NEWS FEATURE: Program brings sex education into black churches

c. 1999 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Unlike most teens, Chalon Lockett has received more sex education from her church than anywhere else.”It wasn’t weird learning about sex in church,”said Lockett, 14, who recently completed one of 25 pilot programs aimed at introducing sex education to teen-agers in the nation’s black churches. African-American teens are […]

c. 1999 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ Unlike most teens, Chalon Lockett has received more sex education from her church than anywhere else.”It wasn’t weird learning about sex in church,”said Lockett, 14, who recently completed one of 25 pilot programs aimed at introducing sex education to teen-agers in the nation’s black churches.

African-American teens are learning about sex through”Keeping It Real,” a seven-week class consisting of faith-based teen dialogues on sexuality and AIDS prevention.


The program, which has involved 150 teens, is part of an initiative of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, a Washington-based organization that represents Christians, Jews and other faith groups.

Lockett’s church, West Oakland Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, was among those selected by the coalition’s Black Church Initiative to pilot the”Keeping It Real”program. More churches are expected to participate this fall.

Deborah Freeman, who taught”Keeping It Real”at West Oakland, said teens in her class learned that the Bible deals with sex. She said it is important for black churches to stop repressing discussions of sexuality.”Sex and sexuality is a spiritual gift from God,”said Freeman.

The Rev. Carlton W. Veazey, president of the coalition, said programs like”Keeping It Real”allow the clergy to meet the youth where they are.”We need to break down the walls between pastors and youth,”said Veazey.”We’ve reached a point in our churches where we have to address the issues of sex, which has been a taboo subject.” Veazey was the closing speaker at the coalition’s third annual National Black Religious Summit on Sexuality, which attracted 600 African-American clergy and laity from across the country in early July to Howard University School of Divinity here.

The three-day summit, also sponsored by the coalition’s Black Church Initiative, expressed the need for faith-based sex education through workshops on teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS education, reproductive health and homosexuality.

The message of the summit and the”Keeping It Real”program hit home with participating teens.”If you have sex, you have to decide if you want to die,”said Algennetta Atkins, 13, another member of the Atlanta church.

Veazey said the high rate of HIV infection among African-Americans, particularly young people, has persuaded the church to take a lead in HIV prevention education.


African-Americans, who comprise 11 percent of the U.S. population, accounted for 33 percent of the total AIDS cases in 1994, the Centers for Disease Control reported.

The Rev. Reesce Joyner, prevention program coordinator of the Northeast Florida AIDS Network, led a workshop during the summit on reducing the spread of AIDS.”We must have compassion for those infected with and affected by AIDS,”said Joyner, who is based in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Rev. Constance Davis, minister of outreach services at Faith Community Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., said she instituted AIDS prevention classes and condom distribution in her church.”HIV is not a moral but a health crisis,”she said during Joyner’s workshop.

The CDC has announced that funds from its 1999 fiscal year will be available to sponsor a cooperative agreement between the CDC and community-based organizations, such as black churches, to develop effective HIV prevention programs for African-Americans.”HIV/AIDS must be a calling for the black church,”said Joyner.”As African-Americans, we’ll either rise together or fall together.” Summit keynote speaker Dr. David Satcher, U.S. surgeon general and assistant U.S. secretary for health, said it was critical for young people to hear from the church about sexual issues.”The church has been silent for too long about sexuality,”said Satcher. Young people are hearing about sexuality everywhere but the church and home, where it needs to be talked about.” The surgeon general said too many young people think sex has to be a part of every relationship.

The Rev. Kelly Brown Douglas, author of”Sexuality and the Black Church: A Womanist Perspective,”addressed how the church should speak to youth on sexual issues. Black churches should teach teen-agers not only about HIV prevention but also how to embrace their sexuality, she said.”Sexuality is the divine key to learning how to love yourself, love others, and how to be in relationships,”said Douglas.

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