Lesbian bishop leads Jamaica's first 'march for tolerance'

Progress can happen in the most unexpected places.


A First for Jamaica: 100 march for gay, HIV-positive tolerance
Kilian Melloy
EDGE Media Network

Jamaica has garnered a reputation as one of the world’s most homophobic nations. But on April 7, religious and GLBT equality leaders sought to change that impression with a first-in-the-nation march for tolerance.

The march took place in Montego Bay and was led by International Movement of Metropolitan Community Churches bishop Nancy L. Wilson, who is openly lesbian, reported Radio Jamaica that same day.

The march promoted tolerance not only of gays, but also of people living with HIV, AIDS patients, and others. Wilson had just met with President Barack Obama before flying to Jamaica for the event, the article said.

"This is an amazing event," said Wilson, going on to call the march "a day of standing up with people with HIV and AIDS, their families and friends and saying all people deserve justice and health care and dignity and to be free from stigma or hatred just because of who they are or who they love and because of their HIV and AIDS status."

In recent years, news articles about Jamaica and gays have had more to do with so-called "murder music"--dance hall songs that advocate the persecution and killing of gay men--and anti-gay violence than with tolerance. Reggae star Buju Banton drew headlines with an American tour last summer--not because of his art, but rather due to the efforts of GLBT groups to boycott his performances. Banton was arrested in Florida on drug charges late last year.

Banton reportedly was involved in an incident in Jamaica in which six men broke into a house and beat the gay men living there. Charges against Banton were dropped, but the assault was commonplace in a country where gay men are attacked in their own homes and in the streets. In one town, a "Gay Eradication Day" was allegedly proclaimed in 2007, and gays and lesbians residing there were reportedly driven out. Homophobia is deeply entrenched in Jamaican society, and is reinforced in the country’s music and religious traditions. Critics of Jamaican homophobia say that government officials, including the police, do not offer gays there any protection, often merely watching as mobs attack gays or else participating in beatings and other abuses themselves.

Jamaican MP seeks to outlaw LGBT group

A Jamaican member of parliament's call to outlaw a Kingston-based LGBT organization proves yet again homophobia remains a global problem.

MP Ernest Smith, who represents St. Ann, told the Gleaner yesterday he feels the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays could inspire people to form pedophile, marijuana smokers and other so-called illegal organizations.

"They should be outlawed," Smith proclaimed to the newspaper. "How can you legitimise an organization that is formed for the purpose of committing criminal [offenses]?"

Smith further called for a life sentence for those committed of buggery [anal sex], but he sparked widespread outrage and even condemnation when he asserted gay men have "overrun" the Jamaican police force.

J-FLAG was quick to respond to Smith's proposal in an interview with the Gleaner. It cited a provision of the Jamaican Constitution it says allows it to operate.

"J-FLAG has been able to operate successfully under this provision in the legislation for the past 10 years," J-FLAG said. "J-FLAG agitates for legal and social change and we believe that there is always provision for any group to agitate for laws to be changed."

Any conversation over whether J-FLAG is a legitimate organization is simply ridiculous, but Smith's homophobic and arguably self-serving comments only confirm the country's notorious anti-LGBT reputation. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are among the organizations that have drawn attention to the rampant violence against LGBT Jamaicans. Bounty Killer, Buju Banton and other dance hall and reggae artists have also faced criticism from activists within the movement for LGBT rights over lyrics that appear to advocate the killing of gays and lesbians. And J-FLAG co-founder Brian Williamson's murder in 2004 and Lenford Harvey's death in 2005 sparked widespread outrage.

These numerous examples simply underscore the very real danger LGBT Jamaicans face in their homeland. It's arguably easy for a gay white man in Bushwick to opine against people in a country he has yet to visit, but the atrocities that continue to take place in Jamaica are simply unacceptable. And Smith's ridiculous call to outlaw J-FLAG is only the latest manifestation of an all too familiar reality under which LGBT Jamaicans continue to live.

WNYC highlights homophobia in Dancehall

The debate over homophobic lyrics in Jamaican Dancehall music has raged for years with British activist Peter Tatchell, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and other organizations holding protests and other actions to draw attention to this issue. And WNYC, the city's National Public Radio affiliate, highlighted these efforts and the advocacy surrounding the Reggae Compassionate Act this morning.

A fair argument can be made that indigenous music is a result of the society from which it comes. LGBT Jamaicans face widespread homophobia, violence and even death in their country as Amnesty International and other international human rights organizations have repeatedly documented. Dancehall artists who see no problem including homophobic lyrics in their music arguably perpetuate this mistreatment against their LGBT brothers and sisters on the island.

The issue of free speech is always a concern, and one that must be taken very seriously in any debate over music and other forms of artistic expression. But the question remains, however, over whether one person's free speech infringes upon the rights of another to live their live without fear, the threat of violence or even death. Free speech is not a license to perpetuate hate. And Dancehall artists, like others from around the world, have a responsibility to their fans, themselves and the countries they claim to represent to examine the impact their lyrics have, and the unfortunate consequences they arguably have against their LGBT countrymen. The alternative is simply unacceptable.

Jamaican Columnist Equates Movement for LGBT Rights to European Colonialism

Boy in Bushwick read Jamaica Observer columnist Betty Ann Blaine's column “Educate or socialize… is there a gay agenda?” this morning with particular interest. She writes about the controversy surrounding a textbook recommended by the Jamaican Dept. of Education which concludes same-sex partners can form families but she is quick to single out the "marching brigade of homosexual activism" and its broader "implications for national policies and legislation."

Blaine further expands upon this conclusion to equate so-called homosexual activism to the "group of men" who "gathered together around a table in Europe and decided to carve up the entire earth for their own self-interest... and then to enslave the majority of people on the planet." In other words she concluded so-called homosexual activism in Jamaica (and the world for that matter) would produce the same legacy that European colonialism left behind on Jamaica and other former colonies and overseas territories across the world. This argument is a disingenuous attempt, at best, to justify continued discrimination and even persecution against LGBT people. Colonialism caused innumerable hardship against Jamaicans and others whom the European powers subjugated for centuries. This legacy remains largely in place through grinding poverty and other social, political and economic inequalities. But to equate the struggle for LGBT rights to colonialism remains nothing more than a feeble attempt to deflect attention away from problems which remain largely unchecked.

Saudi Arabia's Human Rights Record Causes Row in Britain

Saudi King Abdullah's visit to the United Kingdom has caused a row among activists and even politicians for the kingdom's human rights abuses.

Human rights activists and others, such as Conservative Party leader David Cameron, have used King Abdullah's state visit to the United Kingdom this week to highlight Saudi Arabia's less than stellar (to say the least) human rights record. The Policy Exchange used the king's trip to London to accuse the reclusive regime of providing British mosques with materials which allegedly urges among women, gays and other so-called enemies of Islam. The kingdom's persecution against gays (and women for that matter) are widely documented by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations across the world. But the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union must walk a fine line with the Saudis because of their dependence on the kingdom's vast oil resources. This excuse does not, in any way, justify the relative silence the West has arguably shown towards these abuses. But it does highlight the broader geo-political and economic considerations that must be addressed in future negotiations.

On an arguably related note, the Jamaica Gleaner reported today that a textbook recommended by the island's Department of Education concludes same-sex partners can actually form families. Jamaica arguably remains one of the most homophobic countries in the world with routine violence and persecution among LGBT people on the Caribbean island. The Jamaica Gleaner itself reiterates this attitude in its coverage of the curriculum.

"The administrators of the prominent institution also pointed out that the teacher told her class that homosexual unions were not socially accepted," the article read.

Some observers may maintain it remains far too easy for LGBT activists (and bloggers) in so-called developed countries in Europe or North America to immediately criticize the Saudis, the Jamaicans and others who maintain these homophobic attitudes for their own benefit. This could stem from power dynamics established through colonialism, anti-Islamic sentiments and other social, political and economic factors. But the problem clearly remains. The Jamaica Gleaner's own reporting proves this point without a doubt.