A New York advocacy group dedicated to aiding homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teens succeeded in raising $200,000 toward securing the ATLAH World Missionary Church, which is known for its extremely homophobic views, at a forthcoming auction this month.
The Ali Forney Center's plans are, unfortunately, on hold until an April 21 hearing. But in the wake of the fundraising victory, Jessica Williams of "The Daily Show" dropped by the church, which is located in New York City's Harlem neighborhood, to find out what Rev. James David Manning thought about the center's plan to repurpose his parish's property into homeless LGBT youth housing.
Needless to say, Manning, who once argued that Starbucks flavored its coffee drinks with "sodomites' semen," was not amused, and suggested that the Ali Forney Center's intentions were less than charitable.
"A lot of them came up here looking for black meat," he said. When Williams asked the pastor what he meant, he clarified, "Sex with black men. Jungle fever."
True to form, Manning didn't stop there.
"Before this church is foreclosed on, sodomites will carry babies in their testicles for nine months and then gestate them out of their a**holes," he said. "If it's possible for that to happen, then it's possible for this church to be foreclosed."
As for the church's reported $1.02 million in amassed debts and tax liens, Manning said, "We're tax exempt! We're a church. Churches do not pay water bills, or any other kind of tax, for that matter."
While Manning's remarks have become too absurd to be truly offensive, we remain hopeful that love will win out over hatred in Harlem soon.
H/T Towleroad
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