I'D VOTE FOR YOU ADRIAN

I really don't have anything new, exciting or interesting to share. I just came across this photo of the mayor of DC, Adrian Fenty (on the right in the pic), and decided I wanted to share it with you. Mayor Fenty has been a tremendous ally of the LGBT community since he took the office. He was very vocal about his support of same sex marriage and has not allowed any homophobic backlash to sway him away from supporting our causes. Apparently he is losing his popularity among many in DC's African-American community and I wonder is his stand on behalf of gays and lesbians is contributing to this. If so I say more power to you Fenty. It is time for our politicians to do what is right and not what is popular. And by the way, you look go while you're doing it. In the words of Rocky Balboa . . ."ADRIAN!!!"

The NAACP and the Gay Rights Movement

There is an interesting video from the current president of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) that has surfaced. In this video Benjamin Post talks about the role of the NAACP and its involvement in the progress of LGBT equality. He alludes to the fact that the organization cares about LGBT issues however, there will be no action until the gay & lesbian community reaches out to to it. He also minces words by stating that the organization is committed to LGBT equality but later states that (and I'm paraphrasing)because of lack of consensus among membership that their official position would remain unclear.

I think the best thing Mr. Jealous could have done would have been to remain silent on this issue. He is not only dividing his organization he is pissing off many LGBT persons of color like myself. First off - many people have approached the NAACP asking them to be apart of this fight for our civil rights. Julian Bond made no apologies about his unwavering support of our equality and pledged that the NAACP would be marching along side us in this battle. It just sounds to me like Jealous is now renigging on this committment that came from the organization's former leader.

Secondly his argument makes it sound like there are no same gender loving African-Americans that would benefit from the help of the NAACP. He clearly stated that their members of the NAACP that are gay or lesbian. So why does his argument seem to dismiss those individuals that are members of both communities. Unbeknowst to many there are indeed black lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered individuals. Does the sexual identity of an individual eliminate their standing within the African-American community? African-Americans have always been and will always be apart of the LGBT community but for some reason we are often looked at like traitors to the race. I cannot (and will not) deny my blackness. I also cannot (and will not) deny my homosexuality. If you want to take me then you have to take all of me.

Jealous begins this video by saying that gay people have always been apart of the NAACP. Then Mr. Jealous I need for your organization to do the right thing for me, to do the right thing for Bayard Rustin, and to do the right think for your brother is also homosexual. Take an official positon on Don't Ask, Don't Tell because the fact is that there are many minority soldiers that have had their careers ended because of this unfair practice. Stand up and support same-sex marriage because there are many African-American LGBT individuals that want the same rights and privileges to marry their loved ones as their heterosexual friends and family. Make an effort to pass legislation that would protect the jobs of those that do not adhere to the "normal" sexual preference or gender identity because gays, lesbians, and trans individuals are smart and hard-working. We should have the status of our employment based on the work we produce and not what happens in our private lives. The NAACP was founded because of a need for civil rights. Mr. Benjamin, what has changed?

Please get into the video here.

Ricky Martin Comes Out of the Closet

Ricky Martin announced on his blog today that "I am a fortunate homosexual man." Now pass the peas. Let's move on to something important. We'll I wish things were that simple. While really this should be a non-issue, the fact that he had to make this announcement states the relevance of its importance. It shouldn't really matter if Mr. Martin was gay or not. But the truth is that people care tremendously about the sexual orientation of the next person. People care so much about the next person's sexual identity that they stalk, badger, condemn, judge, lie about and ridicule anyone that sits in silence and does not acknowledge their orientation one way or another.

Queen Latifah's seemingly ambiguous lifestyle has many writing, screaming and demanding that she come out and publicly announce which team she plays on. When Sean Hayes (Jack from Will and Grace) refused to say publicly that he was homosexual he angered heterosexuals and homosexuals. He finally came out publicly as gay only one month ago himself. What I want to know is how is the sexuality of any of these individuals relevent to their talent. If Latifah were gay would that make her less beautiful? Would her voice lose its charm and would she lose her commanding stage presence if she announced she were bisexual?

For some reason we are fixated with labels. We NEED for individuals to define themselves one way or another. Everyone needs to be compartmentalized and placed in a box that says who they are and where they belong. When someone refuses to self identify they tend to piss people off. But this need to name and define and label is the issue of the larger community, it is not the issue of the one that refuses to be identified.

And let's look a little closer at the person that does not identity. What lies at the root of this need not be labeled? Could it be simply that some people are not easily categorized? Could it be that there are consequences to the labels that befall a person? What were the reasons that we demanded Mariah Carey and Tiger Woods come out as black? We still have not lived up to the creed of Martin Luther King, Jr. We are still not a place where we judge someone on the content of their character. Talent and determination were the reasons for the success of Ricky Martin, Queen Latifah and Sean Hayes. I love and support each of them . . . gay, straight or unconfirmed.

Robin Thicke Talks to his Gay Audience

I've been in love with Robin Thicke for many years now. With his fresman CD (when no one really had a clue who he was) he recorded only under the moniker Thicke. It was filled with so much soul that several friends of mine didn't believe it was blue-eyed talent that was delivering the voice and those hooks. You see with his freshman album Robin Thicke pulled a Teena Marie and did not put his picture on the cover.

Now here we are many years later and Robin has made it to the senior class. He recently released his fourth album and I must tell you that it is like WOW!!! Sex Therapy has a reoccuring theme that appears on every track (and that would sex if didn't figure it out from the title). Since I've had he CD my favorite track seems to change almost every week.

This week, Robin Thicke sat down with the Advocate to talk about his wife, the hip-hop community and his gay audience. It is a great read. I swear every single question was gay related. Every single one. But it was fabulous. Robin talks about his influences from friends of his parents that were gay, his wife's role as a lesbian in the Oscar hit Precious, and how he adores his gay fans. Please get into the interview here.

History's Most Influential Lesbians?

So I need your help. I am working on a project for Women's History month. I want to create an exhibit of the most influential lesbians in history but I am having trouble narrowing down my list. And truth be told I know I am a bit biased. I know LGBT African-American history very well (I teach seminars on LGBT African-American history). However, when it comes to naming famous and influential non-black lesbians I am at a loss. I know Ellen and Portia de Rossi. That's it. So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give me your feedback. Who do you think are some of the most influential same-gender loving women in history?

Transform Me: The New Queer Eye

You've got to remember her from the first season of I Want to Work For Diddy. She is Laverne Cox; transgendered diva that stole the show. Well pardon the pun but I've been wanting more Cox since she left the show. And now my yearning has been answered. Laverne is back with a new show called Transform Me. Laverne will be traveling around the country with a team of two others giving make-overs to those that are desperately in need (kinda like the guys from Quuer Eye for the Straight Guy). Child I can't wait. With the new season of Top Model going and the now more immunities on RuPaul's Drag Race, TV is getting hot once again. The new show will premiere on Vh1 on March 15. This is going to be good.

The Advocate sat down with Laverne to discuss the new show. The brilliant and beautiful Ms. Cox is not at a loss for words as she talks about style and fashion and what we should expect on her new show. I for one can not wait for it to start. Please get into her interview here.

Another Victim of Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Jene Newsome, an airman of the U.S. Airforce, has been terminated from her duties. She is now just another statistic in the long line of victims of the discriminative Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy which is ruining the careers of many gay and lesbian military personell. What is ironic and unique and Newsome's situation is that the military did not ask. The fact that she is lesbian was disclosed to the Airforce by the police officers of the Rapid City, South Dakota police department. And now, according to the Advocate, Newsome is filing a lawsuit against the police department for invasion of privacy.

The police apparently entered the home of Newsome with a warrent for the arrest of her partner on theft charges. While searching through their home they found the marriage license of the two. Newsome and her partner had visited Iowa and gotten married after the state became the fifth one in the country to allow same-gender couples to legally do so.

The police officers took it upon themselves to then contact the Airforce and disclose the fact that Newsome was a lesbian and that she had married her partner. Now I don't know about you but I want to know how that falls into the realm of "due process." And now the chief of the police department is defending his men by saying they were well within their rights by contacting the Airforce and sharing this information.

Actions like this one against Newsome are discriminative and they target the LGBT community. And it looks like were just supposed to lie down and take this abuse. Well I'm thankful that Newsome is taking action. When will this country wake up and grant us the rights we deserve? When will we earn our equality? I'm still hopeful that it will happen under this administration but my hope fades a little more each day. My prayers are with Newsome and her partner. I hope their is some kind of positive outcome that results from this aweful mess.

Desmond Tutu on Hatred

Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu wrote an open-editorial to the Washington Post where he addressed the recent homophobic legislation proposed in Uganda. He addresses the policies of hatred being introduced perfectly yet eloquently. Please get into his post below.

Hate has no place in the house of God. No one should be excluded from our love, our compassion or our concern because of race or gender, faith or ethnicity -- or because of their sexual orientation. Nor should anyone be excluded from health care on any of these grounds. In my country of South Africa, we struggled for years against the evil system of apartheid that divided human beings, children of the same God, by racial classification and then denied many of them fundamental human rights. We knew this was wrong. Thankfully, the world supported us in our struggle for freedom and dignity.

It is time to stand up against another wrong.

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people are part of so many families. They are part of the human family. They are part of God's family. And of course they are part of the African family. But a wave of hate is spreading across my beloved continent. People are again being denied their fundamental rights and freedoms. Men have been falsely charged and imprisoned in Senegal, and health services for these men and their community have suffered. In Malawi, men have been jailed and humiliated for expressing their partnerships with other men. Just this month, mobs in Mtwapa Township, Kenya, attacked men they suspected of being gay. Kenyan religious leaders, I am ashamed to say, threatened an HIV clinic there for providing counseling services to all members of that community, because the clerics wanted gay men excluded.

Continue reading the entire article here.

New York Governor Will Not Seek Reelection

New York governor David Paterson announced this week that he will not be seeking the office again after this term. For me this is very disappointing news. Governor Paterson has been a fierce advocate for the LGBT community. Although other politicians in his state and many of his constituents tried to get the governor to abandon the gay and lesbian cause, he was unwavered. He repeatedly demanded that same gender loving couples be allowed the right to marry in New York (although unfortunately the New York Legislature let him down by voting down the bill that would allow this). But I have to applaud his efforts for being a voice for our behalf.

According to the Advocate, this decision was made following a "mortal political blow this week." It was reported that one of the top aides in Paterson's office may have been involved in a domestic violence incident. There are many unanswered questions but there are accusations that Paterson and state police may have tried to sway the woman that was the victim to drop the case against the aide.

I personally don't believe these accusations. I do believe he may have decided to not to seek reelection following a drop in popularity in the polls and the forecast that a victory in the next election would be very difficult for him. That I believe. Paterson is a very straight forward man who says whats on his mind. Remember this is the man that upon taking office immediately announced he has cheated on his wife and she has been unfaithful to him. He lays everything out on the table and I admire him for that. But whatever his reasons are they don't matter, we are still losing a powerful ally when we lose Governor Patterson.

Black (and Gay) History Month Quiz

I just found this fabulously fun quiz on AfterElton.com. It's all about the LGBT community and Black History month. There are only ten questions so this won't take too much of your time. So please take a moment and take the quiz. And if you don't mind, let me know how you scored.

I got nine out of ten right (yeah me!) Take the quiz here and holla back (I want to know how you did).

LGBT Rights and Our President

I'll say it, I've repeated said that I've been disappointed with the President's progress towards LGBT equality. Don't get it twisted, yes I love me some Barack but I've always thought he could do more. But then I just read a list of items Obama has accomplished in his first year in the White House and I must admit I'm somewhat impressed. This list, compiled by DNC Treasurer Andrew Tobias, reflects the

1. Reversed an inexcusable US position by signing the UN Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

2. Extended benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.

3. Endorsed the Baldwin-Lieberman bill, The Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009, to provide full partnership benefits to federal employees

4. Signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act

5. Lifted the HIV Entry Ban effective January 2010

6. Released the first Presidential PRIDE proclamation since 2000

7. Hosted the first LGBT Pride Month Celebration in White House history

8. Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Harvey Milk and Billie Jean King

9. Appointed the first transgender DNC member in history

10. Issued diplomatic passports, and provided other benefits, to the partners of same-sex foreign service employees

To see the entire list please go here. I must admit, I was glad to see so many different accomplishments compiled in one place. Maybe now people can stop saying that our President isn't doing anything. While I would like to see more it is not fair to say that he is indifferent to or has done nothing for the LGBT community. I think the list above refutes that.

Dana Owens, aka Queen Latifah, opened up yesterdays Super Bowl by singing America The Beautiful. Apparently many in the blogosphere and many in the media have been attacking Latifah saying her performance was horrible. I just saw the performance (cause I didn't watch the game) and though the Queen was great. Unfortunately it seems like my opinion is in the minority. But you tell me, please watch the video and give me your thoughts. Holla back . . .

Why I Love Wanda Sykes

Leave to Wanda to call anyone and everyone on their shit. You have to see it to believe it. I would think that a corporation as large as NBC would have a bit more couth than to try to pull some bullsh*t like this. But it's still funny to watch Wanda in action.

God Ain't Judging

I luv me some Mo'Nique. She has long been an advocate for HIV/AIDs in the African-American community. I remember seeing her on the cover of POZ magazine while I was working for Arizona's Body Positive. Now she is one of the biggest black celebrities speaking out on behalf of ending prejudice and hatred against gays and lesbians.

Congratulations to her on winning the Golden Globe for her role in Precious. Precious was the project of Lee Daniels, an openly gay black director, whose other titles include Monster's Ball (Halle Berry), the Woodsman (Kevin Beacon) and Shadowboxer (Cuba Gooding, Jr.). What I loved most about Precious was the subliminal message it gave about gays and lesbians because in the movie it took a lesbian to save the lead character Precious.

I was so elated and excited as I read on Rod2.0 about what happened on Mo'Nique's show when she invited Miki Howard to discuss her new book and new album. Even in Mo's opening monologue for that show she makes the comment, "Sistahs, if you're laying next to your man, or if you're laying next to your woman cause this is a no judgement zone, I want to you to turn over and kiss them in a way so their whole body tingles." WOW. You go girl.

But when Miki finally takes the stage the show takes a delicious and exciting turn as the conversation turns to homosexuality and the church. Howard used to attend the church of James Cleveland in LA (and many people knew that James was gay). Miki talked about how there were many gay men in her church as she was growing up and she learned a lot from those men, she jokingly adds including how to walk. But in Miki's world there was never anything wrong with being gay. She didn't realize that other people took offense to the LGBT community.

I love the conversaion between these two women about the fabulousness of the LGBT community. The video below is the entire show and Miki's segment doesn't happen until about 27 minutes into the show. Please get into it.

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