Tag Archives: Eric Lee

Marriage Equality

Rev. Eric Lee Faces Pressure for Standing Up for Equality

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Rev. Eric Lee, the outstanding leader of the LA Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Council is getting heat from the national leadership for his support of marriage equality. The New York Times has a story of the split over LGBT rights within the fabled civil rights organization. (h/t Pam Spaulding)

Mr. Lee said that his opposition to Proposition 8 had “created tension in my life I had never experienced with black clergy.”

“But it was clear to me,” he added, “that any time you deny one group of people the same right that other groups have, that is a clear violation of civil rights and I have to speak up on that.”

In April, Mr. Lee attended a board meeting of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Kansas City, Mo., and found himself once again in the minority position among his colleagues on the issue of same-sex marriage, but he was told, he said, by the group’s interim president, Byron Clay, that the organization publicly had a neutral position on the issue.

So a month later, Mr. Lee said, he was surprised to receive a call from the National Board of Directors summoning him immediately to Atlanta to explain why he had taken a position on same-sex marriage without the authority of the national board. (NYT 7/10/09)

As Pam points out, the local groups operate independently. So, it’s not particularly clear what authority the national organization has over the LA Chapter. Further, the LA Chapter’s Board, led by current CDP Secretary Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, is in support of Rev. Lee and his position on marriage equality. While it looks like Rev. Lee was and is on solid footing, the incident reminds us of how much work there is to be done.

Rev. Lee was a leader in the effort to defeat Prop 8. However, as he pointed out, there was a failure of the campaign to reach out to communities of color. However, there has been a distinct effort to learn from these failures in order to not only win marriage equality at the ballot box but to also help create a more stable progressive coalition in the state.

It is important that marriage equality advocates see this struggle in the greater context of civil rights. That means not only LGBT rights, but also the rights of immigrants and those born into poverty. It means building a coalition that stands up and fights when the powerful try to trample the powerless.  And Eric Lee has been a leader, and no matter what capacity, he will continue to be a powerful voice for those who most need it.

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A Thank You to Our Friends

If you haven’t been paying attention to the Prop 8 aftermath, you’ve noticed the tension surrounding the minority vote.  And, btw, welcome back, I’m sure the rock you’ve been living under was comfy.

But around the state there were some real champions within the African-American clergy. They recognize a civil rights issue when they see it.  In fact, a group of Northern California leaders came together on October 19 to stand against Proposition 8. Here’s a flyer for that event.

While it wasn’t successful, it is through strife that you find your true friends. You learn that people like Eric Lee will stand up with you. But it is tough to find a better friend than Rev. Dr. Amos Brown of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco.

Dr. Brown is the leader of the local chapter of the NAACP, and here in California, the state and local chapters were outspoken in their opposition to Prop 8. But sometimes you get a bit of blowback.

“I would say about 25 percent of the people made it known they are not coming because of our position,” Brown said. “We will go ahead with our friends who have the sense to know the issues well, that it is equal protection under the law and not a religious issue.

“The Yes on 8 position does not represent the spirit of Jesus.”(SF Chron 11/21/08)

These things will happen as we move towards equality.  The NAACP did the right thing, and continues to do the right thing by joining the lawsuit against Prop 8.

By the by, if you are interested in attending the dinner in SF tonight, it’s at the Cathedral Hill Hotel at 6 PM and features NY Gov. David Patterson.