I was faithful Christian for over 45 years. Then I lost my faith. But only in God. I was brought up in the Episcopal church and belonged to a couple of parishes I loved enough that I still call myself an Episcopalian. An Episcopalian witch because I believe in the earth more than any God these days. My point is religion is complicated for many people. Especially when people within your religion say that you or the people you love don’t belong. That complication is one of the reasons that kept Robin Roberts from coming out publicly. Robin covers People magazine’s current issue and wrote an essay about being a gay, Christian, Black journalist in the public eye. Robin said that one of the justifications she gave herself to not say anything publicly about her sexuality was that everyone around her already knew. But she admits she was actually afraid that the public would not accept her as both Christian and gay. She struggled with people doubting her Faith because of who she loved. See? Complicated.
On celebrity: I like being a storyteller. That’s the reason why I became a journalist. It’s what first drew me to the career as a little girl in Mississippi. Of course, back then I didn’t see anyone like me on television, a gay Black woman. I knew I wanted to be able to help others share their story.
But I never wanted to become the story. I never thought at all about the “celebrity” aspect of it. Even as much as we loved Walter Cronkite, I didn’t think of him as a celebrity. He was huge. I mean, who didn’t love Uncle Walter?
Her ABC colleague and bosses inspired her to come out publicly: I was so inspired by my dear, dear friend, and GMA colleague Sam Champion. I knew he was gay. He knew I was gay. Our colleagues, our bosses, they all knew. Then in 2012, when Sam got married to Rubem, his husband, I was there at the wedding. I was able to see how our bosses at ABC embraced it. They never said, “Hey, should you rethink this.” And then to see how the public was so supportive, that really opened my eyes.
She came out for her partner: But I didn’t come out necessarily for me. I did it because I love [my partner] Amber [Laign]. I was just thanking everybody. I did it via a simple social media post where I thanked my doctors, my parents. But then, was I not going to thank this woman who had been by me through this illness? But people got it. “Oh, she’s just grateful,” they said. “It’s just love.” They didn’t make it anything more than me living my life.
On being gay and Christian: For the longest time, before I came out publicly in 2013, I would think, “Well, everybody knows I am gay. My family knows I am gay. My colleagues, bosses…” All true. If I was walking down the street I would introduce Amber. But I wasn’t ready to say it publicly, even though I felt that I was being public. What a waste of time! And why? Because I was afraid. Because I was afraid people couldn’t think I could be a Christian and gay. And then I realized, if somebody who looks like me was to come along, maybe I could give them a little more courage. Maybe they would know they were not walking alone.
[From People]
I understand Robin’s quandary. I had a bunch of questions when I was practicing about How does ____ factor into my beliefs? Fortunately, gay wasn’t an issue in the church I raised my kids, so they never thought God had an issue with them. They know some factions do – even some Episcopalian churches – but they only knew a church that accepted them. Robin is seen by a far wider audience, though, and by many Christians who look at LGBTQ differently than she or I do. It’s tough. For Robin I mean. I honestly don’t care about Christians who struggle with accepting LGBTQ. I remember sitting at a Christian Youth Conference in Estes Park Colorado that was far more conservative than our rector had anticipated. This pastor person with his cult-like cheering crowd of high-school students told them that were loved because, “God doesn’t make mistakes.” In the next breath he said gays would never know the kingdom of the lord because they’d deified God. I asked if God didn’t make mistakes and God made gay people… and got kicked out. (The day before when another preacher ‘made a joke’ that girls could remain chaste if they just put a penny between their knees. I ‘corrected’ him that we could just turn over on to all fours and also got kicked out.) It’s easy to say that queer folks should leave any Christianity that doesn’t accept them. But I also know how much religion/faith/spirituality becomes a part of you. It’s not an easy thing to turn away from. I’m glad Robin found a balance in herself to proudly display both to the world.
And what a beautiful reason to come out, too. It’s lovely that Robin’s decision was a result of wanting to publicly acknowledge Amber for her support in Robin’s cancer battle. I’m sure the scare of facing her mortality put a lot of things in perspective for Robin. I think when you face true fear, like death, fear of perception falls to the side. And thank goodness. Because that kind of visibility is important to so many. I’m sure there are plenty of young Christian LGBTQ who are struggling with the conflicts their churches have thrown on them. But seeing Robin balance the two shows them a different reality. Hopefully a reality more people will be allowed to live openly as well.
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