On Wednesday, March 27, Pomona College’s Department of Political Science will welcome Rev. Don Abram PO’16, a public theologian and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, to talk about Black gay spirituality and his experiences coming of age as a gay man in a Black church. Ta.
Held every year to commemorate the political department training course Lorne S. Fostera professor emeritus at Pomona whose career has focused on race, religion, and politics – at Pomona’s Rose Hills Theater.
“This talk is a celebration of his work, bringing together speakers, primarily from minority backgrounds, to discuss how their engagement with the world has changed them, and how they are changing the world. ,” said Jake Ballantyne PO ’24, senior political liaison. He said.
The dedication of this speech was further enhanced by the fact that Mr. Foster was Mr. Abram’s mentor during his student days. Abram acknowledged this, saying that his understanding of the intersection of race, spirituality, and queerness changed during his time in Pomona, and noted that Foster played an important role in this process.
“Primarily through Professor Lorne Foster and the classes I took with him, I was able to explore how the black church has always held up the banner of freedom and liberation for people, and in doing so I was able to explore what I wanted to do. It was very consistent with that tradition,” Abram said.
Abram began his talk with a statement urging the audience to integrate their understanding of the personal, spiritual, and political and move forward.
“As my remarks unfold, I humbly invite you to stroll through my own lived experience and testimony, in the hope that you will find surprising gems of healing and liberation,” he said. said.
He came forward with personal testimony about how his identity influences both his work and his understanding of the world.
“You know, I’ve struggled with my queerness for years,” Abram said. “It lurked in the shadows of my life, caring little for my comfort or convenience. I rejected its inviting embrace with all my being, but the more I resisted it, the more it Looming bigger. Seeking salvation, I found refuge in a place called the Black Church. It gave me salvation, but not in the way you think. did.”
Abram was founded in 2021 Pride in the audience seatswhich aims to help people understand religion as a social determinant of health for the Black LGBTQ+ community and equip faith leaders with the knowledge and skills needed to be allies and advocates. This is an organization that has
He shared how Pride in the Pews was inspired by his own experience of seeking freedom within the church, and his desire to help others in similar situations. I emphasized.
“Unexpectedly, I overcame shame, guilt, and internalized homophobia to reach the parts of myself that were labeled as ungodly,” Abram said.
He explained how church spaces, from the sanctuary to the restrooms, became a home for understanding himself and his queerness. He recalled that his spiritual call to preach the Gospel came to him in a dream in the sanctuary of this very church.
“I’m waking up from that dream and trying to resist it,” he said. “We recognize that if we accept that, we will not only cause pain, we will cause loss of community.”
Abram’s work includes a side of himself that he felt called to be a spiritual leader in his community, and a side of himself that he discovered in doing so but felt he had to hide from that same community. It includes accepting both.
“I know that people see these two things, my queerness and my black religiosity, as mutually exclusive, but maybe they’re inherently contradictory.” he said. “Excuse me, but I disagree. I believe they are interdependent and inextricably linked. This is where I discover the very essence of the work I do today. .”
He explained how his path is grounded in the knowledge that despite hostility from the church, queer people have always found a way to find their own space within the church.
“Using my queerness in a place just a few steps away from the main sanctuary was actually an attempt to create a new sacred space,” he said. “A space that affirms my entire humanity.”
Abram also noted that he founded Pride in the Pews in response to the incident. George Floyd protestsI realized that even in the most liberal cities, Black queer people are still seen as disposable.
“I don’t know what it means to be hit with Bible bullets or have transphobic comments hurled at me in a place I call my sanctuary, but in some way that my queer and trans relatives aren’t already fighting. “It’s so irresponsible to suggest that,” Abram said.
Abram emphasized that his work is based on one important premise.
“The Black LGBTQ+ community is an essential part of the Black church and this country,” Abram said.
After the talk, some students in attendance stayed behind to speak with the pastor.
“I think it’s really powerful and important to have people representing these intersecting identities,” said attendee Matt Parsons PO ’26.
Ballantyne said he felt Abram was a unique speaker because of his extensive real-world experience working within social movements.
“I think it’s really important to spotlight people involved in this field who don’t work in academia but have some other role,” Ballantine said. “Many of our students will eventually go on to have equally important roles in making an impact outside of academia and changing the world.”
Abram talked about how it felt to come out of the closet and return to campus.
“Coming back to Pomona College is surreal mainly because I didn’t go out when I was here,” Abram said in an interview with TSL. “I was deeply closeted, and what I loved about this space was that it was an incredibly queer-affirming place, even if I wasn’t ready to embrace my queerness. .”
Abram also talked about what it meant to him to give this talk to his old mentors and interested students.
“I was in [these students’] “Even though we are eight years apart, that position doesn’t feel that far away to me,” he said. “I was able to share that these were my struggles, these were the questions I had, the things that were still unresolved. But now I can unashamedly share all of my I’m in a place where I can live the part.”
He also shared his hopes for what certain students will gain from the lecture.
“In a way, what I’m trying to say in this talk is that things will get better,” Abrams said. “Even when you are trying to find your way through all kinds of systems and institutions and normative ways of living, there is light on the other side.”
