"Tried (It) Again" - Examining ableism & homo-antagonism in Burrell's sermon

Let's talk about what's going on in the Black church, at present.On Dec. 30th, I spent an evening-to-morning good time with my gurls from my college years. It's not often that we get to see each other, so we spent most of the night sharing life updates and talking about almost every topic under the sun. Despite those good vibes, I woke up late the next morning (read: early evening) to a barrage of texts & inbox messages about singer & pastor Kim Burrell's homo-antagonistic sermon.My initial response was anger.My thoughts swirled for days after, as I reviewed the sermon itself, her subsequent faux apologies, and many spot-on analyses from friends, peers, and colleagues.On a personal level, I needed to wait to weigh in. Far too often, the name of the game is to "cover xyz topic first" and in this case (like many others), there are far more connections to make - and some of the connections take some mulling over to explore or even articulate.One such connection, for me, included Kim Burrell's display of both homo-antagonism and ableism in her recent sermon. She begins the clip by lambasting the LGBTQI community with a barrage of insults and accusations of "perversion". She, then, goes on to use Andrew Caldwell - recent internet sensation best known for the viral clip from the COGIC Convention in which he states he was "delivered" from being gay - as an example. This is where she implicates that sexuality and disability are both at the whim of 'spirits'; and / or and indicator of ones relationship with God.Burrell states:

"Mr. I Am Delivert with all these different types of spirits... on Jimmy Kimmel... you see what the enemy is looking for?... The minute somebody comes out with a deaf and dumb spirit... a mute spirit... one that can't even talk... and that has a perverted spirit says that 'I am delivert' and makes it all the way to Jimmy Kimmel. You think the enemy isn't trying to make a mockery of the church?"

To be clear, her sermon was primarily (read again for emphasis) antagonistic for community members within the LGBTQI community. This was her key focus, and the reason why she has been / is being uninvited from many opportunities.However, what she also did as (a perceived) "aside" included situating gender identity, next to disability, next to sin. The implications here are HUGE - because in this, she implies that both LGBTQI identities as well as disabled persons are inherently possessed by spirits / dealing with sin.Inclusive Jesus, help us.Dr. Fiona A. Kumari Campbell (2007) asserts:

"A chief feature of an ableist viewpoint is a belief that impairment (irrespective of ‘type’) is inherently negative and should the opportunity present itself, be ameliorated, cured or indeed eliminated. What remain unspeakable are readings of the disabled body presenting life with impairment as an animating, affirmative modality of subjectivity" (p. 5-6)

Thus, Burrell's sermon included statements which were both homo-antagonistic and ableist. Whether or not this was intended is beside the fact.We ought to know that it is highly offensive to even use the phrase "deaf and dumb". It is even an issue to suggest that the ways in which folks walk through the world (as it pertains to both queerness and disability) are due to "spirits". So, to check* her (a colloquial term, rooted in AAVE, which means to correct and / or unequivocally challenge) via social media on one aspect, without examining both is something we can't afford to do.Surely, we ought to understand in 2017, that being LGBTQI does not involve or imply a spiritual shortcoming (as resources, please refer to Darnell Moore's works on this, Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas' 1999 text Sexuality and the Black Church: A Womanist Perspective, Dr. Pamela Lightsey's 2015 text Our Lives Matter: A Womanist Queer Theology, and then some...).Surely, we ought to understand in 2017, that being disabled does not involve or imply a spiritual shortcoming (refer to Belser & Morrison's 2011 article, What No Longer Serves Us: Resisting Ableism and Anti-Judaism in New Testament Healing Narratives).Surely, we ought to be able to see that in this instance (like so many others), further marginalization happened from the pulpit - and as a minister of the Gospel - this should not be so. At this point, we need to understand that systems of oppression are inextricably linked - especially when we cannot / refuse to see its connections.Additional Resources & Notes:Belser, J. W., & Morrison, M. S. (2011). What no longer serves us: Resisting ableism and anti-Judaism in New Testament healing narratives. Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, 27(2), 153-170.Campbell, F. A. K. (2008). Exploring internalized ableism using critical race theory. Disability & Society, 23(2), 151-162.*Title references Kim Burrell's 1997 album & single by the name of "Try Me Again"*This essay is posted with special thanks to those affectionately know as my "e-cousins" for helping me to flesh these thoughts out more fullyPhoto credit: The MEPR Agency via VisualHunt.com / CC BY-ND