In response to a court ruling that let it once again avoid foreclosure, the vocally anti-gay Atlah Worldwide Missionary Church in Harlem threatened -- both with a sign outside its church and on social media -- to celebrate its “victory” by burning a rainbow flag in its courtyard.
In response, the Ali Forney Center (AFC), the LGBTQ homeless youth organization that was in talks to buy the Atlah Church building if it was foreclosed on, announced it’s organizing a demonstration to protest the Church’s threat.
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"Reverend [James David] Manning's threat to burn the rainbow flag in the courtyard of his church is reprehensible, especially in the aftermath of the Orlando Massacre,” AFC Executive Director Carl Siciliano said in a statement. "We plan to surround his church with rainbow flags, the symbol of our pride as a community, to show that our pride cannot be destroyed, symbolically or otherwise. The best response to his hate is a display of community love and pride by the LGBT community and our allies.
Siciliano also noted Reverend Manning's declaration of victory is premature.
"All he has won for now is the opportunity to incur many further legal costs as he tries to escape the consequences of decades of failure to pay Atlah's water bills."
