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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11The Gospel According To… is a short documentary about Black LGBTQ+ Christians navigating faith, homophobia and belonging in the Black Church. Directed by Nicholas Ashe and made by Toward Pride, the film premiered in Washington on October 3, 2026, according to Religion News Service.
What is The Gospel According To… about?
The documentary considers how Black church life can both alienate queer and trans people and give them sources of faith, identity and strength. Religion News Service (RNS) describes an opening sequence that interweaves archival images of Pentecostal and Baptist worship with Phoenix Black O’Hara, a Black trans woman and drag queen performer, struggling to join a staged Sunday service. The scene uses Richard E. Martin’s single “Higher.”
RNS reports that the film features interviews with a dozen Black trans and lesbian Christians. They discuss faith, being closeted in a Black church and how their church upbringing nourished their work and adult lives despite experiences of homophobia. The film’s participants offer individual perspectives; they should not be taken as representative of all Black LGBTQ+ Christians.
Who made the documentary?
Nicholas Ashe, who starred in Queen Sugar, directed the film. Toward Pride, a nonprofit advocating for Black LGBTQ+ Christians, made it. The organization’s CEO, the Rev. Don Abram, is one of the producers, RNS reports.
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Abram connected the film’s story to his own experience as a gay man who grew up in a Baptist church. “Through Phoenix I actually saw my own story, because I know what it’s like to sit in a congregation and not feel as though I can be my full self,” he told RNS. He said the film reflects the feeling of having to choose between spirituality and identity.
Where can you see The Gospel According To…?
RNS reported a premiere at Washington’s March On! Festival on October 3, 2026. Its October 5 report also listed other screenings that were planned at the time. Because dates and festival schedules can change, confirm details with the event organizer before making plans.
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| Event or venue | Timing reported by RNS | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| March On! Festival, Washington | Premiere on October 3, 2026 | The festival explores the history and legacy of the Civil Rights Movement through the arts. |
| Urbanworld Film Festival, New York City | Expected in mid-October 2026 | RNS listed this as a planned screening in its October 5 report. |
| Black Harvest Festival, Chicago | Expected the following month, in November 2026 | RNS described this as a planned screening at the festival’s 32nd edition. |
| Louisville Seminary symposium on rural Black churches | Planned for October 17, 2026 | Abram described this as a planned showing. |
| Queer+Called retreat of the Alliance Q | Date not stated in the RNS report | Abram described this as a planned showing. |
| Union Theological Seminary, New York | Date not stated in the RNS report | Abram described this as a planned showing. |
RNS said screening events were to be followed by panel conversations and noted that further festival acceptances might follow. Abram’s hope is that the film prompts concrete action toward LGBTQ+ inclusion in faith communities; the report does not establish that this outcome has occurred. It also does not specify a streaming, rental or physical-media release, so festival listings alone do not confirm that the film is available to watch at home.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How does the film’s subject relate to wider views in Black Protestant communities?
Pew Research Center’s 2025 Religious Landscape Study found that 56% of adults in the historically Black Protestant tradition favored legally allowing same-sex couples to marry in the 2023–24 survey, compared with 40% in 2014. Pew cautions that comparisons with earlier studies are complicated by important differences in survey methods. These figures measure views on legal marriage; they do not measure LGBTQ+ inclusion in church leadership, the experiences of Black LGBTQ+ Christians or opinion in every Black Christian denomination. The figures are reported in Pew’s 2025 analysis of religion and views on LGBTQ issues.
Institutional debates also vary. RNS reported that the African Methodist Episcopal Church dropped a proposal to debate its position on same-sex marriage at its 2024 General Conference. That episode and the Pew survey offer context, but neither captures the full range of personal experiences the documentary explores.
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