by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World.
Attorney Brenda Bernstein has dropped the accusers of Bishop Eddie Long as clients because they couldn’t remain quiet. Jamal Parris, Spencer LaGrande and Centino Kemp have been recently challenged by Long’s attorneys, who say that they plan to collect “not less than $900,000″ after the men chose to violate the confidentiality clause of their settlement.
Long’s attorneys are furious that the bishop’s accusers participated in interviews with the Atlanta Journal Constitution, WSB-TV, CNN and even Twitter. Kemp actually tweeted to Long that ”I was literally your hooker,” and later tweeted “why that’s all I want to no.”
The attorneys are seeking $300,000 per violation.
Most of us know the story of Bishop Eddie Long, so there is no reason to repeat it all. Effectively, Long was accused by young men in his care of coercing them into performing sexual favors in exchange for gifts, trips, and other enticements. Most interesting about the case is that in spite of the fact that Long once promised to make the truth public, he reneged on his congregation by enforcing a strict confidentiality clause during the settlement proceedings.
I have no idea why the young men in this case have chosen to violate the clause. But given that they all violated it together, I suspect that either a) they’ve been given other financial incentives to do so, like a lucrative book deal, or b) they simply cannot keep this story to themselves. Either way, it appears that the members of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church are going to have access to at least one version of the truths that has been denied by their very own pastor. Once these young men raise the stakes by telling their own story, Bishop Long (as in the game of poker) has two choices: To retort with his own version of the facts or fold his hand and quietly walk away.
When it’s all said and done, the “little ones” will lead the congregation, and the truth may set Eddie Long free. The same can be said for those in the congregation who may be consciously choosing to live in denial of the fact that their pastor may be a pedophile. I’m not here to say that any of us knows what happened behind closed doors, but when one looks at the evidence, it’s hard to imagine that there haven’t been some unholy things done to these boys.
When a bunch of young men are willing to give up hundreds of thousands of dollars to tell their story, there is a reason that story must be told. Personally, I believe the boys are telling the truth.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.
