Nothing says how toxic patriarchy is than an pastor launching n2 an anti-black, anti-single mom rant during the eulogy of Aretha Franklin, a single mom who raised sons. That “old school” mentality is full of misogyny, homophobia, groping (and worse) & needs 2 go.
It’s complicated. The history of the black church in this country is so rich. It was a place of gathering. Of safety from white eyes. We could be together & worship. Dance. Sing. Your fav singers came from the black church. Your fav non-black singers, fav singers, came from...
...the black church. It’s honestly why, when white progressives go into anti-religious rhetoric, it turns folks off. Even black agnostic & atheist black folks understand the history & nuance of the black church. That’s why someone like Farrakhan can be up there in a ...
...Black Christian church & enjoy himself at Aretha’s homegoing. It’s a place of celebration & gathering, whether you believe or not. And with anything old, there are extremely toxic & harmful elements allowed to fester. This is true of every community. Folks have to be...
...PUSHED forward. Systems do not just change on their own. For me (and so many others) yesterday’s homegoing showed the amazing things we love about church...and the things we hate. We didn’t cause those things to pop up. They just organically did. From Ariana being groped...
...in a livestream with MILLIONS watching around the world, to a pastor launching into an anti-black, anti-black woman, anti-single mom eulogy after hours of uplifting Aretha, her accomplishments, her family & her legacy, this was the final message chose to send her home.
We all saw & heard it & it brought back good & bad memories for many folks. People want & deserve change. People want & deserve better. If your place of worship is progressive & open, hopefully places like yours become the norm.
