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 Voodoo (also sometimes called Vodou, Vodoun or Vodun).

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

Danny Roberts has not been in the spotlight much since he was featured as part of the New Orleans cast on MTV's The Real World in 2000.

But he's never been forgotten.

In his 2008 interview with Out magazine, Neil Patrick Harris said Roberts was a role model for him at that time because 'before him I'd never seen anyone wear [homosexuality] so comfortably.'

Using a city law passed just last year, police in New Orleans arrested nine preachers for an anti-gay demonstration during Southern Decadence festivities in the French Quarter over the weekend.

Eight of the men were arrested on suspicion of aggressive solicitation under an ordinance that prohibits 'any person or group of persons to loiter or congregate on Bourbon Street for the purpose of disseminating any social, political or religious message between the hours of sunset and sunrise.'

Southern Decadence, a New Orleans gay festival which draws over 100,000 LGBT people to the state, will be celebrating after Isaac today (1 September).

Isaac, now a tropical storm, caused heavy flooding in areas around the state and damage around the Gulf Coast, nearly seven years to the day after the devastating Hurricane Katrina.

Organizers say the show will go on, billed as the ‘Gay Mardi Gras’, is older than both hurricanes and is responsible for bringing millions in revenue and tourism to the US state.

An anti-gay online ministry is already blaming Hurricane Isaac on gays.

As the United States prepares for the storm, arriving nearly seven years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans which left 1,800 dead, author and chaplain John McTernan has decided who is at fault.

Anti-gay pastor Grant Storms has been convicted of obscenity after admitting to masturbating in a New Orleans park.

The right-wing Christian, who was notorious for organizing rallies against homosexuality, was found guilty of one count of obscenity and sentenced to three years probation at the US city's 24th Judicial District Court yesterday (22 August).

Storms waived the right to a jury and in his confession claimed he pleasured himself in public because of the 'thrill' of it, reported New Orleans news source nola.com