From working on public health policies to being a pastor to serving as a leader and an entrepreneur, Bishop O.C. Allen plays many roles in his life. But all projects he’s built have been linked by one common thread: advocacy.
Growing up in a highly conservative and religious household in Los Angeles, Allen interacted a lot with the tensions between religion and queerness. But in college, his studies in philosophy, religion and theology led him to work on reconciling his faith and his identity. Over time, he knew he had a big calling in his life and started looking for ways to help others.
Much of the work Allen does involves creating safe spaces for Black and queer people to feel comfortable being themselves. For many, the world can be unsafe; navigating coming out or learning to accept yourself, your faith, and your religion is not easy. People might feel like something is wrong — that they’re not created in God’s image, causing dysfunction, shame and stigma.
“I’ve seen the power of creating a safe space,” Allen told Georgia Voice, “the power of a bold space, and letting people know God loves them no matter what.”
Having served as the senior pastor at the Vision Church of Atlanta for 17 years, the crux of his inspiration for advocacy is allowing people to be who they are.
“When you bring light to a dark world,” Allen said, “it changes things.”
Seventeen years ago the Vision Church was founded by him, his husband of 20 years, Mr. Rashad Burgess and a small group of 12 people. Early on, one of Allen’s ministers was sick and admitted into the hospital. They talked about reconciliation and love, and the minister asked Allen, “Will I be okay? Did God love me?”
Allen thought he had reconciled his sexuality with his faith, but those questions still remained deeply rooted in religious trauma. As Allen tried to explain, the minister passed.
As Allen told the story, he reemphasized the importance of his work and the importance of increasing this message of love so people will eventually be able to love themselves and never question whether God loves them.
In collaboration with the church, Allen also founded and acts as the CEO of iElevate+ TV, a television network and conference centered around Black and queer content creators; and the Vision Community Foundation, which provides clothing and resources for homeless children, GED training, and other programs focusing on public health initiatives, such as women’s health, youth programs, HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives, and training faith leaders on sexuality and health. On their platform, iElevate+ has films, docuseries, and podcasts about relationships, faith, HIV, and anything relevant to queer lives. The goal for Allen is to “show the totality of who we are,” because everyone has a story to tell.
“It’s our job to tell our story,” Allen said. “The world should see us, and if we want that to happen, the world needs to hear us.”
Through all of his ventures, one of the biggest challenges he faced was for Black LGBTQ content creators to understand the value and significance of their work. Many of them don’t often feel like they have the opportunity to put their content anywhere. Not a lot of LGBTQ content receives much awareness on the Internet, so creating a specific location where Black queer media is available and accessible is crucial.
“[The LGBTQ community] is bold in other ways because we’re trying to prove something,” Allen said, “but when you give permission to people to be bold in all areas of your life, it makes the world beautiful and makes their life beautiful.”
In 2015, Allen worked with former President Barack Obama after being appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS (PACHA), working to help craft the national HIV strategy for the country, helping to develop an HIV plan for the president and to influence national public policy.
Allen’s persistence and fight for social justice is inspired by seeing how people’s lives have changed.
“My motto is to live in truth, so you don’t have to die in a lie,” he said.
When asked about the advice he’d give to himself or to others 17 years ago, Allen said, “Better days are coming,” echoing a Biblical analogy that faith needs only to be the size of a mustard seed. You don’t need a tree or a forest, just something enough to get you through.
“I want to help make [it] safe for people to love and safe to grow, but it doesn’t end there: that’s just the first step; the second thing is making sure people live a bold life, making no apologies for [their] vision and dream the things [they] want to accomplish,” he said.
Allen believes he’s living the dream, but this is just the start. There’s still more to come. Ultimately, he lives to embody Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“I see and pray for what he prayed for: equality, love, justice, equity and compassion,” Allen said. “[I see a] more inclusive world and see myself as doing just my part; I believe we all have a part to play. If everyone does their part and move beyond their biases and themselves, we can create a beautiful world.”
Learn more about Vision Church of Atlanta at visioncathedral.com and iElevateplustv.com
Editor’s note: this article was edited on April 13 to address grammar and spelling errors. The previous version of this article also included an incorrect website for Vision Chruch.