference was held after the organizers learned of his bill.

Bahati says the vast majority of Ugandans oppose homosexuality, and he's just representing their views.

"There has been an impression that maybe Bahati is another Hitler, is another Saddam Hussein, is another Idi Amin of Uganda," he said. "I'm not that. I love people. I love gays, but we disagree on how we should approach this issue."

Bahati's bill — which will be considered as early as February — would exact the death penalty for consenting gay adults who are "serial offenders." It would give life imprisonment for touching someone of the same gender in a sexual way, and jail time for anyone — including friends and family — who doesn't turn gay people in.

"If it was passed, it would be terrible," says Senyojo. He believes what the law doesn't do, vigilantes would.

"The mob could definitely attack anybody who they said was a homosexual," he says.

The Obama administration has warned Uganda that this is a bad idea. Bahati says America should mind its own business.

"As God-fearing people, we know that man and woman were created to have a union, and we are very, very, very strong about this," he says. "This is our own view. We respect America for what they believe in. They should also respect Uganda for what they believe in."

Bahati says because of international pressure, he would consider removing the death penalty provisions. He adds that his bill has overwhelming support in the Parliament. But even if it fails, the current law barring "carnal knowledge against the order of nature" carries a penalty of life in prison.