Fairness and faith.

It should come as no surprise that homophobia is alive and well in the black church. In fact, a black church in Philadelphia recently posted a sign on its door saying that people with AIDS are not welcome. In Denver last summer, a black church capitulated to right-wing pressure when it reversed a decision to host a conference on faith and sexuality.

Of course, not all black churches are homophobic, but more and more black ministers are learning their vitriol from the white right wing. The Traditional Values Coalition holds an annual seminar to indoctrinate black ministers with right-wing philosophy on homosexuality and other social issues. Knowing that the black church is the most influential institution in the African-American community, the religious right has launched an all-out battle to co-opt black clergy to their antigay cause.

Unfortunately, lesbian and gay leaders have all but conceded this territory--including the larger debate over morality and values. Tacically, it makes sense to many gays to focus on fairness instead of faith. But while fairness is a principle of morality, the fairness argument alone will not secure meaningful change in a country where even convicted criminals are treated "fairly," What we want is not just fairness but equality.

To be effective warriors on this new, moral battleground, more of us need to educate ourselves about God, religion, and sexuality. Religion has been used for centuries for evil purposes, including the enslavement of blacks and the condemnation of homosexuals. But the truth is that Jesus Christ said nothing negative about homosexuality.

We need to spread that truth. Many of us are still worshiping at homophobic churches. Afraid of being abandoned by the one healing institution in our community, we sit on our hands as our ministers berate us week after week To stop these attacks, we must take back our churches and challenge black ministers who take their marching orders from white bigots.

Fortunately, good people in the black community are responding w the hatred. The Rev. Joseph Lowery, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference notes that right-wing intolerance leads not only to black church burnings but to gay-bashings as well. In politics, the Rev. Jesse Jackson was the first major presidential candidate to embrace lesbians and gays in his Rainbow Coalition. In academe, Harvard professor Cornel West, featured in the new award-winning film All God's Children, warns Christians "not to confuse the blood at [Mount] Calvary with the Kool-Aid of homophobia. "

Lesbians and gay men need to support people like Lowery, Jackson, and West. In addition, we need to fight for our rights on all grounds, including the battlefield of morality Perhaps the greatest challenge face in this effort is not from the, demons outside but from those in side our heads that teach us not to wage this battle because we don't believe in it. Yet if the fight for equality is not grounded in a principle beyond fairness, then it hardly seems worth the effort.

Boykin is executive director of the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum and author of One More River to Cross: Black and Gay in America.