Feb

5

Interview with Willow from Join the Impact & socialist activist Sherry Wolf – #CC10

Filed Under Audio Update, DADT, LGBT, Politics, Race, Twitter | Leave a Comment

It’s been a particularly moving day for me at Creating Change (#CC10) today. I sat in on two workshops: (1) Telling: Knights Out and (2) Strengthening the Connection: Racial Justice and LGBT Rights (presented by The Applied Research Center). I was mostly pleased with the DADT workshop, until I sat in the Racial Justice workshop that mentioned a key fact about DADT that was ignored (not mentioned? forgotten?) in the DADT workshop.

The President & Executive Director of The Applied Research Center stated that Black female service members are affected by DADT more than any other group of service members. I found it a tad bit annoying that I didn’t hear that statistic in the DADT workshop – especially since 2 of the 3 presenters were women (white women, but women nonetheless).

Anyway . . . after leaving the Racial Justice workshop I felt extremely energized and, quite frankly, extremely sexually turned on. There’s something about passionate people who work diligently to secure equality for all people that’s a major form of pseudo-foreplay.

Enough about that.

I had an opportunity to speak with Willow (from Join the Impact) and socialist LGBTQ activist Sherry Wolf. I planned to remove the background noise but decided against it because I wanted the interviews to maintain their authenticity. Hope you enjoy hearing these two phenomenal activists speak about their passions as much as I did.

Willow’s interview:

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Sherry Wolf’s interview:

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More #CC10 commentary coming throughout the weekend. Stay tuned. And, if you’re on Twitter, follow the #CC10 tweeters.

*Please note: if the player doesn’t work, copy and paste these links into your browser:

http://sisterstalk.net/willow.mp3

http://sisterstalk.net/sherrywolf.mp3

Jan

21

Sue Hyde Discusses NGLTF Creating Change Conference

Filed Under LGBT, LGBTQ Families, Podcast | Leave a Comment

For two decades, Sue Hyde has inspired and nurtured organizers and led community members to participate in democracy with the goal of securing freedom, justice and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people and their families.

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She is a seasoned community organizer and advocate whose issue portfolio at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has included repeal of sodomy laws, rescission of the military’s ban on openly gay, lesbian and bisexual servicemembers, passage of local and state civil rights laws, training leaders to effectively oppose right-wing incursions in their communities, directing the annual Creating Change Conference, and securing marriage equality for same-sex couples.

Sue joined us on SistersTalk Radio to discuss the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s 22nd annual Creating Change conference being February 3 – 7, 2010 in Dallas, TX.  Hear her discuss:

*The NGLTF’s mission

*The conference agenda

*Changes made to the conference in its 22 year history

*What a new conference attendee can expect

*Kate Clinton and other guests speakers at the conference

*How to secure a scholarship so you can attend the conference

Jan

14

Child Prostitution – The Plight of Throwaway Queer Youth

Filed Under Family, LGBT, Parenting, Podcast | Leave a Comment

Justin Reed Early spent his childhood as a homeless youth on the streets of Seattle and was a credited participant in the Academy-nominated movie STREETWISE (1984). Justin is an avid supporter of homeless youth and human rights issues and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.  He joined us on SistersTalk Radio to discuss:

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*His childhood; how he ended up homeless at the age of 10

*Why homeless kids turn to prostitution to survive

*Statistics associated with homeless queer youth

*Areas of the country where homeless youth are more prevalent

*What’s happening with social service programs for homeless youth

*The importance of mentors, how they can help homeless kids

*His book, STREETCHILD

You can learn more about Justin Reed Early on his web site.

Jan

12

Book Project: Coming Out Stories. Share Your Story.

Filed Under LGBT | 3 Comments

I receive a lot of requests for help with new projects.  All of them are worthwhile projects, but I have to start being selective with the projects I choose to help promote because (a) I receive A LOT  of requests (b) I accept A LOT of those requests (c) There’s only 1 of me!

One of my Facebook friends asked me to help her promote her book project.  She’s collecting coming out stories and she needs to collect quite a few more so she has enough to get her book published.  I think this is a great cause because I believe visibility is an important piece in the fight for full equality for the LGBTQ community.

If you want to participate, send your answers to these questions to:  welcomeout1@gmail.com

1.  When did you know you were gay?

2. What made you realized you needed to come out?

3. How did you come out to your family and friends?

4.  How has your life changed since you came out?

Please try to be as detailed as possible.  If you have any questions, contact Amber.

Jan

10

Gay Students and Gay Educators: Coming Out at School

Filed Under LGBT, Podcast | Leave a Comment

Dr. Chris Freeman earned his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University and teaches in the English Department at the University of Southern California.

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He is a Monette-Horwitz Trust Prize Winner and a Lambda Literary Award-winning writer and editor of several books including Love, West Hollywood: Reflections of Los Angeles and Under the Rainbow: An Intimate Memoir of Judy Garland and Rock Hudson and my Life in Old Hollywood.

He is one of the foremost Christopher Isherwood scholars and has appeared in numerous documentaries including Chris & Don: A Love Story.

Dr. Freeman joined us on SistersTalk Radio to discuss coming out in the classroom. What are the risks? What is the value in showing that we are “everyone?”

Jan

7

Is the Gay Community Hijacking the Civil Rights Movement?

Filed Under LGBT, Race | 4 Comments

Fellow Twitter user @OneMoreLesbian sent me a link to a recent opinion piece authored by Rev. Dr. Clenard H. Childress, Jr., senior pastor of The New Calvary Baptist Church in Montclair, NJ. Her note read: “Thought you may have some opinions about this…”

The perpetual slide down the slippery slope of irrelevancy for the NAACP was never more clearly seen then when Julian Bond testified before the New Jersey State Legislature on the behalf of Same-Sex Marriage rights. If LoJack could be installed on the legacy of the Civil Rights movement, the alarm would have surely sounded December 7th, 2009, and you would have found the engine running at that state’s judicial hearing. It should be quite evident to all that the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community, and its supporters, will go to no end to hijack the legacy of the Civil Rights movement to further their agenda. Such prostitution of those representing this legacy should outrage its members, and the demand for accountability of such, should now be at the forefront of discussion.

Of course I have an opinion about this; but, I don’t think anyone from either side (pro-gay or anti-gay) will like it.

I agree with Dr. Childress: the LGBT community is definitely trying to hijack the Civil Rights Movement. Pro-gay web site The New Civil Rights Movement has made no qualms about it, even going as far as calling the struggle for gay marriage rights the “new” movement – which basically implies (purposefully or not) that the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s is old, outdated and . . . over.

Those of us who are Black and gay and still struggling with racism – even within the LGBT community – know better. But, we’ll let the white gay guys have their “new” Civil Rights Movement because they have every right to it. Every tax-paying US citizen has a set of basic civil rights that are owed to them us.

Childress goes on to state that Bond misrepresented Dr. King’s opinion on homosexuality:

Mr. Bond testified erroneously that, Bayard Rustin and Dr. Martin Luther King, philosophically and morally agreed on the issue of homosexual rights and nothing could be further from the truth. Bayard Rustin, a practicing homosexual, was the chief organizer of the March on Washington, DC. When confronting Dr. Martin Luther King with the demand that he include homosexual rights in the platform, Dr. Martin Luther King vehemently refused and it was suggested that Bayard Rustin leave the movement.

Childress carefully avoided stating that Dr. King suggested that Rustin leave the 60s movement; instead, Childress says “it was suggested that Bayard Rustin leave the movement.” Yes, it was suggested – by Rustin himself. Rustin stepped away from the movement because Adam Clayton Powell – in an attempt to derail the movement – threatened to tell the world that Dr. King was having an affair with Bayard Rustin (scroll to minute 2:30 in this YouTube video for clarification). When Rustin suggested he should leave the movement in order to save the movement, King didn’t stop him. Later, King asked Rustin to return to the movement because his skills were necessary to push the movement forward.

Childress neglected to mention that Powell was later removed from office following allegations of corruption. But then again, those good Christian folks only tell ya what they want you to know.

I find it ironic that Childress would quote this part of Dr. King’s speech:

“The urgency of the hour calls for leaders of wise judgment and sound integrity — leaders not in love with money, but in love with justice; leaders not in love with publicity, but in love with humanity; leaders who can subject their particular egos to the greatness of the cause!”

Not once does Dr. King suggest that religious leaders should bulldoze anyone; instead, Dr. King called for justice. It’s my opinion that treating all tax-paying US citizens as equals in the eyes of the law is justice.

Dec

6

Is It Safe Yet to Come Out in Hollywood?

Filed Under Entertainment, Gays, LGBT, Lesbians, Podcast | Leave a Comment

Is it safe yet to “come out” in Hollywood? Sure, we’ve got LOGO, Ellen, Wanda Sykes and several LGBT characters on TV. But, what about the aspiring actor? What are the rewards and ramifications of coming out in Hollywood?

Howard Fine, Hollywood’s most sought after acting teacher and Broadway director has worked with hundreds of stars, including Brad Pitt, Will Smith, Bradley Cooper, Justin Timberlake, Lindsay Lohan, Salma Hayek, Simon Baker, Amanda Bynes, Gerard Butler, Jennifer Connelly, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Michelle Williams, Val Kilmer, Sela Ward, Sophia Bush, Jason Priestley, Kerry Washington, Amy Smart, Jared Leto, Wilmer Valderrama, Brooke Shields, Daryl Hannah, Rick Fox, Estella Warren, Christopher Meloni, Enrique Murciano, Garry Shandling, Alexa Vega, Heather Locklear, Geri Halliwell, James Belushi, Diana Ross, Jon Bon Jovi, and Josh Groban.

He joins us to discuss coming out in Hollywood.

Nov

12

Being Gay is So Scary

Filed Under DADT, LGBT | Leave a Comment

Guest post by Autumn Alston

It seems as if there is a radical revolution taking place! We must revolt before our politics is overrun by things that reek of insanity! Things like people wanting to be treated equally; people wishing to defend a country they care for; our fellow men and women yearning to simply marry the person they love. Well, what horrendous things these are, indeed! Of course, policies favoring the Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer/and Questioning (LGBTQQ) community would debase the magnificence of our country and blast us into “developing nation” status. Actually though, as a heterosexual, if the above “insane things” were more true and allowed in our society, I would not fear an upcoming sort of “apocalypse” at all.

Say it with me: “if you are openly gay, you are not allowed to serve and defend the ‘greatest’ country in the world, the United States.” That statement is overtly harsh, yes, but unfortunately that is the overall theme of a policy of the U.S. entitled “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). This policy came into affect in fiscal year 1994, having been signed into law by ironically, one of my favorite presidents, Bill Clinton. Since its implementation, over 13,000 gay and lesbian (and bisexual) people have been discharged from the military. The language of this text is rather disturbing, yet reflects greatly the misconceptions and ignorance many still possess in regards to the queer community. For instance, a part of the text, somehow, at the time, perceived as a justification for such a policy, explains that if people were openly homosexual in the military, “it would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.” I would love to look at this statement, which is indicative of the overarching idea behind this piece of legislation, from two angles. First, either this statement is false and just a way for self-righteous politicians to expand their anti-gay agenda even to what one would see as the most OBJECTIVE part of our nation: the military. Or, the premise behind the argument is true; further more begging the question, what would that say about us as a people?

read the rest of the article here.

Nov

10

Mormons Back Gay Rights in Salt Lake City . . . Sorta

Filed Under Employment, LGBT, Religion | Leave a Comment

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints supported two proposed Salt Lake City ordinances protecting gay and lesbian residents from housing and employment discrimination, but only because the law does not “do violence to the institution of marriage.”

Umm, what?

It seems this particular group of Mormons are willing to protect the rights of LGBT people – as long as they don’t plan on asking for gay marriage rights. What happens if Utah residents pass pro gay marriage laws? Will these Mormons no longer protect the LGBT community from housing and employment discrimination?

Nov

5

ENDA Supporters Address Religious Exemption in Senate Hearing

Filed Under ENDA, LGBT, Politics, Religion | Leave a Comment

I just finished liveblogging today’s Senate hearing on ENDA. Here’s a brief summary:

The panel included Tom Perez, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC; Helen Norton, Associate Professor of Law, University of Colorado School of Law, Boulder, CO; The Honorable Lisa Madigan, Attorney General, State of Illinois, Chicago, IL; Virginia Nguyen, Diversity & Inclusion Team Member, Nike, Inc., Beaverton, OR; Mike Carney, Police officer, City of Springfield Police Department, Springfield, MA; Craig Parshall, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, National Religious Broadcasters Association, Manassas, VA; Camille Olson, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw, LLP, Chicago, IL

There was lots of focus on the religious exemption, mostly because Parshall spent most of his time explaining why ENDA would hurt the religious community. The pro-ENDA panel partricipants (especially Norton) did a great job of countering Parshall’s claims.

The one complaint we heard the most from our liveblog participants was there was a lack of trans-identified representation, even though much of the discussion addressed the needs of trans-identified people.

To read the transcript of the liveblog, head on over to iQreport.

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