This week, April 8-12, marks the 27th annual observance of Holocaust Memorial Week. The week is about remembering not only the 6 million Jews murdered but also remembering the millions of allies, martyrs and victims who survived Nazi Germany's reign of brutality.

Homophobic epithets are so pervasive across the globe that most heterosexual people are sadly unaware of the psychological and physical toil they have on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people. Too often and cavalierly these epithets go either unchecked or unchallenged as hate speech.

Mexico, however, has stepped forward to define and reduce homophobic hate speech. Two commonly used words — "punal" and "maricones" are the main targets. Both words closely translate as "faggot."

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and the Black Church are rightly lauded for molding young black men into adult leaders. BSA troops have produced distinguished African-American Scouts like retired four-star general Colin Powell, six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker.

African-American participation in the Boy Scout movement dates to 1911, and its impact has not only forced the integration of young black males into the organization, but also continues to address many of the challenges these young males confront today.

As I celebrate Black History Month I’d like to recognize one of my indigenous West African ancestral religions that's not homophobic — even if some of the practitioners are.

To the disbelief of many — it's Vodun.

Haitian Vodou is an ancestral folk religion whose tenets have always been queer-friendly, accepting people of all sexual orientations and gender expressions.

It’s just one of the religions brought to the New World by the African Diaspora, but there is no religion that frightens and fascinates the world over as much as Vodou.