Media cynicism demeans serious topic

Jasmyn Elliott/Asst. Opinion Editor

Bishop Eddie Long, a prominent preacher and figurehead in the African American community, had better start praying rather than preying. On Sept. 23, three young men came forward with accusations of sexual coercion against the pastor. The next day, a fourth man came forward. All four have since filed a civil suit against Long.

Disappointingly, many Black media outlets have been dismissive of these claims, assuming that these men are simply trying to extort Long for his money and defame his reputation.

I, however, believe that their claims, along with other claims of sexual abuse, should be taken seriously. For now, though, let’s take a look at their situation.

The popular claim regarding Long’s case is that these men are trying to get a hold of his wealth. Some have even cited the fact that two of the victims were linked in a recent robbery of Long’s personal items as proof of this motive. However, all four alleged victims were already recipients of Long’s riches. All of them received a wide variety of generous gifts from Long, including cash, cars, property and international trips. If money were an issue, then it would have behooved them to stay silent.

It can be said that the robbery was an act of retaliation. Long has since built a reputation for being heavily attached to his possessions, even preaching that monetary wealth is proof of God’s favor. I believe that since they felt robbed of their innocence, they reasoned that the best way to get back at Long was to make him feel a similar sense of loss and violation.

According to RAINN.org, 60% of cases of sexual assault go unreported. Furthermore, male victims are statistically the least likely to report sexual assault than female victims. Combine this with the homophobic stigma that permeates the Black and Christian communities in general, one can see why it may have taken so long for these men to come forward.

Furthermore, Long has openly, and perhaps ironically, been heavily vocal in denouncing homosexuality as a sin, going as far as organizing an anti-gay rally that included a march to the grave site of Martin Luther King, Jr. Although these four men were allegedly victimized, they were also parishioners of his church and may have hesitated coming forward due to their beliefs, not to mention the very real possibility of ostracism from their community, including the 25,000 members of Long’s church.

I would also like to point out that the Black media will inherently be biased in favor of Long. For many years, various Black media outlets have touted Long as one to look up to, a positive figure in Black America. With this scandal coming to light, Black media in general has been much kinder to Long, coming up with a variety of excuses or citing the “innocent until proven guilty” clause.

However, these were the same ones ready to convict and condemn the Catholic priests that were accused of molestation, the majority of which being White. While I can understand the sense of embarrassment on the Black media’s part for potentially supporting a man guilty of sexual assault, or the need to defend him since they have championed him for so long, I see no reason why they should ease up now on their criticisms of these crimes, as these four men may have suffered serious trauma.

True, we don’t know if Long is guilty or not yet. However, the alleged victims should not be dismissed and Long should also undergo the same amount of scrutiny. If nothing else happens, these four men have brought to light a serious issue that could help start the discussion on a crime that thrives on secrecy.