Just when you thought that the weekend was getting started, the weekend really got started. A fourth man filed suit against Bishop Eddie Long, alleging that the respected pastor coerced him in to having sex with him. This is the fourth of what some think could become a very long list of legal problems for Bishop Eddie Long.
The suit claims the following:
"Breach of Fiduciary Duty; Negligence; Fraud; Infliction of Emotional Distress and other Counts based on Sexual Acts by Bishop Long against this young male church member."
The plaintiff in the suit, Spencer LeGrande, alleges that he met Bishop Long when he was 15 years old. He traveled with Long on various trips, including visits to Africa and Kenya. He says that intimate contact occurred during the entire time he was in Atlanta.
I admit that I am beginning to believe that there might be another side to the life of Bishop Eddie Long. As I mentioned in my conversation on MSNBC, the goal is to make sure we see the evidence, and to separate the relevant from the irrelevant. In the event that Bishop Eddie Long did breach his fiduciary duty to these young men and their families, there is going to be (excuse the pun) serious hell to pay. Also, those who stand to lose the most are the members of the congregation at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, who've dedicated so much to creating the lifestyle enjoyed by Bishop Long. If he was using church funds to engage in this kind of activity, it's clear that he'd chosen to significantly deviate from the path that God and his congregation needed him to walk.
One ray of hope that lies on the horizon for Bishop Eddie Long and the rest of the black church is that there might be room to have an open conversation about how the black church deals with homosexuality. We've all embraced a lie that says that sexual purity is the norm, every man is completely faithful to his wife and that praying long enough will make people turn "ungay." The black church is an institution so ingrained in the psyches of many black folks that we are sucked in to it before we make a conscious decision to be a part of the institution. The peer pressure is enormous and anyone caught questioning the church or living outside its boundaries is permanently ostracized.
As a result of this involuntary indoctrination, we have millions of African Americans who live double lives of self-righteous condemnation during the day, and malicious, deviant activity at night. I never cease to be amazed at how some bible thumping, bible quoting, bible carrying so-called Christians can live the lives they live, yet somehow believe that their spirits are clean because they can recite the word to every gospel song they hear on the radio. Perhaps instead of allowing the black church to be a cultural and social institution, it can actually be a spiritual one. This obviously doesn't make reference to everyone who attends church on Sundays, but most of you know those folks who spew God from their lips and Satan from their activities.
Bishop Eddie Long is a phenomenal pastor and charismatic figure in the black community. All of us should be curious about whether there is a culture of homosexuality within the black church and how it can be discussed openly. There is also the question of pedophilia in the church, which puts our young people in jeopardy. This does not imply, of course, that homosexuality and pedophilia are linked in any significant way. There are both heterosexual and homosexual predators, and unfortunately, one of them might be sitting next to you on Sundays. I am certainly hopeful that Bishop Eddie Long is not one of them.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.