Benjamin C. Evans III on reconciling his identity as a black man, a gay man, and a minister

August 3, 2015
David Streever

Benjamin C. Evans III from The Root article

Benjamin C. Evans III writes that he had tried for years to convince himself and others that he was straight before he realized that there was nothing wrong with who he was. Writing on the Root, Evans piece on his identity is the third piece in a series titled #BlackMenLove, focusing on the who, what, and how deeply black men love.

From the article:

Over time, I began to hate homosexuality and thus hate myself. I even occasionally joined in gay-bashing. I cut people off, changed my style of clothing, went on fasts, traveled to see specialists, stopped secretly dating men, attempted to marry a woman, doused myself in holy oil and read the Bible. You name it, I tried it.

Nothing seemed to work. You know why?

I was born this way, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with who I am. I’m black, I’m a minister and I’m gay.

Evans shares his story as part of a call to work together to end discrimination, tying his efforts into the anti-discrimination views of Bayard Rustin, an openly gay civil rights activist who organized the March on Washington.

The series was produced in collaboration with BMe, which originated from the Knight Foundation, a network of members of all races and genders working together to build better communities across America.

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Philip B. Spivey

August 7, 2015 10:08 am

Congratulations, Rev. Evans. Keep on keepin' on. It gets better.

N.B. I'm happy to see that the Cafe has discovered The Root. The Root is an excellent resource for a better understanding of the Black experience in the United States.

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JC Fisher

August 4, 2015 5:08 am

Oy vey, the comments at that site (a lot of 'em). Rev Harris lists all the things he did to NOT be gay (the Christian things of Scripture study, prayer/asking for prayer, fasting, "You name it, I tried it.") and then those commenters (aka "judges", many w/ their Caps Locked) completely IGNORE those inconvenient facts, and tell him to read his Bible! [More like read their homophobic Bible interpretive tracts, is like it.]

Stay strong, Benjamin, in your God-given gay self. It gets better, alleluia!

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Elizabeth Holtzman

Reply to JC Fisher

August 4, 2015 9:48 am

"More like read their homophobic Bible tracts, is like it." Amen. The Bible is not homophobic, just some of the haters who interpret it.

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