Silencing Queers at the Upstairs Lounge: The Stonewall of New Orleans

Feed My Sheep: An Analysis of the Black–White Biblical Academic Achievement Gap

“…Pew Forum (2012) traced the approval ratings of gay marriage legislation among Blacks and Whites from 2001 to 2012; Blacks are significantly less likely to support gay marriage legislation than their White counterparts. Considering the above, this research, Emerson and Shelton (2012), Goss (2009), andNordin (2003), the variance between Black and White respondents may also be a function of the racial biblical academic achievement gap; further research should be completed to confirm or reject this hypothesis.…”

“…However, could it also be a function of religious/biblical illiteracy? Emerging scholarship (Goss 2009; Nordin 2003) points to this possibility. Nordin, in his article A Biblical Argument for the Acceptance of Homosexuality by the Christian Church , states: Conservatives, too often offended by the way scripture is dismissed, cling loudly to three of four versus [to condemn homosexuality].…”

“…However, could it also be a function of religious/ biblical illiteracy? Emerging scholarship (Goss 2009;Nordin 2003) …found that people are reluctant to venture into a serious analysis of [the biblical stance on homosexuality], fearing they don't have the technical [biblical knowledge]… to participate and concerned that the analysis of the Bible will prove to be ''over their heads.' ' (2003: 5) While Nordin (2003)'s conclusion speaks to the general conservative Christian population, Emerson and Shelton (2012) specifically addresses the lack of biblical knowledge among the Black cohort: ''Most of [the Black Pastors interviewed]… would agree with Dr. Cone's statement that in general 'blacks are not theologians' and that 'blacks haven't done much theology'' ' (91).…”

Storying the Repertoire: Performing a Slow and Queer Backwardness at the Upstairs Lounge

“…Resisting the North’s homogenization of not only what it means to be “Southern” but both queer and religious in the Deep South, Reverend Dr. Robert Goss explains that those in New Orleans blended Catholic and Evangelical Protestant Christianity to fuse a unique cosmos of Southern queer spirituality. Reverend Goss (2009) notes that post–World War II “urban ghettoes of the South”—such as New Orleans—blended Southern Evangelical Christian and gay bar cultures “to create a liminal space to express a gay Christianity outside the mainstream of southern culture yet a mimetic repetition in albeit queer performance” (p. 270). Caught betwixt and between, queer communities forged sacred queer spaces, like nightclubs, into being so that the space may provide feelings of safety, belonging, transcendence, and transgressive beauty for those within their hallowed walls.…”

Sex Workers/Sex Offenders

“…Sex workers, transgender individuals, and queer community members all face considerable discrimination and stigma in the Southern United States as part of what American Studies scholar Robert Goss (2009) terms a “cultural homophobia” supported by mass media, jokes, and other pervasive social practices that directly enable or excuse violence (p. 274). Likewise, Performance Studies and African American Studies scholar E.…”