Living Out Loud with Darian

It seems Lil Bow Wow's admission of his own personal homophobia has ruffled more than a few feathers across the blogosphere. Celebrity blogger and friend B. Scott has just released what I believe is one of his greatest videos. B. obviously needed to get a few things off his chest and boy did he ever! Some language may not be suitable for work.





from Metro Weekly


Bishop Harry Jackson identified himself to the crowd as part of the Missionary Baptist Ministers' Conference of Washington D.C. and Vicinity, organizer of Tuesday's rally. Jackson is also one the country's foremost African-American clergy opposing marriage equality, senior pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md., and founder of the College Park High Impact Leadership Coalition.


''Today we are being radical,'' Jackson said in his rally speech. ''Radical means we are returning to the roots, and the word of God.... This is not about hating anybody.... This is about loving Jesus.


''This is not about gay rights. There's a difference between civil rights and sacred rights. I want you to understand that marriage has been defined by God, and everybody in America does not have an equal civil right to get married. Two close relatives do not have a right to get married because it's not good for the culture; a man cannot marry a 3-year-old because it's not good for the culture. "You with me?''


''Yes!'' the crowd replied.





Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry was for gay marriage before he was against it.


from Metro Weekly


'There are a lot of issues that we agree on, there are some that we don't agree on, but...we have to say no to same-sex marriage in D.C.,'' former D.C. mayor and current Councilmember Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) told an energized crowd of about 150 assembled on Freedom Plaza, in front of the John A. Wilson Building during a rally against marriage equality held Tuesday morning, April 28. Barry then offered the crowd an invitation to "pack the City Council chambers'' on Tuesday, May 5 for the Council's monthly legislative meeting. ''You can't just talk about it, brother,'' he said. ''You have to work for it. You've got to go across the street and walk the halls of the City Council, confront all 12 of [the Council members], eye to eye, morality against immorality.''

The sexually ambiguous and insanely hot Marcus Patrick is teasing the gays once again and this gay in particular doesn't mind one bit!


From daytime television to the Playgirl Magazine spread seen around the world, Patrick has earned a legion of both female and male admirers with his "assets" and his in your face sex appeal. Sex appeal that Patrick has parlayed into a line of products including calendars, a fitness DVD, and the "not so safe for work" shower video currently streaming on his website.


I bet you wanna see the video, don't you? Click here and here to see why loldarian.com loves Marcus Patrick as much as he loves us. I can't think of a better way to end the day.


Marcus Patrick Exposed


Thanks Marcus!

The NOH8 Campaign is a photo project and silent protest created by celebrity photographer Adam Bouska and partner Jeff Parshley in direct response to the passage of Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment that stripped same-sex couples of their civil right to marry last November.


The campaign started with portraits of everyday Californians who support Marriage Equality and soon rose to celebrities. The photos feature subjects with duct tape over their mouths symbolizing their voices not being heard and NOH8 painted on one cheek in protest.


You may recognize a few of the NOH8 models in the above photo. Filmmakers Patrik-Ian Polk(Noah's Arc), Maurice Jamal(Dirty Laundry), Quincy LeNear & Deondray Gossett(The DL Chronicles), along with Darryl Stephens, Ray Cunningham, Ben Patterson, Karamo Brown, and Kairon John have all lent their time and image to the campaign.


If you live in Los Angeles and would like to be one of Adam Bouska's next subjects log onto the NOH8 website to find out how.


h/t Ray Cunningham

Members of Atlanta's faith community gathered this morning at Tabernacle Baptist Church for a press conference in response to the bullycide of 11 year old student Jaheem Herrera. Herrera, a victim of anti-gay bullying by a group of his peers at Dunaire Elementary School in Dekalb County ended his life by hanging nearly two weeks ago.


Rev. Dennis Meredith, senior pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church, an LGBT affirming ministry in Atlanta's Old 4th Ward and head of Atlanta's Faith & Community Alliance addressed the underlying cultural problem that he believes led to Herrera's untimely death.


"This is not just a problem that was perpetrated from the bullys that harassed and taunted the young man, but this is a cultural problem. It represents how people feel in our culture towards people who are different", said Meredith.


"The truth of the matter is that it did not have to happen and it should not have happened. If there were certain adverse issues in our culture to people who are different-and the fact that we don't as a culture celebrate diversity and differences-we would not have had this particular incident".


Herrera's death followed the suicide of Massachusetts student Carl Walker Hoover Jr. who hanged himself in his home due to schoolyard anti-gay bullying. Hoover's mother remembers her son as being sensitive, church-going, and athletic. Neither Hoover or Herrera identified as gay.


"We have made it acceptable to hate some people, in particular, the bullying that both Jaheem Herrera and Carl Joseph Walker Hoover experienced was particular to the perception of who they were or who they were growing up to be", notes Marissa Pendermine, Assistant Pastor of Unity Fellowship Church Atlanta who was also on hand to speak.



(pictured- Youth from Atlanta's Evolution Project)


Noticeably absent from the press conference were Atlanta's mega pastors and anti-gay crusaders Bishop Eddie Long and Creflo Dollar. I guess calls for social justice have to take a back seat to million dollar bank accounts, expensive sports cars, and anti-gay demonstrations.


A vigil is scheduled for Jaheem Herrera at 6 PM tonight at First Christian Church of Decatur in Decatur, Georgia. Video from the press conference below.

The neon lights aren't the only thing bright on Broadway. Chorus boys James Brown III and Tony James may not be the leads in their respective Broadway shows, Brown is a swing in The Little Mermaid and James is a part of the ensemble in The Lion King, these sexy dancers have the skills and the "assets" that would rival any leading man.


As contestants in the recent 3rd annual Mr. Broadway Beauty Pageant benefiting The Ali Forney Center, which provides housing and other services for LGBT youth, these Broadway hotties stripped down and showed even more skin than usual and for a great cause.


Brown and James are hands down two of the sexiest male dancers currently on The Great White Way(no pun intended). Consider this your morning wake up call. I bet you'll never have the same images in your head when you hum "Under The Sea" or "The Circle of Life" from now on.


Images: AfterElton & Wilson Models

Hundreds of same-sex couples in Iowa have begun the process to legalize their relationships through civil marriage today, and although marriage equality is the law of the land in Iowa critics such as Rev. Keith Ratliff is speaking out strongly against the nuptials.


"Others may believe any number of things, but everything about homosexuality conflicts with natural law. There is no amount of anger, no level of vocal indignation that can ever change that fact.", says Ratliff in an op-ed penned for The Des Moines Register.


"Why? To anyone who reads and believes the Bible, there is no room for compromise on the issue of homosexuality. To those who look to "natural law," homosexuality will always be un-natural and un-healthy for a myriad of obvious reasons. Even those who deny God and claim that humanity is the result of evolution understand that homosexuality can never agree with their doctrine of "survival of the fittest."


Blogger Rod McCollum of Rod 2.0 notes, "The op-ed was co-signed by more than 70 other clergymen, many of whom were Southern Baptist, a denomination which supported slavery for decades and refused to allow black members until only recently."


I guess since the days of Jim Crow are over and black folks have secured basic civil rights Rev. Ratliff feels the need to now become the oppressor. Sad.





The fight is just as fierce in New York where marriage equality was put on the fast track last week when Gov. David Patterson introduced legislation to bring equality to the Empire State. Over the past few days Gov. Patterson has delegated the task of bringing this controversial bill to the House floor for a vote to Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith.


According to a piece that ran in the NY times on Sunday-Smith is feeling the pressure from Gov. Paterson to advance the marriage equality bill while lifelong colleague Rev. Floyd Flake is pressuring Smith to kill the bill.


“I don’t care what the politicians think. Ain’t nothing perfect about laying down and signing a license with somebody who got the same body parts you got," said Flake during a sermon to his congregation on Sunday.


Wouldn't it be nice if these homophobes could keep their minds off gay sex for once and acknowledge that love brings people together and is what ultimately binds them forever, not sex?


"Mr. Smith, who went to work for Mr. Flake in 1986 as a Congressional aide, said the minister’s views on the subject have not weakened his own resolve to see same-sex marriage legalized. Though they speak nearly every day, the two men said they have not broached the topic recently. 'He knows what my position is. I know what his position is,' Mr. Smith said. 'He looks at it as a religious matter, and I look at it as a legal matter.' Mr. Smith said he arrived at his decision to support same-sex marriage two years ago when he began considering it a matter of equal rights."


h/t Rod & Towleroad

As long as you think of yourself as white, then I’m forced to think of myself as black.
– James Baldwin


One would want to believe that the gay community—compromised of every race, gender, ethnic, political, social and economic group—would be the last place where racism and exclusion would dwell. Recently, a blogger with a multiracial, multiethnic background posited that Black gay bloggers are responsible for perpetuating division in the gay community. One blogger he mentioned in his article was Darian Aaron, the creator of the incredibly informative, entertaining and crucial blog, Living Out Loud with Darian.


Anyone who reads Darian’s blog is fully aware that while his blog does focus on the issues that are closest to those in the Black community, he, by no means, excludes the points of view of those outside of the community. While there are a handful of gay bloggers, like Jasmyne Cannick, who are notoriously unfriendly to outsiders, by and large, this is not the case with most Black gay bloggers.


However, the Black gay point of view has long been excluded from countless gay blogs. Not a single person within the so-called mainstream gay community so much as lifted a finger or a voice to challenge—or to examine—that deeply curious practice. It was viewed as the status quo and as a non-issue. Blacks were in the background, if anywhere at all, and that seemed to be fine with everyone (which is why having a point of view like Cannick’s is somewhat sympathetic; as Chris Rock once said, “I’m not saying I’d do it, but I understand”). So I am forced to wonder why this subject is only problematic now that Black gay bloggers, in response to being excluded, have created their own spaces and have prospered. I am not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination, but when I hear this new criticism of Black gay bloggers, what immediately comes to mind is from the book of Luke, verse 6:41:


But why lookest thou on the mote which is in the eye of thy brother, but perceivest not the beam which is in thine own eye?


What the critics have conveniently ignored is the fact that the gay community—and now I mean the gay community as an organized, visible force wielding whatever social and political power they have to influence the course of things in the country—has presented itself as a largely White and largely (upper) middle-class machine that is interested in, almost exclusively, the issues most pressing to its largely White, largely (upper) middle-class constituency. It has, heretofore, disregarded or dismissed as “fringe” the concerns of those outside of this narrow group.


This is not hyperbole. The gay community has not been a joyous, welcoming place for Black gays. Even the language seeks to exclude. Euphemisms are used to separate and distort (“closeted” means the exact same thing as “down-low,” but “down-low” is invested with all sorts of negative stereotypes and images that should—but do not—apply to “closeted”). Black gays have been excluded from gay places of business. The gay community has even gone as far as to mock Blacks in blatantly racist terms and defend the racism as something other than what it is.


So in the midst of this hostility and invisibility, Black gays have felt it necessary to form their own communities, to create centers of friendship, love and healing meant to undo the damage done in the larger gay culture, as well as address the issues that larger culture refuses to even place on the table for discussion.





The critics of this movement charge that Black gay bloggers are, in effect, guilty of the same exclusionary crimes of which the larger gay community is guilty; that the actions of Black gay bloggers only exacerbates the overall problems of racism, classism and segregation in the gay community. I find the critics to be operating on very childlike terms, with very simplistic tools. They ignore what even the blind can see: When one is turned away from shelter, one must find shelter where one can. Certainly, one could be persistent. One could continue knocking at the door and beg for one’s place at the table, but where is the dignity in that—especially when one has the skills to create one’s own table?


Furthermore, critics claim that these Black gay blogs render White gay blogs invisible; remove them from the discourse. What I would like to know is how that is possible—not just as a matter of common sense or philosophy, but as a matter of physics: How can hundreds of Black gay blogs render thousands upon thousands of White gay blogs invisible (particularly when many of the White gay bloggers have a stranglehold on media and resources)?


I do not believe that Whites are not being permitted a voice in the discourse; they are not being rendered invisible or being excluded. Here is what I believe to be the source of the hysteria: All people with power panic when their formerly powerless denizens prove themselves resourceful and embark on a quest of self-determination. It does not matter to the people with power that they have created both the cause and the effect of the revolution. Their goal is simply to quell it by any means necessary because they fear that they might lose something. Privilege—and in this instance I am speaking of White privilege—is an affliction that robs its hosts of both objectivity and a sense of fairness, attributes which are crucial to this discussion.





To tackle the charges themselves, two things strike me as problematic about the grievances being leveled against Black gay bloggers:


First is the idea that there is something inherently wrong, in the sea of blogs that cater specifically and exclusively to the White gay point of view, with having blogs that cater specifically to the Black gay point of view. At the expense of being accused of exaggeration, I must say that the NAACP was created precisely because there was Jim Crow and the KKK. Eliminate Jim Crow and the KKK (and the mindset that imagines such monstrous institutions) and you eliminate the need for an NAACP. The logic does not work the other way around.


Second is the way in which the White gay community chooses, when it deigns, to “include” Blacks. It is not as intellectuals, not as equals, not as brothers and sisters in the struggle. It is as objects meant to satiate curiosity and desire; often, the Black man himself is rendered invisible while his private parts are magnified.


It is not that Black gays are unwilling to be a part of the larger community. It is that the price, as it stands, is way too high for membership. Black gays cannot and will not be a part of the larger community if the cost is the loss of dignity, humanity, and visibility.


And the truth of the matter is that we did not erect this partition. It was the White gay movement that constructed it and refused our calls for entry and unity; that relegated Black gays and Black gay concerns to the most remote edges of the territory. That Blacks have built castles on those edges is only sensible. And if the desire is, now, for Black gays to tear down those castles and join in rebuilding something that everyone, Black and White, can live in, I believe Blacks are generally a forgiving people and would be agreeable to that end. But justice demands that the walls and castles Whites have built should already be torn down and laid to waste (and I do not believe that they are).


Nothing can be built jointly a moment sooner than that.


Robert Jones, Jr. is a writer and creator of the blog, Son of Baldwin. He is currently working on his first novel, The Book of Samuel. He resides with his partner in Brooklyn, NY.

It's Official: Pugh to Run for Council





Charles Pugh, a former Detroit television anchor and reporter says he will join the Detroit City Council race. Charles Pugh says a formal announcement is planned for May 3. All nine council seats are up for re-election for four-year terms beginning in 2010. If elected Pugh will be the first openly gay African-American to ever hold a seat on the city council in the city of Detroit.


The Zapata murder trial coverage - and the missed opportunity of the LGB media and blogosphere





Pam Spaulding points out the missed opportunity by gay bloggers and the LGBT media during the trial of murdered transgendered woman Angie Zapata. I'm guilty of not covering this significant case. My apologies. If you don't know about Zapata's life and tragic death then click here to learn more.


The reason why Black Prides must exist





excerpt below by A. McEwen


No one in the black community seems to care about lgbts of color - our issues, or our lives in general. Instead we are supposed to be placated by ridiculous assurances that "no one has a problem with our 'lifestyle' as long as we aren't in anyone's faces about it." Meanwhile, we are pushed in a psychological closet and muzzled like dogs.


When our leaders talk about the problems of the black community, we know they won't include us.


When well meaning activists focus on the "State of Black America," we are absent.


When magazines like Ebony write articles comparing "black civil rights" and "gay civil rights," they conveniently can't find lgbts of color to comment.


Well that's nonsense and I'm tired of it. I'm gay, I'm an African-American and I am proud of both of my identities.I don't feel as if I have to choose between the two. Black prides must continue to exist so that we can remind people that lgbts of color exist. Whether the rest of the black community approves of us or not is irrelevant. We deserve acknowledgement and respect.It's as simple as that.


Rod McCullom's picks for the 2009 AfterElton.com Hot 100





Loldarian.com favorite Rod McCollum of Rod 2.0 creates a smoking hot list of beautiful eye candy for After Elton's Hot 100. Rod's picks include hotties David McIntosh, Mike Survillon, Adrian Fenty, Will Demps, and Tyson Beckford to name a few. Rod's list does not disappoint. Go on over and check it out.


The Hotboyz Show





There's a new gay reality webseries soon to hit YouTube. The Hotboyz Show chronicles the lives of six individuals as they struggle to reconcile their sexuality into their daily lives. This gay urban webseries can best be described as Paris is Burning meets The DL Chronicles (IMO). Get into the trailer above.


Bea Arthur Dies at 86





Stage and television legend Beatrice Arthur—a gay icon since at least the 1970s—has died.


"The larger-than-life actress who scored on Broadway as the original matchmaker in Fiddler on the Roof and the hard-drinking actress in Mame before she went on to star in the groundbreaking '70s TV series Maude and, in the '80s, the beloved sitcom The Golden Girls, has died. She was 86.


Gyant Unplugged





The most successful blogger on SOHH for the past three years has stepped down from his blog post and launched his own site gyantunplugged.com. Gyant, the undisputed mouth of the south, has decided to branch out on his own. Gyant has resigned from SOHH, however his blogging days are far from over. His daily dish on the A-Z celebrities, upcoming stars and interesting take on celebrity drama can be found at his new blog site gyantunplugged.com.


Quincy LeNear & Deondray Gossett's Official Statement on The DL Chronicles





"If the DL Chronicles is cancelled, we have not been officially notified from the network. Though we have suffered through an extremely long hiatus (more than a year), we are confident that here! TV will eventually get around to getting us back in production. We understand the viewers' frustration as they have watched shows that premiered when The DL Chronicles did go into second and third seasons, like here! TV's, The Lair, which is now in it's third season, while DL Chronicles only did one season after a successful and critically acclaimed first run.


The show also won the network its very first GLAAD Media award for Best Television Anthology. So we are just as clueless to the decision- making as most viewers are. The network has been silent about a production start date, and haven't been very forthcoming with concrete reasons as to why it's taking so long to greenlight us.


We urge viewers to make their voices heard and cause enough noise to make the network execs listen. Your voices are louder than you could even imagine. We want to thank all the fans who have decided to take action into their own hands and demand the programming that they so want and deserve. Keep up the fight!"


Deondray Gossett and Quincy LeNear

This post is a series of screen captures from the newly released film Finding Me. In the photos are the two main characters Faybien and Lonnie seen throughout the film during different moments of intimacy. These moments onscreen for me have always been so empowering. Maybe I'm a hopeless romantic, but when I was single these fictional onscreen moments gave me hope that I also could find and maintain a healthy relationship with another black man.





There's a belief that the images we see on television and in film have the ability to not only entertain but change the hearts and minds of millions of people. This couldn't be any closer to the truth when it comes to how gays and lesbians are viewed by the mainstream. For years gay characters in television and in film were either the sassy sidekick, the flamboyant hairdresser, or the punch line for some cruel joke. And black gay characters were almost non-existent.





But what about the effect these images have within our own community? There is a lot of pessimism when it comes to dating and establishing a long-term gay relationship. If you don't believe me just read the comments on this open thread. It can be done, brothers are doing it everyday.





While Faybien and Lonnie's relationship is purely fictional, seeing two black gay men affirming who they are and loving each other despite all of the obstacles in their way can be very real for all of us. I feel crazy even writing about this because I'm discussing two people who don't exist, but I truly believe that art imitates life.





It's not unrealistic to see yourself in a similar picture with your Faybien or Lonnie if that's what you want. We've been telling ourselves for so long that there's no good men available or any men interested in anything beyond sex that we've ruled out the possibility of experiencing true love.





Can you imagine what might happen if we did the exact opposite?

My friend author Lee Hayes(who is an extraordinary writer by the way) posed the following question on his Facebook page yesterday that sparked an incredible and much needed dialogue on the state of same gender loving relationships. I'm hoping that many of you who visit this blog daily will be compelled to add your two cents to the discussion. This is a topic I've wanted to address for some time. Below you'll find the question and my response. This is a perfect opportunity for those of you who stop by everyday but don't comment to actually "live out loud", so don't be shy, we have a lot we can learn from each other.


The Question: How many SGL single folks have hopeful expectations that they will one day find their romantic life partner? I ask because I sense a level of pessimism in the community. Is everyone jaded?


My Two Cents: I've been with my partner for 2 years and believe me I put up with a lot of "ish" before he came along. I also don't think we really know what it takes to make a SGL relationship work long term. Many of us don't see other brothers in LTR's and don't have them to hold up as a model. I learned a long time ago that the str8 model doesn't work for us...it's not even working for them:)


And when we get into relationships we bolt at the first sign of trouble. It's so much easier to run away than it is to stay and fix the problem.


So what's your two cents?

This is beyond sad. Almost exactly a week after Carl Walker Hoover Jr. was laid to rest, Jaheem Herrera, an 11 year old Atlanta resident has taken his life in the same manner after enduring constant anti-gay bullying at his Dekalb County school.


The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports:


On Thursday afternoon, after returning home from Dunaire Elementary School, Jaheem quietly went into his room and hanged himself. His 10-year-old sister, Yerralis, also a fifth-grader, discovered Jaheem’s dead body.


Jaheem was bullied relentlessly, his family said. The family knew the boy was a target, but until his death they didn’t understand the scope.


“They called him gay and a snitch,” his stepfather said. “All the time they’d call him this.”


In an interview with WSB-TV, the boy’s mother, Masika Bermudez, also said her son was being bullied at school. She said she had complained to the school.


She said she asked him about the bullying Thursday when he came home from school and he denied it. She sent him to his room to calm down. It was the last time she would see him alive.


Bermudez told WSB she talked to Jaheem’s best friend about the situation last week.


“He said, ‘Yes ma’am. He told me that he’s tired of everybody always messing with him in school. He is tired of telling the teachers and the staff, and they never do anything about the problems. So, the only way out is by killing himself,’” Bermudez told WSB.

Last weekend Miami Beach held it's first annual Gay Pride Parade and the legendary diva and LGBT ally Ms. Patti LaBelle served as the parades Grand Marshall. The city's first Pride attracted an estimated 20,000 people and honored gay couples who have been together for over 20 years.


Patti LaBelle has always been an outspoken LGBT ally over her illustrious career and was at the forefront of HIV/AIDS activism when many in the black community were silent on the issue, especially the black church. Now it shouldn't be a surprise that Ms. LaBelle is lending her support to marriage equality.


"I was asked earlier if I was gay", LaBelle says during her speech at Miami Beach Pride. "And I said well I can answer this way. I'm very gay and happy. I'm very happy to be here for my gay friends. I've never been with a woman so I guess I'm straight. But I'm straight enough to know the difference between right and wrong. I am straight enough to know that if you want to marry whoever you want to marry, you should be able to marry."


Go on Ms. Patti! At 65 years old she gets it. It's nice to know the generational gap when it comes to gay rights hasn't affected all of her peers.


Get into the video below:

The highly anticipated new black gay feature film "Finding Me" had it's New York City premiere on Wednesday night in front of a sold out audience before the DVD hits stores on Tuesday, April 21st.


The cast and crew along with NY's black gay elite and hundreds of fans came out in support of first time filmmaker Roger Omeus Jr's fresh and seductive drama about young black gay love and the journey towards self-acceptance.


Ray Martell Moore stars as Faybien Allen, a young black, idealistic, yet cautious gay man who begins a journey in finding out who he is and how he fits in the world. His love interest activist Lonnie Wilson, played by Derrick L. Briggs (ADTV) jump starts feelings that Faybien has suppressed and challenges his fears of being openly gay.





Also rounding out the cast are newcomers J'Nara Corbin, Eugene Turner, Carl Garnett, Maurice Murrell, and Ronald DeSuze.





Queer Cinema. org critic Michael Klemm says Finding Me is "smartly acted". "It has much to say about what it means to be queer and coloured, and it was a refreshing reminder that not every gay person in the world is out and proud and being fabulous."


Finding Me should be available at your local Blockbuster on Tuesday, but you can pre-order your copy here. Get into the trailer below.

"I understand the trepidation and anxiety that people are feeling right now. And I understand that there is always a risk in any action that you take. But what we really have to come out of this gathering today understanding is that rights should not be stifled by fear, what we should understand is that silence should not be a response to injustice, and if we take no action we will surely loose...maybe we've already lost.


There is no gain without struggle. And there is no corner of this country or region of the world that timelessly has not been struggling to bring freedom to those who have never received it. And therefore we struggle for that freedom for all people even still in The United States of America and I am willing to lead that struggle for marriage equality in New York."


-an excerpt from Gov. David Patterson's speech introducing legislation to legalize marriage equality in New York.

This is classic. I was going to include this in my "In The News" post but this deserves it's own space. It's amazing the lengths some black male celebrities will go to in order to prove their "manhood" and strict craving for ladies only.


Just a few months ago the recently retired Bow Wow was seen everywhere with his man purse and actual man friend Omarion and now all of a sudden he's homophobic. I'm assuming this is apart of his image makeover. Check out what lil Bow Wow had to say to fans during a live video chat when the topic of gays popped up via BET.com


"He talked about a time where he needed a haircut and had his people go and find him a barber. But after noticing the barber was gay he told them that he didn’t want the haircut anymore. He said he didn’t want a gay barber touching his head."


"I’m guessing either the top of his dome is his hot spot or he seems to think homosexuality is contagious", notes BET.com contributor Runteldat.


Note to Bow Wow: 12-year-olds don’t like you anymore and their older sisters never cared about you. 70% of the people who bought your album last week were probably gay.


It’s a good thing you’re retiring: You just missed out on selling an additional 7 copies of New Jack City II.


See internalized homophobia even affects former celebrities. LOL! Get into Bow Wow's lame retirement announcement video below.





h/t Clay Cane

The National Day Of Silence





Silence speaks volumes. Today on campuses across the country, students will be taking part in the National Day of Silence, a nationwide protest sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). Participants take a vow to not speak during a portion or all of their day in honor of those who have been silenced. Carl Walker-Hoover, a recent victim of anti-LGBT bullying, would have turned 12 on this Day of Silence.


Anderson Cooper 360: Brutal Bullying of Carl Edward Walker Hoover Jr.





The Bullycide & Same-Sex Marriage Apathy Connection- For as long as they can deny us this basic right of human existence, and justify it for whatever reasons, it sends the unspoken message that:


...its OKAY to look down upon gay Americans, its OKAY to deny us an apartment or medical treatment, it's OKAY to fire us from our jobs, and its OKAY to kick the shit out of kids on the playground who are only suspected of maybe, possibly, being gay one day.


Brian Watson: Next Generation Awards 2009





D.C.'s Metro Weekly profiles black gay activist Brian Watson. Watson works as the director of programs at Transgender Health Empowerment and helped launch the Wanda Alston House, the city's first transitional home for GLBT youth, ages 16 to 24. Watson is president of the D.C. Coalition of Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Men and Women, he serves on the advisory committee to the Mayor's Office of LGBT Affairs, and is involved with several other GBLT, HIV/AIDS and health-related organizations.


Michelle Williams 'Until There's A Cure' Campaign





Singer and LGBT ally Michelle Williams becomes the latest spokeswoman to lend her celebrity to the 'Until There's A Cure Campaign' to raise money and awareness in the fight against HIV/AIDS.


The Last Baron of New York





The Advocate interviews openly gay independent artist Baron about his sophomore CD 'Celebrity' and his "first time".


"I thought I was the only guy talking about gay issues in the black community. The heterosexual community has embraced me like no other. I came out to my grandmother at age 15 and at that particular time I identified as gay. If you would have met me years ago, I would have identified as gay. Sexuality, to me, is more individual, and to identify as gay is limiting. We lose who we are when boxed into a category, and when that is done we tend not to connect with others of the human race."


Viola Davis & Taraji P. Henson Cover Ebony





Oscar nominees Viola Davis and Taraji P. Henson cover the May issue of Ebony. Also inside: The Ebony Power 150: The Most Influential Blacks In America. No openly Black LGBT people made the list. However, Tyler Perry, Will Smith, Kirk Franklin, and Tavis Smiley are listed along with a handful of straight allies such as Gov. Deval Patrick, Gov. David Patterson, Dr. Cornel West, and Tyra Banks.


Terrance Dean: 'Yes, Girl, He's Into You....And Him!'





Hiding In Hip Hop author Terrance Dean gets the good Christian black women all riled up over at Essence.com with his commentary on the engagement of "bisexual" reality star Dwight Eubanks of The Real Housewives of Atlanta.


"Whatever your sentiments may be toward Dwight, the fact remains that many of you are uncomfortable with gay men. Yes, I said it. Many of you have hang-ups. You don't mind having a gay male friend and someone who you can kee-kee with. It's okay when it's another woman's man or child who's gay. But when it hits home you have a meltdown."


You say you want honesty, well, now you got it. Yet, when the man is too honest you still point the judgmental finger. So, ask yourself what is it that you really want?


Introducing the work of Mikel Marton











h/t ka-os

Update: Thanks so much for the birthday wishes and kind words. I've created a slideshow of the pictures we took at Niagara Falls and you can view them here.


Trey and I will be celebrating our birthdays today and tomorrow so there won't be any new updates until Friday. We're both Aries born one day apart, Trey on April 15th and myself on April 16th. I've finally agreed to go to Niagara Falls. I doubt that I'll be allowed to touch my computer over the next couple of days, but maybe I'll be able to sneak away long enough to upload a few pictures to share with all of you. Be safe until Friday.

An update to the senseless murder of LaShon Lee Douglas Jr. A young Georgia black gay man whose life ended tragically on March 18. Douglas' remains were found in a trash bin 100 miles from his home in middle Georgia. This is a developing story that was reported on loldarian.com on April 6. While many local mainstream news publications carried this story none of them mentioned the victims sexual orientation or hinted at the possibility of this being a hate crime. This update comes via Project Q Atlanta where I'm also a contributing blogger.


via Project Q Atlanta


The body of Lashon Lee Douglas was found March 18 in a trash container on Ga. 137 in Taylor County, which is south of Atlanta between Columbus and Macon. It’s about 100 miles from his mother’s home in Snellville, where he had recently moved.


Eric Riley,(bottom photo) a 35-year-old truck driver, faces three charges related to Douglas’ death, but has not been charged with killing him. Authorities searched Riley’s home in Box Springs, which is about 30 miles west of where Douglas’ body was found, on March 23 and found evidence linking the two men.





Douglas has been identified as gay. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is assisting the Taylor County Sheriff’s Department with the investigation, would not confirm Douglas’ sexual orientation.


But Douglas and Riley did have a relationship, according to Rodney Wall, special agent in charge of the GBI office in Columbus. The two men had contact the weekend prior to Douglas’ body being found March 18, the GBI said.


“I am not going to comment on his lifestyle,” Wall said Tuesday. “But they had a relationship and it was mutual. That is my understanding from everything we’ve learned.”


Wall said investigators don’t yet know how Riley and Douglas met.


“They hooked up one way or another. I don’t know the circumstances on how they met right now,” Wall said.


Riley faces charges including concealing Douglas’ death and tampering with evidence. LeShon Douglas Sr. told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last month that he had no idea how his son and Riley met.


LeShon Douglas Sr.’s voice was sad and low as he talked about LeShon Jr.’s love of music and theater. He said his son was outgoing, played tuba in the marching band at Pebblebrook High School in Mableton and performed in plays during middle school.


“We have no earthly idea” how this happened, the Marietta man said.


LeShon Douglas Sr. said he last spoke with his son March 13, and there didn’t seem to be anything wrong. He said he does not know why his son would travel to Taylor County.


His son had moved in with his mother in Snellville about a week ago and was learning to become a hair stylist.


Wall has said that Douglas’ body showed no signs of a stabbing or shooting, but some bruises were visible around the face and neck. It was unclear, according to media reports, whether Douglas was killed in Taylor County or if his body was brought there.