Strange Bedfellows: Directed by Charl Randolph-Wright. Wh Merle Dandridge, Kim Hawthorne, Diree Ross, Lamman Rucker. Jab leav the fay home. Openly gay Choir Director, Carlton, is fired due to odium among the ans for this and havg his partner tow. Grace d wh a reporter. Chary thaws and Kev sleeps the night wh his fay." data-id="ma
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'GREENLEAF:' CHRISTIANS WHO DON'T SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE ARE 'BROKEN'
Of any show on televisn, the OWN seri lands neart to an hont reprentatn of my experience as a gay black man still stgglg wh what the church asked of me. * greenleaf gay choir director *
In a pivotal scene om the send episo Season 2 of the OWN TV seri Greenleaf, Grace Greenleaf (Merle Dandridge), the newly stalled associate pastor of the fictnal Memphis megachurch Calvary, approach Carlton Cise (Parnell Damone Marno) — the church’s out gay mic director — Carlton’s driveway. ”It’s a moment that monstrat what the show do bt: addrsg the church’s unrolved attu toward homosexualy a rehgly nuanced way.
However, when Carlton married his partner, Reggie, the Greenleafs' tune began to change. Donatns, the church's lifeblood, began to dry up, and the an board started si-eyg Carlton and Reggie. Here, Lady Mae fir Carlton—but not before he has a chance to say his piece. Who is the gay choir director on Greenleaf? In a * greenleaf gay choir director *
”The seri provis an opportuny to terrogate the church’s unsteady stance on homosexualy.
Among my iends, a group prised mostly of gay black men, I still fd myself havg to reassure skeptics before they’ll give a try. When gay black men nsir Greenleaf, many of are reckong wh our own legaci of parture.
* greenleaf gay choir director *
Bee when gay black men nsir Greenleaf, many of are reckong wh our own legaci of parture om ngregatns as tightly kn as the one picted the show — ngregatns that loved , but wanted our silence return, a mutg of the impulse that we believe to be immutable.
This week Oprah's mega-church drama Greenleaf featured not one, but two gay storyl, both regardg disciple: one was a matter of self-disciple and the other alt wh disciple wh church learship. In Wednday’s episo “Strange Bedfellows,” a rift forms over the cisn to fire the church’s gay choir director Carlton Cise (Parnell Damone Marno). * greenleaf gay choir director *
I’ve had this nversatn among enough of my gay black iends the cy, the former sweet ltle boys om whichever Baptist or COGIC or CME Church, om whatever small Southern town they me om, to know how much they miss — the hand of Miss So-and-So on the nape of their neck, her “good job, baby”s. That’s a story I’d heard about black gay men throughout the South, or maybe felt their absence, until I regnized wrten my future, too. The show seemed mted to unmaskg a toxic tenncy among some church muni to rpond to sexual asslt wh silence, and the show’s gay characters generally took a backseat to this gay character given the most airtime on Greenleaf last season was son--law Kev Satterlee (Tye Whe), the hband of the youngt Greenleaf dghter, Chary.
"Strange Bedfellows" is the send episo of the send season of Greenleaf. Dpe phback om Grace and Chary, Lady Mae sets out to fire Carlton, the church's openly gay choir director, after half of the Dean Board whholds their th prott to his sexualy. Grace fds herself... * greenleaf gay choir director *
In last season’s fale, Kev grips a gay nversn pamphlet, tears, beggg Chary to stay the marriage. Such moments, while dramatic, felt like a rehashg of the bloodls, undyg "down-low" narrative that sts gay men as negligent and ultimately selfish. It’s the show’s ls eply explored gay thread about mic director Carlton, an out gay man reckong wh the spirual turmoil of stayg at Calvary hop of changg the stutn, that actually has more transformative potential for queer Carlton arriv Season 1, he don’t shrk om explag his bumpy reer trajectory: As an out gay man, he’s been fired twice om other lol ngregatns.
Though Kev had begun to appear spels by the end of last season, Carlton’s firg helped to st him a more sympathetic light, “bee we unrstand what n st a man to be gay and out wh this muny.
Sudnly the dience has a new unrstandg of the pth of his sufferg and ’s easier to see why he n’t brg himself to tell his mother that he’s gay, even though she tus as such. Those were the on I looked up and down for exceptns, fdg a teenager, I accepted my place wh a legacy of partg, joed a tradn of gay black men a silent but stubborn dispute wh their mothers.
Good Morng, Calvary: Directed by Janice Cooke. Wh Merle Dandridge, Kim Hawthorne, Diree Ross, Lamman Rucker. Jab beg benched, Grace tak the pulp. A new sexual vlence help group is started. Jab's love for his wife is rekdled when they are ved to a partner swappg party. An openly gay Choir Director replac a closeted one." data-id="ma * greenleaf gay choir director *
Black gay men have been leavg for s — the men a now-middle-aged Carlton might have grown up wh, men who fled their hom a generatn ago and often returned after years spent away ci, spng dis rerds and gowns om cloth and even whole new languag to beg. I remember them whenever a new vio of a gospel artist nmng my gay fay surfac — a whole generatn of men who were rebed, and then mourned, but too late.
”Greenleaf normaliz the prence of LGBT people the church, but also forc me to reckon wh the legacy of black gay men partg. But by imagg how a person might navigate the church as an out gay person, the show works at somethg eper: challengg the silenc which my mother and I, and the black church at large, have grown too Season 1 of Greenleaf was about gaggg at the hijks of the church, then my relatnship to Season 2 has epened.
OWN The Greenleafs have returned for a send season episo 201,”A Hoe Divid,” and que ankly, the Lord is not sg down upon them. Dpe the heaps of sexual abe evince agast Uncle Mac, he’s walkg ee after gettg his father Henry to ttify agast Bishop Jam. Apparently, back 1983, Jam burned down his origal church, First Baptist orr to llect the surance money and build Calvary. Unfortunately, the church’s retaker, a man named Darryl, was still si the stcture as burned to the ground. Three months after Mac’s release om jail, thgs are only slidg further downhill for the Greenleafs. Grace is barely holdg together at the pulp wh her sermons borg everyone to tears. The church’s donatns are down forty percent, and ’s not bee of the vtigatn to the Bishop or the allegatns agast nasty Uncle Mac. Nope! Apparently, people are more worried about the gay choir director and his hband (hey Kyle om... * greenleaf gay choir director *
When I terviewed Craig Wright, he told me that he thks about Six Feet Unr as havg “executed a social sleight of hand” that normalized gay narrativ wh a show that purported to be about somethg else.
See how the life and marriage of 'Greenleaf' character Kev Satterlee dramatilly changed as he me to realize that he was gay. * greenleaf gay choir director *
“If, the long n, someone were to say about Greenleaf … ‘Wow, that show seemed to be about one thg, but when I look back at , what I really take away om is that normalized homosexualy wh the black muny as jt a fact of life on televisn for five years, ’ I would be very very proud, ” Wright said. It teas at somethg more timate, and more unual onscreen, and giv enough nuanced attentn that you n watch the show and feel you’ve actually glimpsed that rart of thgs: a gay black man, livg. The first lady of the church, who really wields the power behd the scen, cis that the gays have to go, and she fir the choir director, statg that “ was purely a fancial cisn.
One of the most stunng subthem of “Greenleaf” is not the stereotypil gay choir director firg, or even the handsome qutng hband who is tryg to figure out if he is gay or not (Hello, “Greenleaf” wrers, the character uld very well be bisexual). There are more than jt “straight and gay” people the world, and the church needs to know and unrstand that.