News_07-17

Volume 3 No 2 - 2013 SUMMER OF PRIDE EDITION
- JULY 17, 2013
First Caribbean LGBT Marriage
By Karl Marshall
Despite years of negativity, fantastic good news
coming from the region.
On June 15, 2013 the first
same sex marriage occurred in the Caribbean.
Myriam Jourdan, 49, and
Rosamond Zebo, 52 years
old, living in the town of
Carbet had their marriage
celebrated by the local
mayor Jean-Claude Ecanvil.
Mayor Ecanvil, whose
son died from a heart
attack earlier that morning, wanted to perform
the ceremony personally
despite his personal tragedy.
Zimmerman Found Not Guilty
In Trayvon Martin Death
Same sex marriage has
been legal in France since
May 18, 2013.
France is the thirteenth
country worldwide to
allow same-sex couples
to marry.
The legislation applies to
the French Overseas Departments and territories,
including Martinique in
the French West Indies.
It is expected that this
first will be followed by
several other marriages
between persons of the
same sex. .
Picture courtesy of
Bigfatfeminist.com
Jamaican LGBT Organizations
Challenge Discriminatory Laws
By Karl Marshall
Despite gargantuan odds
against them, the Jamaican
LGBT Community is fighting for their civil rights to be
treated equally.
The island nation of 2 million has a well earned reputation of being rabidly homophobic, even among the
traditionally socially conservative Caribbean islands.
By Nathan James
George Zimmerman, the
Sanford, Florida Neighborhood Watch volunteer who
followed and accosted 17year-old high school student
Trayvon Martin, and engaged the teen in a struggle
that left Martin dead, has
been acquitted of murder and
manslaughter charges by a
six-person jury.
The case, which drew national attention because of
Florida's controversial
"Stand Your Ground" laws,
and the races of the principals--Zimmerman is white,
Martin black--was tried by a
special prosecutor, after local
police declined to arrest
Zimmerman at the time of
the February 26, 2012 incident.
ience store, to the home of
his father's fiancee in a gated
Sanford development, was
seen by Zimmerman, who
was driving to Home Depot
in his truck.
The case began when Martin,
walking back from a conven-
Despite police instructions
advising Zimmerman not to
Zimmerman, 29, believing
Martin to be "suspicious",
called 911, telling the dispatcher he was following
Martin.
Nigerian government website hacked over anti-gay bill
Lagos - An Irish hacker,
known as “Paddy Hack", has
embarrassed Nigeria by first
announcing his intentions
and then carrying out his
threat to highjack the government’s main website.
Nigerian government offi-
cials were totally ineffectual
in defending the attack.
The attack was instigated as
a protest over the new Nigerian law which declares homosexuality illegal and punishes gay people and those
who support them with jail
sentences up to 14 years.
Paddy Hack says he is not
gay but a defender of human
rights.
He vows to repeat his attack
unless the Nigerian president
vetoes the bill.
This has forced gay Jamaicans in increasing numbers
to be granted asylum in the
U.S., U.K., and other EU
countries.
However, a dedicated group
of local LGBT activists,
supported by exile Jamaican
communities is confronting
the wider society and demanding their civil rights.
Gay rights activists have
brought legal challenges to
discriminatory laws in two
recent cases.
On May 30th, 2013 the Jamaican Constitutional Court
reserved judgment until its
next season to a challenge
brought by gay rights activist
and Attorney-at-Law, Maurice Tomlinson, to the refusal of the three local T.V.
Stations, one of which is
government owned, to run a
public service announcement
ad promoting tolerance of
Jamaican Attorney Maurice Tomilson
gays. “Love and Respect.”
Tomlinson argues that their
action violates the Charter of
Fundamental Rights and
Freedoms, and the television
stations are unjustified in
refusing to air it.
In 2011 Jamaica introduced a
new Charter of Fundamental
Rights and Freedoms which,
among other things, significantly enhanced citizens’
rights to freedom of expression.
The Charter also created a
novel right to media access.
It mentioned for the first
time that private citizens (ie.
the TV stations), and not
only the state, are bound to
respect constitutional rights.
In the other legal challenge,
activist Javed Saunja Jaghai
has challenged the constitutionality of the country's
buggery (sodomy) law pursuant to the right to privacy
contained in the Charter, on
the grounds that consenting
male adults should not face
criminal charges for buggery.
Jaghai was evicted from his
house by his landlord on the
alleged basis that his homosexuality would result in him
engaging in illegal acts with
other men on the premises.
(Continued on page 2)
2
GBMNews.com
Jamaican LGBT
Challenge Discriminatory Laws
Publisher
Ralph Briggs Emerson
Executive Editor
Nathan James
Business Development
Richard E Pelzer II
Ulysses Williams
Contributors
Akim Ade Larcher
Allen Jones
Antoine Craigwell
Ashwon Martin
Azaan Kamau
Badilisho
Barron Coleman
Brett York
Brian Williams
Camille Evans
Carl Schmid
Charles Gilmore
Delroy J Baker
Delvon Johnson
Derrick Anthony
Dewey Edwards
Dominic Kevin McNeir
Doug Cooper-Spencer
Dustin Baker
Eric Jones
Eustace M. Bellille
Emmial Fields
Franklin Oben
Irene Monroe
J. L. Whitehead
James Corey
James Hipps
Jeff Dorta
Jimmy Newsum
Jimmy Win
John Frazier
Joseph Tolton
Justin B Terry-Smith
Karanja Wa Gaçuça
Karl Marshall
Kevin Robertson
Kevin Hansen
Ken Horton
Kheven LaGrone
Kim J. Ford
Kirk Shannon-Butts
Laurence Pinckney
Lenox Magee
Macintosh Smith
Mae Kwan
Marcus Brock
Marshall Titus
Michael R. Moore
Mike Anderson
Nathan Seven Scott
Ocean Morisset
Omar Deon Dowdell
Omar Marks
Paul Henderson
Peter Tatchell
Rudy Reed
Robert Fondern
Robert Jones, Jr
Robert Penn
Robert West
Rod Risbrook
Rodney Holinshed
Rodney Lofton
Roque Caston
Sean Coleman
Sonja Carter
Stanley Bennett Clay
Stephanie Issa
Stephen Williams
Steven Brown
Steven Fullwood
Tai Chunn
Tebogo Donald Ntlapo
Thomas Beckwith
Timm West
Timothy Dey
Troy Longmire
Ty Bakare
Ty Lattimore
Victor Kereny
Victor Yates
Will Horn
William R. Jones, Jr.
Wolfgang Busch
Wyatt Evans
(Continued from page 1)
tive perceptions of gays.
These cases are the leading
edge in the struggle to
change the societal homophobic environment in which
Jamaican LGBT members
exist.
The study found that 93%
believe that there is a high
prevalence of gays in the
society, with 43% of those
believing homosexuality was
present among all social
classes, and the rest believing it was confined to the
upper classes.
A national study in July
2012 conducted by the University of the West Indies
confirmed that Jamaicans
generally hold strong nega-
Vaughn Taylor-Akutagawa
Named GMAD Exec Director
lieve that gays can change
their orientation, and while
65% responded that they
would not fire someone from
a job due to their sexual
orientation, 54% stated they
would not hire someone they
know is gay.
In regard to the buggery law
challenged by Jaghai, 78%
are opposed to repealing it.
Alarmingly, 53% (an increase of 6% in a year) be-
Zimmerman Found Not Guilty
In Trayvon Martin Death
white jury, handed up at 10
PM on July 13, seemed to
affirm the state's Draconian
"Stand Your Ground" law,
which permits "force to be
met with force" if a person
merely perceives their life to
be in danger.
Florida's broad provisions for
"justifiable homicide" also
figured into the jury's decision, legal experts noted.
(Continued from page 1)
follow the teen, the watch
volunteer exited his vehicle,
armed with a gun, and accosted Martin, demanding of
the teen, "What are you doing here?"
According to Zimmerman, a
struggle then ensued, in
which the teen began to bang
the much larger Zimmerman
against the sidewalk, and
ended only when Martin was
shot by Zimmerman, reportedly in self-defense. Martin
was found to be unarmed,
carrying only a bag of Skittles candy and a can of iced
tea.
Arriving police found Martin
dead at the scene, and a superficially injured Zimmerman standing near the
body. Over the objections of
the lead homicide investigator assigned to the case, Sanford police declined to arrest
Zimmerman. He was not
taken into custody until several weeks later, following
widespread public protest.
A tumultuous series of
events ensued, including the
July 17, 2013
firing of Sanford's police
chief over his handling of the
case, Zimmerman's citation
for contempt after he and his
wife were found to have
misled the court about their
finances, and the firestorm of
debate across the country on
race and guns.
The trial began with defender
Mark O'Mara painting Martin as an aggressive, out-ofcontrol teenager, while Angela Corey, the district attorney appointed by Governor
Rick Scott to prosecute the
case, argued that Zimmerman recklessly took the law
into his own hands. The
night watchman, who was
not on duty at the time of the
shooting, faced murder and
manslaughter charges.
During the course of testimony, the six-woman jury
heard experts on both sides
give dramatically differing
accounts of the incident, and
took copious notes about the
proceedings. Zimmerman
declined to testify in his own
defense.
The verdict from the mostly
President Obama, himself a
constitutional law scholar,
weighed in on the case before trial, saying, "if I had a
son, he'd look like Trayvon
Martin."
After the verdict, he and
other leaders called for calm,
urging people to "respect the
judicial process". Zimmerman left the courthouse soon
after the verdict was read,
and remains in an undisclosed location. "The verdict
underscores the great chasm
between perception and reality when it comes to race in
America," legal analyst Sheldon Green observed.
Speaking to GBM News,
Green, a former city prosecutor, said the defense portrayed Martin as "a very
unsympathetic victim", in a
state already rife with xenophobia. "Prejudices and
preconceptions do play a role
in our court system, however
much we are loath to admit
this."
The federal Justice Department is said to be exploring
the possibility of a civilrights case against Zimmerman.
By Roque Caston
Mr. Vaughn TaylorAkutagawa has been appointed Executive Director
of GMAD.
GMAD - Gay Men of African Descent, Inc. is the
oldest minority social sector
enterprise dedicated to the
health and wellness of black
gay men in New York.
Mr. Taylor-Akutagawa
educational credentials and
twenty-five years of practical experience as a professional in the field of social
services makes him an ex-
cellent choice.
Known for designing, developing, and delivering ethnocentric programs in most of
the Western states with large
non-White populations,
Vaughn understands community mobilization and
individual inspiration.
Currently working in New
York City, Mr. TaylorAkutagawa is the Chief
Executive of Imhotep Solutions. Imhotep Solutions is a
burgeoning ethnocentric
consultancy dedicated to
making men’s health matter
by focusing on the multidimensional man.
July 17, 2013
GBMNews.com
Honoring the 1963
3
Senate Supports HIV/AIDS Programs
March On Washington
By Carl Schmid
By Troy Longmire
THE AMAZING THING
IS the March On Washington For Jobs and Freedom
that took place on August
28th, 1963 went off without
a hitch.
For with Jim Crow in its
death throes the climate was
anything but favorable for a
mass meeting of civil rights
activists on our nation’s front
lawn.
JFK’s White House questioned its timing in the wake
of pending legislation and
heated debate over the rights
and freedoms of blacks in the
United States of America.
Demonstrations of civil disobedience and outright violence against workers for
justice and equality in southern cities in particular conveyed a landscape blatantly
hostile to blacks. With all
that was stacked up against
them, organizers of the
march might well have felt
bitter frustration over a lack
of support from several organizations who felt their
interests in Washington and
elsewhere might be jeopardized were they to fall in with
a show of force.
To say the least, A. Philip
Randolph and Bayard
Rustin, who audaciously
organized the march, along
with all the other leaders and
participants stepped out into
the void, as it were, in order
to bring about the largest,
most ambitious and important public rally heretofore
ever held at our nation’s
Capitol for the causes of civil
rights.
The March On Washington
For Jobs And Freedom was
scheduled to coincide with
the one-hundredth-year anniversary of Lincoln’s signing
of the Emancipation Proclamation, a fact which may
have been lost in light of the
present circumstances during
the time—hand wringing and
head banging—then again
maybe it wasn’t eo ipso.
It would set the standard for
public mass meetings of
similar scale for citizens
seeking redress from our
government. A. Philip
Randolph’s vision, engendered during FDR’s administration, of workers coming
together from all across the
nation freely expressing
solidarity would come to
symbolize a bond of trust
between him and Bayard
Rustin, whose success with
the march made him a hero.
By Rev. Irene Monroe
Black Pride reaffirms our
identity. And it dances to a
different beat.
What started out in Washington D.C. in 1990 as the
only Black Gay Pride event
in the country has grown to
over 35 gatherings nationwide. Each year celebrations
start in April and continue to
October. Over 300,000
LGBTQ people of African
descent rev up for a weekend
of social and cultural events
celebrating their queer
uniqueness.
In 2007 alone over 350,000
attended Black Gay Pride
events throughout the U.S.
The largest events are held in
Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Atlanta, and
smaller Black Pride events
(like Boston’s) provide an
important sense of identity
and cultural heritage.
Just like in the mainstream
of American society, cultural
acceptance and inclusion of
LGBTQ communities of
color in larger Pride events is
hard to come by. Many can
experience social exclusion
and invisibility in the big
events. Segments of our
population will attend separate Black, Asian, and Latino
Gay Pride events in search of
the unity that is the hallmark
of Pride.
The themes and focus of
Black, Asian, and Latino
Pride events are different
from the larger Pride events.
Prides of communities of
color focus on issues not
solely pertaining to the
LGBTQ community, but
rather on social, economic,
and health issues impacting
their entire community. The
growing distance between
our larger and white LGBTQ
community and these
LGBTQ communities of
We are grateful that during
these difficult budgetary
Juxtaposing the magnitude
and excitement of that day,
Rev. Ralph Abernathy returned to the National Mall
after it had emptied later
toward dusk there he experienced an ineluctable peace
and quiet amid the breeze an
insouciant solitude.
color is shown by how, for
an example, a health issue
like HIV/AIDS that was
once an entire LGBTQ community problem is now predominately a challenge for
communities of color.
Also, with advances such as
hate crime laws, the repeal
of the military’s “Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell,” the legalization
of same-sex marriage in
many states, and with homophobia viewed as a national
concern, the LGBTQ movement has come a long way
since the first Pride marches
four plus decades ago. Many
note the perceived distance
the LGBTQ community has
traveled in such a short historic time—from a disenfranchised group on the
fringe of America’s mainstream to a community now
on the verge of equality. But
not all members of our community have crossed the
finish line. Some are waving
the cautionary finger that
within our community to
note that not all are equal.
Pride events can be public
displays of those disparities.
Mainstream Prides have
themes focused on marriage
equality for the larger community where Prides organized by and for LGBTQ
people of African descent
As part of the increase, the
Senate is proposing to boost
funding for ADAP by $47
million, the same level as
proposed by the President. Many state ADAPs
had to institute waiting lists
in recent years due to increased demand for lifesaving medications.
Since there was a dramatic
loss of ADAP funding in
FY13, the Obama Administration recently transferred
$35 million in emergency
funding to ADAP to ensure
that patients currently on
medications can continue to
receive them. The Subcommittee action ensures those
patients will continue to
receive their medications
next year and provides for an
additional $12 million in
new funding.
Recently, The AIDS Institute
released an analysis that
showed sequestration and
other budget cuts have already resulted in cuts of
$375 million from the federal government’s response
to the domestic HIV/AIDS
epidemic.
If the cuts outlined in the
House of Representative’s
budget are applied across the
board, an additional $1.1
billion would be slashed.
The appropriation bills being
considered by the Senate,
along with the President’s
budget, restore the damaging
cuts caused by sequestration. The House is taking a
different approach.
A Journey with HIV
perience for me to be an
advocate for others. I have
had the pleasure of serving
as a board member emeritus
for the NAMES Project
Foundation – AIDS Memorial Quilt and was a founding
member on the board of
directors of the San Francisco LGBT Community
Center.
The iconic March On Washington For Jobs and Freedom, the very title alone is
worthy of reflection, would
become and inspiration for a
generation and beyond.
Black Pride: Distinct and Emblematic
Sunday gospel brunches,
Saturday night Poetry slams,
Friday evening fashion
shows, bid whist tournaments, house parties, the
smell of soul food and Caribbean cuisine, and the beautiful display of African art and
clothing are just a few of the
cultural markers that make
Black Pride distinct from the
dominant queer culture.
Washington, DC – The
AIDS Institute recognizes
Chairman Tom Harkin for
his leadership in maintaining
the United States Senate’s
strong commitment to domestic HIV programs by
increasing funding for the
AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) and maintaining funding for the rest of
the Ryan White HIV/AIDS
Program and HIV prevention
at the CDC
times, Chairman Harkin and
his colleagues realize the
important role the federal
government plays in preventing infectious diseases,
such as HIV, and the need to
provide care and treatment to
people living with HIV/
AIDS. Doing so keeps those
with the disease healthy and
reduces new infections.
By Duane Cramer
Each year, the LGBT Pride
Celebrations remind me how
important it is to be out and
proud of who you are. For
me, it’s about being proud
that I am Black and Gay, but
out about being HIV positive.
As a photographer, I have
also been able to use my
vision as a creative outlet to
bring attention to the disease
and to educate others. To
that end, this year I teamed
up with Project Runway star
Mondo Guerra and Merck on
I Design, a national education campaign to help empower people living with
HIV to work with their doctors and approach their HIV
treatment plan “through their
own lens.”
I was diagnosed with HIV in
1996, just ten years after my
best friend and father, Joe J.
Cramer Jr., Ph.D., died of
AIDS-related complications.
Even before my diagnosis, I
became very involved in the
community and an advocate
for HIV awareness, education and prevention.
It has been a rewarding ex-
The campaign emphasizes
the importance of meaningful and open patientphysician dialogue to encourage collaboration and
active communication about
your goals of treatment now
and in the future. Separately,
I am also part of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention’s Testing Makes Us
Stronger campaign focused
have focused not only on
HIV/AIDS but also unemployment, housing, gang
violence, and LGBTQ youth
homelessness. After decades
of Pride events where many
LGBTQ people of African
descent asked to be included
and weren’t, Boston Black
Pride was born. Boston
Black Pride this year will
neither be a formal gathering
of folks nor will there be a
display of scheduled festivities. But it will groove on as
it always has for the community, with more individual
and impromptu events.
-nine Black Pride organizations across the country. It
formed to promote an African diasporic multicultural
and multinational network of
LGBTQ/ Same Gender Loving Pride events and community based organizations
dedicated to building solidarity, health, and wellness
and promoting unity
throughout our communities.
Also in understanding the
need to network and build
coalitions beyond its immediate communities, IFBP
created the formation of the
Black/Brown Coalition.
Gay Pride Soweto, South
Africa
Black Pride is an invitation
for community. Like the
larger Pride events that go
on during the month of June
throughout the country,
Black Pride need not be
viewed as either a political
statement or a senseless non-
By 1999 Black Pride events
have grown into the International Federation of Black
Prides, Inc. (IFBP). The
IFBP is a coalition of twenty
on black gay and bisexual
men.
In April, I had the honor of
speaking at the 5th annual
Bolder Than Out conference
in Chicago that provided a
venue for the LGBT population of color to discuss pressing issues, hear from experts
and luminaries, and express
opinions.
Through my activism, I hope
to motivate others to be open
and honest about their HIV
status. It’s really wonderful
that today there are many
role models that are out and
proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
However, there aren’t as
many people in the public
eye that have revealed their
HIV-positive status. It’s time
to normalize HIV and reduce
the stigma. Education is the
most important tool we have
to help achieve this and also
help stop new infections.
I'm HIV positive and a proud
gay man. Please march with
Mondo and me this year. Be
open, out and Proud.
stop orgy of drinking, drugging and sex. Such an “either
-or” viewpoint creates a
dichotomy, which lessens
our understanding of the
integral connection of political action and celebratory
acts of songs and dance for
our fight for our civil rights.
While Pride events are still
fraught with divisions, they,
nonetheless, bind us to a
common struggle for
LGBTQ equality.
Black Pride contributes to
that struggle for equality,
demonstrating an African
diasporic aspect of joy and
celebration that symbolizes
not only our uniqueness, but
it also affirms our commonality as an expression of
LGBTQ life in America.
Happy Pride!
4
GBMNews.com
July 17, 2013
New York Pride - A Focus on Adolescents of Color
By Ocean Morriset
parade to stay on mission and focus on LGBT teens and adolescents of color who were out among thousands of celebrants displaying their pride.
New York City PRIDE events are well documented affairs. The
parade, costumes, the festival on Hudson street, the pier dance
and everything in between are recorded by the million spectators
in attendance. So this year, as in years past, I decided to forgo the
Since 2005, I’ve been documenting the many facets of the black
LGBT community which touch on themes of protest, love, HIV/
AIDS, aging , homophobia, hate crimes, outreach and community
celebration to name a few. Recent news stories have brought at-
Harlem Pride & Privilege
By Robert West
As we continue the summer revelry associated
with the many ‘Pride’ events around the world, I
thought I'd share with you a movement afoot in
an area that has one of, if not the, richest black
histories in the United States.
With a further dissection and examination of the
history of this area, one will also notice one of,
if not the, richest same-gender-loving, lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender (SGL/LGBT)
histories in the United States, and certainly in
the five boroughs that make up New York City.
The area that I speak of is Harlem, whose rich
history is often omitted from the timelines that
recount and track the milestones of the SGL/
LGBT movement.
The Harlem Renaissance, which served as an
incubator of, and set a precedent for, artistic,
literary, philosophical and other professional
works in the American black community, was as
queer as it was black, many would say.
Harlem's SGL/LGBT community has continued
to play a vital role in the music, art, theater and
literature scenes, and though responsible for
producing some of the greatest artists and thinkers over the past century, it has remained a mystery to many. Indeed, while the masses have
been exposed to many contributions of Harlem's
SGL/LGBT scene (e.g., voguing), the geneses of
such artistic manifestations are often unknown
or ignored.
The word "privilege" is tossed around a lot as of
late, and I, for one, think it's a privilege to live in
Harlem. As a matter of fact, to have even visited
Harlem is a privilege that most people who desire to do so will never realize. For residents of
New York City, as is true for residents of many
places, it is so easy to take for granted all that
we have at our fingertips; indeed, most of us still
maintain a perennial unkept promise to visit the
Statue of Liberty.
I've never forgotten how many people still yearn
to see the famous Apollo Theater, hear the
sound of salsa and merengue in El Barrio, grab a
slice from Patsy's Pizzeria, or simply take the A
train to Harlem.
For the SGL/LGBT community, that yearning is
just as deep, if not deeper. To visit the place
where Zora, Langston, James and Gladys ruled,
or to feel the energy that inspired the ballroom
scene and even Madonna, is an aspiration that
many in our community keep close to heart.
tention to the devastating effects anti-gay and lesbian bullying can
have on teens and adolescents, who in many recent cases turn to
suicide to escape the taunting, bullying and other abuse they faced
because of their sexual orientation.
In fact, preliminary results from a major 2012 survey of black gay
youth, conducted by the National Strategy for Black Gay Youth
in America, reveals that 43 percent of black gay youth have
thought about or attempted suicide as a result of issues related to
their sexual orientation. According to the results, over half of
those surveyed fear or have experienced family disownment as a
result of coming out of the closet. Many black and Latino LGBT
Once you discover the brilliance and vibrancy of
what many New Yorkers casually refer to as
"Uptown," you can easily envision the title of
the wildly popular 1990 documentary Paris Is
Burning as Harlem Is Burning. It has always
been red-hot!
In line with this sentiment, Carmen Neely states,
"We want to be perfectly clear that Harlem Pride
is for all of Harlem, from those who dwell
within its geographic confines to those who call
Harlem home in their hearts. We want to epitomize what it is to be inclusive."
Harlem Pride, an organization in its third year of
operation, is on a mission to bring a community
pride center to Harlem.
Speaking of Harlem dwelling in the hearts of
many, it seems that no matter where you reside
in this country, or even in the world, there remains in one's heart a special affinity for Harlem; dare I say this affinity is even more intense
in communities of color.
Having just wrapped its fourth annual Harlem
Pride Celebration Weekend, which included a
V.I.P. Launch Party at Aloft Harlem Hotel on
June 28, a wildly successful (over 10,000 attended) festival in Harlem’s famed Jackie Robinson Park on June 29, marching in the New
York City Heritage of Pride Parade on June 30,
where Harlem Pride members dazzled the
crowds with a fashion show that reflected every
era of Harlem’s history, and a personal invitation to the legendary Chez Josephine Restaurant
in Times Square by none other than La Baker’s
son, Jean-Claude Baker, for a post-parade bash,
the organization is excited to return to executing
its year-round programming, which includes
continuing to gain support for an initiative it
deems absolutely necessary and long overdue.
The accomplishments of Harlem's SGL/LGBT
community are long and storied. From literary
greats like Zora Neale Hurston, Langston
Hughes, Countee Cullen, James Baldwin and
Lorraine Hansbury to show-stopping performers
like Phil Black, Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon,
George Hanna, Gladys Bentley and Bessie
Smith, to its later and current crop of authors,
artists, artisans and activists, including Audre
Lorde, Avis Pendavis, Vito Russo, Camila
Guzman, Marsha P. Johnson, Dolores Prida,
Patrik-Ian Polk, Kehinde Wiley, Nathan HaleWilliams, Dr. Wilhelmina Perry, Carmen
Like the neighborhood itself, which has a reputation of being historically accommodating,
Harlem Pride envisions a facility that welcomes
the SGL/LGBT world in its entirety to a place
that they can call home. Harlem Pride's president, Carmen Neely, explains:
“A community pride center will not only address
current demonstrated needs such as education,
housing, discrimination and HIV/AIDS services
but will provide a space where the illustrious
gay history of Harlem can be remembered, celebrated and kept alive. Forever with an eye on
the future, Harlem Pride will use the richness of
its past history to ease the work of today while
attempting to ensure a brighter tomorrow for
our community.”
Though home to New York City's secondlargest SGL/LGBT population outside Brooklyn, Harlem has never had its very own community pride center. Recognizing the ever-evolving
tapestry of Uptown's demographics, Harlem
Pride sees this as a perfect opportunity to reintroduce the spirit of Harlem's SGL/LGBT community from years of yore, when ladies and
gentlemen of every ethnicity in New York City
and its surrounding areas flocked to its balls and
lavish house parties to experience community
and freedom.
Vazquez and Rev. Joseph Tolton, Harlem continues to be home to a SGL/LGBT community
that is having an impact on the world.
Often I find that many mistake true evolution for
a disconnect from what the zeitgeist of the times
dictates as truly important in the here and now.
Many in the mainstream SGL/LGBT movement
think that this is about people of color and the
coming-out process, but it seems that in commu-
July 17, 2013
GBMNews.com
youth have found themselves homeless since being “thrown
away” by their families.
Young black gay men particularly face a unique challenge when
coming out given the deep-rooted anti-gay stigma in the AfricanAmerican community. In an article published in the 2012 Journal
of GLBT Family Studies by Rutgers University School of Social
Work’s Michael C. LaSala and Damien T. Frierson from Howard
University, LaSala explains some of the unique complicating
factors faced by young, gay black men, including a “one more
strike against you” mentality that he says makes acceptance difficult for relatives of gay youth:
nities like Harlem, the focus has rarely been
about the coming-out process. Historically, Uptown's SGL/LGBT culture wasn't earmarked as
something separate and distinct from straight,
cisgender culture; people of all sexualities and
gender identities frequented the same venues.
When I think of the history of Harlem's SGL/
LGBT community, I often marvel at how progressive and ahead of its time it was (and is). In
many ways it represents a mainstreamness that
those who advocate for tolerance, equality and
equity yearn for even today.
Well, the truth of the matter is that (and this will
contradict much of what we hear about people
of color being the most homophobic in this
country, or the least apt to become allies) the
SGL/LGBT community has long found solace
and tolerance in Harlem.
Attending a recent conference in Harlem, one of
the non-SGL/LGBT speakers responded to an
audience member who had referred to her as an
"ally" by saying, "I'm not an 'ally'! 'Ally' sounds
like something you do laundry with. I'm family!"
“The world already sees you as less than others. By being gay,
you’re further hurting the image of African-American men,” LaSala says was a common reaction among the male relatives of the
black youth when they learned that their relative was gay.
“Parents of African-American gay youth said, ‘You have everything going against you as a black man. This is one more strike
against you.’ Conversely, parents of white gay youth stated, ‘You
have everything going for you — and now this!’”
From La Marqueta to the Apollo and beyond, I
had found a family, one that wasn't relegated to
a gay watering hole. So as Harlem experiences a
rapid change in demographics (once again), one
can understand the frustration that native or
year old Trevor said.” I just want to live and love whoever I
want.” he affirmed. In this age of CHANGE, my intention as a
photojournalist documenting the LGBT community of color is to
provide positive imagery and disseminate information of the issues affecting this marginalized group to filter into our collective
consciousness, and realize that we are all ONE. "I AM, therefore
WE ARE."
To black and latino LGBT youth I spoke with at NYC PRIDE,
many expressed that they simply want to “be” who they are. “My
life shouldn’t be threatened just because I love other guys.” 17
longtime Harlemnites have when newcomers
ask, "Why are there no gay bars in Harlem?"
While I identify as an African-American gay
male and will forever remain proud to exclaim
Harlem as the mecca for African-American
culture, I have learned that just as the legacy of
the Harlem Renaissance was created by more
than heterosexuals, Harlem is a tapestry of cultures that have always been welcomed, shared
and celebrated.
The spirit and contributions of Sylvia Rivera,
Luis Rafael Sánchez, Luz Maria Umpierre,
Manuel Ramos Otero, Third World Gay Revolution and the Young Lords Party, among many
others, can be felt in El Barrio and beyond. Harlem has been home to the Dutch, the Irish, Italians, Jews, South Asians, Puerto Ricans, West
Indians, Mexicans, West Africans, Dominicans,
you name it. Like Prego, Harlem has it all.
I can personally attest to the interconnectedness
of the diverse communities that dwell Uptown:
As a new arrival to Harlem in 1994, it was a
Greek woman who owned a small luncheonette
on 116th Street who, after learning that I was
not living in the best of apartments, convinced a
lovely Italian woman (a resident since the height
of "Italian Harlem") to rent an apartment to me,
one that she had refused to rent since her
mother's death 11 years prior.
It was a Dominican man who owned a small
restaurant in El Barrio who would give me extra
heapings of whatever I ordered to take home. It
was the elders whom I'd converse with at the
Woolworth's on 125th Street, or at the many
watering holes of Harlem, who would give me a
real history of finding community at rent parties
and buffet flats, and tell me what it was like to
be dazzled at the extravagant balls of yesteryear.
My experiences, like those of others, owe much
to the largess of the diverse people who've
called this Harlem home over the years, and it
will take the largess of the people of Harlem's
diverse communities today to act in unison to
make a community pride center a reality.
This is the spirit I encountered when arriving in
Harlem in the early 1990s. As a young man who
had been out for as long as I could remember, I
felt so at home when I arrived in Harlem.
5
To further help you understand my passion for
Harlem's SGL/LGBT community, Harlem Pride
and the push for an Uptown community pride
center, I'd like to share just a little of my history,
a history that I feel is beyond serendipitous as I
find myself advocating for the SGL/LGBT people of Harlem. Born and raised in Fort Pierce,
Fla., many of my recreational activities as a
child involved the local flora and fauna of the
Floridian landscape. Picking wild grapes with
other kids in the summer was one my favorite
All photos on these pages are
courtesy of Ocean Morriset
activities, and there was one spot in particular
that produced an abundance of them. "Y'all
know somebody famous was buried in there,"
the elders would comment as they saw us exiting the field that had been long overrun with
weeds. "Yeah, right, old folks," we'd think to
ourselves.
Fast-forward to the mid-1990s. I was enrolled in
college and living in Harlem. Zora Neale
Hurston was required reading in my English 101
class, and because I recognized the vernacular
on the page, I was asked to read passages aloud,
with my professor appreciating my ability to
translate the words with ease and fluidity for my
fellow classmates.
Sitting in that classroom, it dawned on me that it
was Ms. Hurston's grave that we'd played atop
as kids. Continuing the march through time,
June 24, 2011, was a date chock-full of domestic
chores for me. Typically, when I'm in cleaning
mode, nothing can distract me, but on this day,
two words stopped me in my tracks: "Harlem
Pride." A local news program was announcing
an interview with the president of Harlem Pride,
Carmen Neely, and though I've had Harlem
pride all my life, she was referring to the kind of
pride that we speak of in the SGL/LGBT community, and it was being used in conjunction
with Harlem. "Finally!" I thought.
As I listened to the interviewer pepper Ms.
Neely with questions, I was quite impressed
with the spirit of this woman. In responding to
the interviewer's question about the rumored
lack of support from the community, including
our faith leaders, Ms. Neely let it be known how
much of a "misnomer" that was, stating,
"Overwhelmingly, the community of Harlem
has been supportive of Harlem Pride."
Her response reminded me of one of my all-time
favorite quotations. Being interviewed at an
advanced age, and well past the prime of her
career, opera great Leontyne Price was asked
about the "difficulties" of her career. Without
missing a beat, and in true diva fashion, she
responded, "I never talk about difficulties.
Once a success is there, it is not only boring, it is
exasperating to think about." Ms. Neely knew
she had a success on her hands, and she refused
to allow negativity to creep in and spoil the moment. I knew I had to meet Ms. Neely. I knew I
had to be a part of Harlem Pride.
That summer I began to volunteer with Harlem
Pride, and in September 2012 I joined its board
of directors, because I so believed in its mission
Richard E Pelzer II and Carmen Neely
and its necessity, not only for the community of
Harlem but (and I say this with no intended
exaggeration) for the world. From the recent
"Harlem Shake" craze to the name of the leader
of the Socialist Party in France, Harlem Désir
(named in honor of African-American culture),
there are so many examples that illustrate Harlem's global reach.
The irony of me working on behalf of a community that found among its ranks the great Zora
Neale Hurston is not lost on me. I think it is no
coincidence that a boy who was raised in poverty in Fort Pierce, Fla., played unknowingly
atop her grave and attended the school where
she taught as a substitute teacher is now knowingly championing the rights of the very community where she was able to express herself as
a member of the SGL/LGBT community.
Like her, I feel at home even though I am far
away from home, a feeling that Harlem has offered countless others. Though some may think
that it is an awfully ambitious goal to bring a
community pride center to Harlem, the organization's leaders rely upon an old slogan that often
appears in places of worship around the world,
and that simple phrase is, "Ask, believe and
receive."
I ask that you believe in this initiative until the
people of Harlem receive what they deserve, a
community pride center.
6
GBMNews.com
July 17, 2013
sub group by race/ethnicity, age and
sex. But wait it gets better, a survey
of youth in New York City found
that homeless Gay & Transgender
youth are disproportionally youth of
color (read African American).
Black Gay Pride
By Sean Coleman
That time is upon us again, the time
when we all don our rainbow gear
and hit the streets in a show of
PRIDE.
Yes my friends, June is pride across
this great nation and we have so
much to be proud of, or do we?
Webster’s definition of the word
pride is: The quality or state of being Proud, a reasonable or justifiable self respect, while the word
Proud is defined as: feeling or
showing Pride, having or displaying
excessive self-esteem.
I remember as a young adult the
feelings that Gay Pride would elicit
just seeing others out and celebrating the courage they found to be
themselves in a world that was bitter towards anything and anybody
different than what was deemed as
“the norm”.
For me the parade was always a
highlight that cumulated with a
party on the pier and reconnection
with friends I’d lost track of.
For the last couple of years I find
myself asking what exactly do communities of color have to be proud
of, or more specifically what does
the African American community
have to be proud of?
According to the Center for Disease
Control (CDC), African American
men account for almost one-third
(31 percent) of all new HIV infections in the United States.
The rate of new HIV infections for
African American men is 6 times as
high as the rate among white men
and more than twice that of Hispanic men.
Additionally, young African American Men who have sex with men
(YMSM) are severely affected and
now account for more new infections (4800 in 2010) than any other
Among the homeless youth who
identify as Gay 44 percent identify
as African American with 26 percent Hispanic. Transgender homeless youth were even more likely to
be of color 62 percent African
American and 20 percent Hispanic.
With African Americans disproportionally affected by HIV and homelessness the agenda or area of focus
of the LGBT movement has not
been one that has concentrated on
these areas, instead choosing to
spend time and valuable resources
on the right to marry.
According to some published reports the marriage equality campaign has raised upward of 30 million dollars, most of which are private donations and fundraisers held
in support of this campaign.
Don’t get me wrong I’m all for
being able to marry the person you
love without input from the city,
state, of federal government, but I
also recognized the fact that one
must also have stable housing, adequate health care with healthy outcomes to even be in a position to
take advantage of this right.
Fire Island Black Out Returns
This got me to wondering, who is in
charge of deciding what issues an
entire community; which has such
complex issues and sub communities; would focus on?
While pondering this question I
looked at the representation of African American leaders within the
non profit world and was surprised
to learn the lack of policy makers,
executive managers that exist in a
space that largely provide services
for African Americans.
Could this be part of the reason that
our issues are being overlooked?
How do you set policy and design
programs/services for a community
that you are not a part of nor do you
completely understand?
With agencies of color either being
closed or struggling financially
based on their large dependence on
government funding, my organization Destination Tomorrow has
decided to take a more grassroots
approach.
Destination Tomorrow’s mission is
to provide an affirming space for all
members of the Bronx LGBT community to obtain supportive, culturally competent services to empower
LGBT community members mentally, economically and culturally
through programming and services
thereby enriching their quality of
life. While we receive no funding
we have been able to secure space
for an LGBT youth drop in service
that operates every Tuesday and
Thursday.
During these hours youth are encouraged to work on self improvement skills which includes job
readiness, GED prep, and workshops that provide tools to become
their own advocates. Destination
Tomorrow is also producing “A
House is my Home” a photo/oral
history exhibit detailing homelessness within the House/Ball community.
The exhibit will be showing at the
Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and
Lesbian Art from July 17th – 28th.
While these are good starts, Destination Tomorrow needs the support
of the African American Gay community to survive and grow.
What can you do you ask? Volunteer, donate, and most importantly
get the word out that there is a program that is proud to have designed
a space that is “for us by us”. While
we enjoy pride this month, please
say a prayer for those who don’t
have much to celebrate.
For more information about Destination Tomorrow or to donate
visit: www.destinationtomorrow.org
A Place in Time: Our Place in History
coursing through the black
gay community with true
purpose in the 1980’s giving
me the information I had
longed.
By Doug Cooper Spencer
By Nathan James
Almost a year after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy, the annual Fire
Island Black Out (FIBO)
festival will return to the
beach once again, from August 9-11.
A multicultural celebration
of the LGBT community,
FIBO is a weekend of sun,
surf, entertainment, and notables from all over the New
York City area.
It all takes place at Fire Island's Cherry Grove, a picturesque seaside resort about
50 miles east of Manhattan.
This year's events include a
VIP Tropical Heat party, Sun
Dance party on the beach,
Derrick L. Briggs' reality
special, ADTV Confessions, Beach Games 2013, a
VIP Pool Party and Swimwear Fashion Show hosted
by celebrity stylist Delvon
Johnson, and the longrunning Bump & Dip Pool
party immediately thereafter.
That's all in addition to the
fabulous beaches, filled with
"eye candy" that make it all
come together.
Entitled The Main Event,
this year's FIBO extravaganza is the eleventh such
gathering, "bringing unique,
world-class experiences to a
diverse LGBT community,"
says CEO James Wellons,
"while raising awareness
about, and funds for, the non
-profit organizations that
provide life-sustaining re-
sources to the LGBT community."
Held during the second full
weekend in August, FIBO
regularly draws attendees
running into the thousands.
Cherry Grove transforms as
ferryboats bring patrons to
the beach, from a quiet little
resort into a party-all-night
boom town.
There's a selection of Host
Hotel lodging available, as
well as a discounted travel
package to and from Manhattan, courtesy of the MTA
Long Island Rail Road. For
more on this signature LGBT
happening, visit
www.fireislandblackout.com
GBM News is a sponsor of
this year's Fire Island Black
Out.
History has a peculiar way of
completing the questions in a
person’s life; the ‘why’ of
one’s existence, the ‘where’
of one’s place in the world,
the ‘when’ and ‘how’ of a
person’s legacy and the
‘what’ in the course of a
person’s destiny.
In all, it connects the dots in
our lives, making us complete. Understanding this, I
recognized the need to know
my history as a black gay
man.
During the time I was growing up in the 1950’s on
through the late 1960’s, my
right as a black person had
been established with pride
and honor. But the other part
of me as a black gay man
hadn’t gained any historical
significance. After years of
struggling to accept myself
as a gay man, I set about
discovering the questions of
my identity; the why, where,
when, how and what, of who
I was with as much determination as I had been taught to
view my place in the world
as a black person.
With the construction of a
black gay identity that
emerged in the 1970’s, based
on the works of predecessors
like James Baldwin and
Audre Lorde and through the
voices of the more contemporary Joseph Beam, Marlon
Riggs, Michelle Parkerson
and Essex Hemphill, this
new consciousness began
It was obvious to me that
since I had become a part of
an extraordinary community,
a black gay community,
there had to have been something that created this
'extraordinariness', and I was
beginning to find it. I can
recall voraciously reading
essays and books like David
Levering Lewis' 'When Harlem Was In Vogue' while
smiling and nodding, 'yeah'.
As a black gay man I was
there in time.Now, there’s a
renaissance of black LGBTQ
artists and thinkers who
work tirelessly, many in
anonymity, to continue
breathing life into the tapestry that gives purpose to
being black and gay.
One day I hope to see this
movement morph into an
established discipline of
black gay historical and cultural research and lecture,
where researching and studying the history of black
LGBT persons will take its
place in the classrooms of
schools and universities
alongside the discussions of
the histories of other peoples.
July 17, 2013
GBMNews.com
A Good Rebel Never Changes
By Roque Caston
The term “rebel” is a word
that has become a huge part
of my life.
Since the day I could remember, I've always had to rebel
against traditional and
stereotypical values.
Whether it was culture or
community traditions, it has
been my life's goal to always
rebel against society's definition of a “simple life,” and
live my life the way I want it
to be. I'm blessed to be given
this personality, for it has
helped me and prepared for
difficult times.
Growing up, I experienced
reverse racism and reverse
homophobia. Even though I
studied and understood what
my communities have gone
through when it came to
equal rights, I've experienced
a different side of my cul-
ture. I grew up saying that
I'm not truly black if I'm a
straight A student. Fashionably, saggy pants would be
enabled on me, which led to
my pants looking weird for
two years. My personality
was also quite etiquette
amongst the people I was
around. I was told that I wasn't black if I didn't use slangs
or talk ghetto-style.
The same applied to the
LGBT community. When I
first moved to New York and
began to experience my community as a whole, I received
quite the welcome present.
I was rejected and pushed to
the side due to me being
different from the so called
“average gay”. I wasn't saying words like “rachet” or
“O.D.”
Some of my old friends back
in my hometown would've
been called “homo-thugs”
instead of “trade”. I grew up
in the books, which thereby
caused to use a bunch of big
words.
Instead of trying of understand it, I ended up being
taken advantage of, pushed
A Love Letter to my unknown love
to the side, and rejected by a
large number of people in
my community.
The original answer would
be to change into whatever
they ask of you. I was told a
lot to downsize who I was
just to fit in with everyone.
That would originally be the
answer. However, knowing
who I am, I rebelled against
it.
No matter how many times
people rejected me because I
was different, not once did I
let that change me. I like
who I am and I will continue
to be who I am.
If I want to use big words, I'll
do it. If I want to wear slacks
with a belt instead of tight
jeans that shows my butt I'll
do it.
Using my brain has given me
amazing gifts as a writer and
social media specialist.
So as far as I'm concerned
when it comes to those who
don't accept me, I'm sorry
but a good rebel doesn't
change for anyone.
The GET DOWN
Campaign’s No
More Stigma Film
Series Kicks off
NY Pride with
Global Network of
Black Pride at
Maysles Cinema,
Harlem, NY
On Thursday, June 27th, the GET DOWN
Campaign’s No More Stigma Film Series
kicked off NY Pride with Global Network of
Black Pride at Maysles Cinema, Harlem, NY.
tion & Financial Support, Health Issues including the HIV/AIDS epidemic are large
issues in the community we still come together to support one another.
In conjunction with partner organizations
GMAD, SWERV Magazine, Harlem Pride,
Anti Violence Project and Until There's A
Cure, there was a special Harlem Pride and
NYC Pride Week screening of the feature
documentary film T.V. Transvestite.
The event was hosted by Tamara Williams
who plays Danielle from the hit Youtube web
series, No Shade and Destiny DuMure Pucci
(Nashid Corbin), and Executive member of
Gay Men of African Descent Youth Advisory
Board.
The feature was preceded by the short film
The Show Must Go On: The Story Of
Snookie Lanore by director Zachary Kussin, who was in attendance for the postscreening Q&A. The guests were then
treated to a Mini-Ball (three categories) featuring The Paragon House of GianMarco
Lorenzi and hosted by Iconic Father
Kamari Lorenzi – Miyake Mugler.
The Ballroom Community is the celebration
of the LGBTQ community and our talents,”
says
Kamari
Perkins
(Kamari
Lorenzi), Chair of Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD) Ball Room Coalition and host
of the Mini-Ball. “It's an empowering movement because although Homophobia, Homelessness, Family Rejection, Lack of Educa-
By Dustin Baker
At these events, the ballroom scene encourages, supports and give the members of the
LGBTQ a place of belong, sense of pride in
themselves to acknowledge that as the
LGBTQ community we are entitled to the
wonders of living our regular everyday fantastically wonderful lives!”
T.V. Transvestite gave guests a glimpse into
this very scene in 1982, at the advent of the
HIV/AIDS epidemic. Pre -dating Paris Is
Burning (1991), Jenny Livingston’s wellknown documentary that looks at the same
community and culture several years later,
T.V. Transvestite premiered in NYC in June
1985 at the legendary Paradise Garage and,
due to music rights issues, has been underground for the last 20 plus years.
T.V. Transvestite is a significant and unique
moving image record of Harlem’s vibrant ball
culture of the early 1980s. An amazingly
festive and “edu-taining” evening was had by
all in attendance. What a ball it was!
laugh, when we pray and
even when cry together. I
hear so many songs on the
radio and sometimes look to
the day when our song will
play and have real meaning
and not just for others who
are in love. Did you know
that we have a song?
(On behalf of all those looking for love)
Where are you? When will
we meet?
Dear YOU,
The funniest thing, it appears
that everyone around me is
in a relationship but I have
decided that I will lean on
the side of substance and
wait for you. I WILL WAIT!
I will wait for you because
you are worth it. I rather wait
for God to align our paths
than to enter into many little
dead end relationships just
for distractions sake.
Welcome to my open letter
to you, my confessional of
many sorts. Please view this
open letter as proof that I
have been looking for you
for such a very long time. It
is often stated that a million
hearts can come together to
combine and yet your heart
and mine are light years
away. I have thought about
you.
Yes, you, the love of my lifea love that I have not yet
met. I often wonder who you
are, what you look like, how
you are and what you would
be like. Someone I have yet
to meet, and yet, you are the
one who will save my life.
This seems weird and yet it
is so oh so real. You are the
one that will make me safe.
You are the one that I will
live my days with.
Celebrating Ballroom History
With Harlem Pride
By Kim J. Ford
7
Oh wait, let me explain one
thing. Yes, I have made
some people “THE ONE”.
Mistakes! Yeah, you know, I
was alone. I wanted that
companionship.
I was so busy trying to make
them “YOU”. I was terribly
busy at making and building
them to be “YOU” that I got
hurt! So when you see me
you will see the bruises.
Do know, I will protect
YOU fiercely.
You will see the scars. You
might even see the bleeding;
however, those are the marks
I embraced on my journey to
find you.
I have wondered what it
would be like when we
Through this, I have learned,
“What one is not; one could
never be; therefore, they
could never be you!
I watch my friends go from
one cuddle buddy to another;
to lustful rides of 10 minute
lubed up passion sessions all
for the sake of finding their
love and in the end they are
left alone! They are left
alone with a bruised heart
and a bruised ass, all to start
the pattern all over againjust to be bruised yet again. I
can’t fathom that for my life.
I don’t want this for me.
Yeah, call me old fashion,
and to some, I could be
called whack; but in my
mind you are my children’s
father and my husband--- SO
YOU ARE WORTH THE
WAIT!
I have been waiting for the
day that I get to look into
your eyes at our wedding. I
have been waiting for the
day to put our wedding picture on my desk at work. I
have been waiting for the
day when my ring finger is
occupied by a symbol of a
lifetime of uninterrupted
love. So please prove that
love is still out there for men
of color. Please prove to me,
in front of the entire world,
that I am not crazy.
I am not afraid to fly with
you, so please FIND ME!
Sincerely,
The Love that is waiting for
you!
8
GBMNews.com
July 17, 2013
San Francisco Black community gets
short end of the Candlestick
South Africa 2013
By Tebogo Donald Ntlapo
South Africa is truly a colorful nation with breathtaking
landscapes but the true
beauty and warmth comes
from it's citizens. 2014 will
see us celebrating 20 years
of democracy, a struggle that
was by all means not easy
but worth it. We probably
have one of the best constitution's in the world when it
comes to human rights and
yes without being oblivious
to the current state of the
nation we are still a thriving
Nation.
We have hosted a Rugby
World Cup, Cricket World
cup and the most recent the
FIFA Soccer World cup
which was arguably, one of
the best ever hosted. South
Africa is at the Tip of the
mother Continent Africa. It
has with 9 provinces
(States), 11 official languages a list of different
cultures and traditions. It
wraps around the Atlantic
Ocean on the West and the
Indian Ocean on our East.
South Africa has a thriving
economy with trading partners with whom we export to
the USA and other countries
on many continents. We are
the largest producer of Platinum and Chromium in the
world amongst other resources.
As a world traveler myself,
life in S.A is pretty much the
same as in any other first
world country. Issues like
poverty, ecological challenges, politics, problems in
education and yes crime are
constantly being addressed?
Being from the LGBTI community doesn’t make it easier either, but through the
daily struggles S.A is still a
far better country to be in
compared to the rest of Africa. Our constitution protects us and allows us to
marry. For the past few
years we’ve witnessed a few
hate crimes towards the
LGBT community in certain
regions of the country where
people are still ill informed
about being LGBT.
As much as HIV/AIDS is a
major battle worldwide Africa is fighting for acceptance from both traditional
leaders as well as religious
groups. This notion of being
Gay is un-African is just
bogus, it has been around for
centuries but is never spoken
about because of a culture
that tries to create the illusion that certain genders are
superior to the other and
having to prove ones masculinity in community (tribe).
On a positive note, our former President Nelson Mandela made sure that equal
rights was a part of our new
South Africa. Cape Town is
the Gay capital of South
Africa and Africa as a
whole. This year I am proud
to be a part of the Zenbiz
Travel's OUT2AFRIKA
2013 trip where people from
all over the world will make
a 10 day trip to Cape Town
and Johannesburg this October 25-November 3rd.
In addition each year it
hosts MCQP (Mother City
Queer Project)
PRIDE which is a 5 day
celebration.
We host about 3 OIA (Out In
Africa) gay and lesbian film
festivals both in Cape Town
and in Johannesburg every
year.
The Pink tongue, Exit magazine and a few others keep us
updated on what’s happening
in the community as well as
around the world on LGBTI
matters. Throughout my
travels in South Africa I’ve
never been discriminated
based on sexuality in any of
the hotels or B&B’s/odges
I’ve stayed in. There are a
few places that give special
care and are worth supporting which are all listed in the
LGBTI publications.
NYC has the Greenwich
Village and Cape Town has
Green Point with a vibrant
pink nightlife with a string of
clubs, bars and restaurants
like the Crow, Manhattan
and Beefcakes… some with
live entertainment. Outside
the LGBTI community Long
Street offers a great selection
of clubs with a mixed crowd
and completely safe.
Johannesburg has its own
Pride celebrations every
October, ‘Jo’burg Pride’
which is slightly different
from Capetown considering
the ethnic group population
between these two big cities.
Coming Soon - Zenbiz Travel
presents author TEBOGO
DONALD NTLAPO'S "South
African - Then and Now"
interview. South Africa is
alive with endless possibilities and welcomes you to
share in its wealth and
beauty.
By Allen Jones
Unaware that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, in a
published June 15, 2011
letter, vowed, the NFL
"supports communities that
support us"; the struggling
Black community of San
Francisco's BayView Hunters Point have plenty other
reasons to feel as though
they, got the short end of
"The Stick."
First, NFL owners loaned the
San Francisco 49ers $200
million to leave Candlestick
Park, stadium of the 49ers
since 1970. Their new home,
"LEVI"S Stadium" in Santa
Clara CA, 35 miles south of
the city.
49er's CEO, Jed York, then
offered a "Host City" role for
the city, in the team's bid, to
host a Super Bowl contingent, on San Francisco allowing the team to opt out of
its 2015 lease agreement.
At the behest of Mayor Ed
Lee, June 5, 2012 SF Board
of Supervisors unanimously
approved an option that included an upfront fee of $1
million.
The agreement released the
team of its 2015 $6 million
rent obligation, despite Supervisor Sean Elsbernd
claim, the team,
"Abandoned" the city. And
City Hall never consulted
with the community about
doing further business with
the team.
May, 21 2013, the NFL announced that San Francisco
will host the 2016 Super
Bowl L.
Efforts to improve the
blighted area closest to Candlestick Park were decades
of broken promises and delays by the 49ers.
A general contractor in the
area commented, "The team
blocked any attempt by the
city to do construction."
Allegedly, the team feared
the work would interfere
with its, in season activities.
Now that the team has all but
left the city, work to improve
the area has begun with suspicious activity.
"A group of picketers from
Aboriginal Blackman United
(ABU) was contained by
SFPD at the bottom of the
hill during the afternoon’s
proceedings. As black town
cars chauffeured officials to
the event site, the protesters’
cries were drowned out by
the music of Miles Davis
playing from stage speakers."
Source: San Francisco Bay
Guardian.
This was the third such recent protest by ABU, a Black
community group that claims
community Blacks are not
being hired as promised.
This first phase of a projected 20 year, $8 billion
housing and retail project,
strangely is not funded.
Meanwhile, 49er's Jed York
enthusiastically proclaimed,
"25 percent" of the profits
from hosting Super Bowl L
will go towards the "Fight
against poverty."
San Francisco resident,
Terrance Barnes; not a football fan, responded, "The
team took a billion dollar
project out of the city and
now that it gets to host a
Super Bowl, they are concerned about poverty."