Black gays and lesbians discuss issues at forum

When Philadelphia resident Dorothy Beam's son died, her minister told her he would not hold the funeral in his church because her son was gay. So she held his funeral in another church with a gay minister and surprised the entire community when over 1,000 mourners attended. Last night, the panel discussion entitled "Twice Proud: Homosexuality and the African-American Family," addressed this situation and other issues facing black families dealing with homosexuality as well as African-American individuals as they handle the attitudes and stereotypes of their communities. The forum -- one of a series of campus events surrounding Black History Month -- was held to explore the myths behind homophobia in the African-American community. "There is an idea that African-American families have more difficulty in dealing with lesbian, bisexual, and gay [family members]," said Bob Schoenberg, director of Program for the Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Community at Penn and co-sponsor of last night's program. "Hearing the panel will be an interesting way to find out if that's true." Four panelists attempted to shed light on the African-American community's acceptance of homosexuality through their personal experiences. Beam -- the only mother on the panel -- told how her son Joseph Beam, a writer and activist who died at the age of 33, came out to her and how her friends did not react well to the news. "If my son had been a lawyer, a doctor, a dentist, that would have been fine," she said. "I treated it with the same compassion and love. I love my son unconditionally." She went on to tell how his death was the beginning her crusade to help the African-American community accept its homosexual members. "Every person on this earth has a purpose," Beam said. "Your job is to get out and tell the African-American population that God loves your son because he's gay. Black families are in the closet. The children are out, but the families are in the closet." Since her son's death in 1988, Beam has started a scholarship for gay and lesbian students at Temple University. She also has made a large donation to her church in her son's name. Young filmmaker Aishah Simmons then told her "coming-out" story, which included details of a supportive father and a less than encouraging mother. Simmons' brother, Tyree, a local high school student, described his experience of growing up with a lesbian sister and actually becoming very comfortable with it. "It's no problem," he said. "We look at girls [together] sometimes." Participants almost all agreed that among African Americans, there is silent, perhaps grudging, awareness of homosexuality within the community and that it is time for change. "In these times we can no longer shush," said one College sophomore. "We need to start speaking about this. Because if we can't, we will never be able to deal with AIDS and HIV."

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