Eddie Long

Bishop Eddie Long (1953-2017) was the senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia, which grew from 300 to 25,000 members under his leadership — making it one of the most prominent Black megachurches in America. Long was a fierce public opponent of homosexuality, leading marches against same-sex marriage and running 'Sexual Reorientation' conferences through his 'Out of the Wilderness' ministry, claiming to 'cure' homosexuality through prayer. In September 2010, four young men — Anthony Flagg, Spencer LeGrande, Jamal Parris, and Maurice Robinson — filed lawsuits accusing Long of using his pastoral authority to coerce them into sexual relationships beginning when they were teenagers. The lawsuits alleged Long first approached them as a 'father figure' around age 14 through the church's LongFellows Youth Academy (a program teaching teens about sexual, physical, and financial discipline), then used trips, gifts, cars, clothes, jewelry, electronics, private plane travel, luxury hotel stays, and church jobs to groom and entice them. Sexual advances allegedly began when the young men were around 17. Long promised his congregation 'this thing I'm gonna fight,' but ultimately settled out of court for an estimated amount 'in the millions.' He later attempted to claw back approximately $900,000 from three accusers, alleging they had violated confidentiality terms. Long's wife Vanessa filed for divorce in December 2011. Long was never criminally charged and died of an aggressive form of cancer on January 15, 2017.