On Sunday, June 18, GLAAD continued its response to several “Proud To Be Delivered” anti-LGBTQ billboards erected by Worship With Wonders Church across the Metro Atlanta area. Through a digital billboard truck, GLAAD descended upon the Marietta, GA, church to provide a counter-message affirming the humanity of LGBTQ people in the South and nationwide.
The digital truck was stationed at the church for eight hours. The action follows an op-ed published by Atlanta-based LGBTQ outlet Georgia Voice and co-authored by Darian Aaron, Director of Local News: US South at GLAAD, and Ross Murray, Vice President of the GLAAD Media Institute and a Deacon in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Over two dozen clergy, politicians, artists, and advocates signed on to support GLAAD’s denouncement of the billboards as a weaponization of faith.
The lengths church leaders willingly go to demonize LGBTQ people is apparent through the use of a familiar tactic—the elevation of another marginalized group as the face of their “Proud To Be Delivered” campaign: Black people — or more distinctly, Black “ex-gays” who share their testimonies of allegedly being delivered from identifying as LGBTQ.
“The decision by two white ministers to plaster the images and narratives of Black “ex-gays” on a specially created website and in a predominantly Black city with a large Black LGBTQ population is no coincidence,” stated GLAAD’s op-ed. “It is a targeted attack that reinforces Bible-based homophobia and further erodes the Black family by influencing the rejection of Black LGBTQ youth and adults by their families as righteous. The result is often devastating for a dually marginalized group of people forced to navigate racism, homophobia, and family rejection simultaneously.”
Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, called out church leaders’ dangerous anti-LGBTQ rhetoric in a press release:
“It is apparent the anti-LGBTQ extremists responsible for orchestrating this billboard are lashing out in a desperate attempt to claim moral superiority. With GLAAD finding a supermajority (91%) of Americans in support of LGBTQ equality, this dangerous rhetoric not only repels those seeking connection to a higher power but fails to adhere to the most basic Christian principle—love thy neighbor. To assume that LGBTQ people need to be saved and are not already people of faith is the epitome of spiritual arrogance. LGBTQ people are your neighbors: we are your family, friends, colleagues, and fellow worshippers.”
The following individuals and organizations have offered their support of GLAAD’s denouncement of the “Proud To Be Delivered” billboard:
Bishop O.C. Allen III
The Vision Cathedral of Atlanta
Mary Anne Adams
Zami Nobla—National Organization of Black Lesbians on Aging
Tracee McDaniel
Juxtaposed Center for Transformation, Inc.
Jeff Graham
Georgia Equality
Congregation Bet Haverim
Atlanta, GA
Rabbi Michael Rothbaum
Jim Swilley
Metron Community
Deondray Gossfield
The Russelli & Hall Co.
Darlene Hudson
Southern Unity Movement
Toni-Michelle Williams
Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative, Inc.
Victor Jackson
Glam Rock Soul Entertainment Group
Jim Farmer
Out On Film
Lynn Green
Rome Georgia Pride
Hayden Walter
Rome Georgia Pride
Matthew Manley
Rome Georgia Pride
Damion Parks-Weekly
Parks-Weekly Ministries
Quincy James Rineheart
Associate Campus Minister, Morehouse College
Patrik-Ian Polk
Filmmaker and Producer
Eric F. Rangel
Latino LinQ (LGBTQ+ nonprofit organization)
Leanne Rubenstein
Compassionate Atlanta
Bishop Kevin Strickland
Southeastern Synod ELCA
Rep. Park Cannon
House District 58
Erick Allen
Cobb County Democratic Committee
Chris McCain
Atlanta Pride Committee
Lee Jones
Mashaun Simon