Living Out Loud with Darian

The Game isn't the only show poised for a comeback. The groundbreaking Black gay comedy Noah's Arc is proving to have nine lives and may seriously be on it's way back four years after it's abrupt cancellation.


Loldarian.com received the news yesterday afternoon from a source closely connected to the show who revealed LOGO is indeed close to green lighting a third season of Noah's Arc. If you're as skeptical as I was when I first heard the news, given the false alarms we've had in the past, let me assure you that it's safe to start creating invitations for your viewing party now.


LOGO is TRULY listening. If you want to see the boys return and gay people of color represented on television again it's really up to the fans.


A Facebook page has been created to provide a space for fans to express how the show has impacted their lives and the testimonials are pouring in by the hundreds.


If Noah's Arc helped you accept your sexual orientation, come out to friends and family, salvage a broken relationship with your parents, prevent a suicide attempt, or even change your perception of the LGBT community in a positive way then utilize the Facebook page to tell your story.


If the power of social media can revive an 89 year-old actresses career and win her a hosting gig on Saturday Night Live then it can definitely bring back Noah's Arc.


The Facebook page is HERE


Let me know how you feel about the show's return in the comment section too as LOGO executives read this blog.


Let's take a stroll down memory lane in the video below:

Internet celebrity and friend to loldarian.com B. Scott sits down with the legendary Chaka Khan. The original "I'm Every Woman" soul singer serves up a dose of humor and honesty as she recalls her past life as a drug user at the height of her fame as a solo artist. Khan also opens up about her family's influence on her career and what she's been up to lately. And of course, if you're a singer and a guest on The B. Scott Show there's no way you're getting out of singing...and she does.


Get into the interview below:

For your entertainment. Straight from The A brings us the cover art for Closet Freak, the debut single from this season's breakout male star of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Lawrence Washington aka Miss Lawrence.


Miss Lawrence is the music protege' of Housewives co-star and friend to loldarian.com Kandi Burrus. Burrus is grooming Miss Lawrence to be the first successful mainstream Black openly gay singer since Sylvester and Jermaine Stewart made their mark on the industry in the 80's. However, I think B. Slade has already beat them to the finish line.


Miss Lawrence made his television debut as a solo artist last weekend on Watch What Happens Live on Bravo. You can watch the performance here.


I'm sure we all have our own opinion of Miss Lawrence and the way gay men are portrayed on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, but we're gonna save that for another post. Let's wish Miss Lawrence the best as he definitely has the vocal ability and stage presence to pull this off. I wonder if Kim is taking notes. #shady


Get into my favorite live performance of Closet Freak below:

The homophobic climate in Uganda worsens after hundreds of men suspected of being gay are outed on the front cover of the local paper and now the death of it's most prominent LGBT activist David Kato.


Human Rights Watch reports:


Witnesses told police that a man entered Kato's home in Mukono at around 1 p.m. on January 26, 2011, hit him twice in the head and departed in a vehicle. Kato died on his way to Kawolo hospital. Police told Kato's lawyer that they had the registration number of the vehicle and were looking for it.


Kato was the advocacy officer for the organization Sexual Minorities Uganda. He had been a leading voice in the fight against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which has been before Uganda's parliament since October 15, 2009. While homosexual sex is already illegal in Uganda, the proposed law would criminalize all homosexuality, making it punishable by a fine and life imprisonment. "Repeat offenders" and those who are HIV positive would be subject to the death penalty. The bill would also oblige anyone with knowledge of someone who is or might be a homosexual to report that person to the police within 24 hours.


The bill has been widely condemned internationally, including by US President Barack Obama, who called the bill "odious." Kato had said the bill was "profoundly undemocratic and un-African."


The fight against the bill has also pushed Ugandan activists to the fore, raising concern for their privacy and safety. These deepened in late 2010 when a local tabloid called Rolling Stone, unconnected to the US magazine, published pictures, names, and residence locations of some members of the LGBT community, along with a headline saying, "Hang Them." Kato's photo appeared on the cover, and inside another photo appeared with his name.


"David Kato's death is a tragic loss to the human rights community," said Maria Burnett, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "David had faced the increased threats to Ugandan LGBT people bravely and will be sorely missed."


CNN examines Kato's death in the clip below:

You'll definitely want to tune in to Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN Wednesday as he sits down with mega-church pastor and televangelist Joel Osteen. A clip of the forthcoming interview available below shows Osteen doing what he does best: talking out of both sides of his mouth in an attempt to keep the money flowing into his million dollar ministry.


Osteen tells Morgan: " "The scripture shows that it's a sin. But you know I'm not one of those that are out there to bash homosexuals and tell them that they're terrible people and all that. I mean...there are other sins in the bible too. I think sometimes the church...and I don't mean this critically, but we focus on one issue or two issues and there's plenty of other one's. I don't believe homosexuality is God's best for a person's life."


Morgan asks some tough questions of Osteen regarding homosexuality throughout the interview and seems to force the prosperity pimp...I mean preacher... to admit that he never went to seminary. Shocking.


In a discussion about Sir Elton John and his husband and newborn baby Osteen also jumped at the opportunity to speak about his opposition to civil unions.


"Well, it's strictly back to what the scripture says. I mean, I can't grab one part and say God wants you to be blessed and live an abundant life, and not grab the other part that says, you know what? You know, live that kind of life. So it comes back to the scripture. I'm not the judge. You know, God didn't tell me to go around judging everybody."


And all this time I thought civil unions was the compromise given to us "dirty homos" so we wouldn't ruin the "sanctity of marriage."


I implore anyone reading this blog to study scripture for yourself and question every wolf in sheep's clothing masquerading as a minister.


Watch Osteen's vomit inducing diatribe below:





h/t Towleroad

College student and emerging fashion designer Brandon Lee has a message to spread and he's using his new t-shirt line 1028 by Brandon Lee to get it out. The term shade is frequently used and thrown around by gay men so Lee expects this particular tee in his line to resonate within the community.


"1028 by Brandon Lee was founded on the idea of taking a normal t-shirt, and turning it into a piece of art. 1028 tees will be messages to many different people. We are all impacted and influenced by the world around us, and through my collections I hope that my love for fashion, design, and people will be translated through them."





Loldarian.com thanks Brandon for sending over a No Shade tee which we're currently rocking.


To learn more about 1028 by Brandon Lee and to order your own No Shade tee click HERE.

Just in case you've missed them. Here's a look at two gay themed Super Bowl Ads by Doritos that have taken the internet by storm over the last couple of days.


The potato chip maker has never been a company to shy away from controversial ads and "The Sauna" and "I Told You So" are no exception.





There's debate about whether or not these ads will actually air during the most watched football event of the year and if I had to guess I'd say they'll most likely be seen online. But if they air it'll actually give me a reason to watch the dreadful game.





Get into both ads below:

From executive producer Princess Banton-Lofters of The Real Housewives of Atlanta comes 'Tha Life Atlanta', a new reality show featuring five openly gay black men living in Atlanta.


The cast made their first public appearance last weekend at Club Europe in Atlanta and BE Entertained Magazine was on hand and got the scoop.


"While this definitely steps outside of the typical “heels & handbags” gay stereotype, it’ll leave lots of people talking about how they get down in Atlanta. BE ready for the drama, fierce altercations, and a bunch a FABULOUSNESS!," writes Jason Dinsmore of BE Entertained.


"They all come from different walks of life including doctors, dancers, and professional clubbers, but the one thing that they all have in common (BEsides BEing gay males) is that they are all extra FAB!,"he adds.





Well let's just hope that Tha Life Atlanta veers from the train wreck of LOGO's The A-List because once this show hits the air the entire country will be watching and black gay men will be judged accordingly.


Get a first look at the cast during their promo appearance at Club Europe below:

(JeShawna Wholley pictured left)


The city of Atlanta along with Spelman College and Atlanta's LGBT community has reason to be proud of JeShawna Wholley. Wholley was recently awarded the 2011 Campus Pride Voice & Action National Leadership Award for her tireless efforts to make Spelman College and neighboring institutions Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University a more inclusive environment for SGL students.


Her efforts earned her an invitation to The White House to meet President Obama during a reception commemorating the 40th anniversary of Stonewall.


Wholley recently completed her tenure as president of Afrekete, Spelman College's on-campus LGBT organization and was instrumental in creating Spelman and Morehouse's first PRIDE Week. The week’s culminating event themed, WERK: The Appropriate Dress Drag Show, aimed to create an awareness pertaining to the discriminatory nature of the Appropriate Attire Policy imposed by Morehouse College in 2009 as reported frequently on loldarian.com.


Wholley's most extraordinary act resulted from a mix-up during “National Coming Out Day” in which campus officials at Spelman removed decorative items in recognition of the day. JeShawna immediately contacted the college’s President, Provost and Director of Student Activities which in turn created a new student advisory position for LGBT inclusion, a forum for faculty, staff, and students to discuss cultural sensitivity and an honorary “National Coming Out Day” celebration funded by the school due to the campus oversight on the official date.


“It feels wrong to sit by passively while important social matters that affect not only me but generations to come need to be addressed,” Wholley tells loldarian.com. “The work that I do is an essential part of who I am, and I find out more about myself the further I am able to advance in the fight for human equality.”


JeShawana Wholley is definitely someone you should know. We commend our sister for being a voice for those who are unable to speak for themselves.


Thanks Adah Pittman

"This discrimination is wrong. We cannot keep turning our backs on gay and lesbian Americans. I have fought too hard and too long against discrimination based on race and color not to stand up against discrimination based on sexual orientation. I've heard the reasons for opposing civil marriage for same-sex couples. Cut through the distractions, and they stink of the same fear, hatred, and intolerance I have known in racism and in bigotry."- GA Rep. John Lewis


Over forty pastors united in Chicago this past MLK holiday in conjuction with the Illinois Family Institute to denounce the recent passage of the state's civil unions bill providing marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples.


Rev. Al Cleveland of Rohoboth Empowerment Christian Church in Bensenville, Illinois spoke out fervently against marriage equality and seized the opportunity and the backdrop of MLK's legacy to denounce gay rights as civil rights.


"I'm a black man made by God. Race is race and gender will always be gender. Choice will always mean to choose. Civil unions is not a civil right," said Cleveland to thunderous applause by his constituents.


'Gay marriage is a conundrum. To sanction either of the two would be insanity," he added.


We've heard this argument before and while comparing the gay rights movement to the black civil rights movement is problematic for some the similarities cannot be denied. What frustrates me more than the outright oppression of LGBT people by those who were once oppressed (and continue to be in some aspects) is the blatant disregard for black LGBT people that fought and died during the civil rights movement and who are still catching hell today.


Black LGBT's have got to step up and counter these insane arguments from our own who are discrediting our contributions to both movements and the black community today.


Watch Rev. Cleveland's vomit worthy diatribe below:

The New York Times has a very interesting article on minority parents who are flocking to the south to raise their families. Newly released data from the Census Bureau has found that Jacksonville, Florida is home to one of the biggest populations of gay parents in the country.


In addition, the data show, child rearing among same-sex couples is more common in the South than in any other region of the country, according to Gary Gates, a demographer at the University of California, Los Angeles. Gay couples in Southern states like Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are more likely to be raising children than their counterparts on the West Coast, in New York and in New England.


The New York Times reports:


Black or Latino gay couples are twice as likely as whites to be raising children, according to Mr. Gates, who used data from a Census Bureau sampling known as the American Community Survey. They are also more likely than their white counterparts to be struggling economically.


Experts offer theories for the pattern. A large number of gay couples, possibly a majority, entered into their current relationship after first having children with partners in heterosexual relationships, Mr. Gates said. That seemed to be the case for many blacks and Latinos in Jacksonville, for whom church disapproval weighed heavily.


“People grew up in church, so a lot of us lived in shame,” said Darlene Maffett, 43, a Jacksonville resident, who had two children in eight years of marriage before coming out in 2002. “What did we do? We wandered around lost. We married men, and then couldn’t understand why every night we had a headache.”


Moreover, gay men who have children do so an average of three years earlier than heterosexual men, census data shows, Mr. Gates said.


About a third of lesbians are parents, and a fifth of gay men are. Advocacy groups argue that their children are some of society’s most vulnerable, with fewer legal protections and less health insurance than children of heterosexual parents.


Married same-sex parents face legal hurdles. Florida does not recognize same-sex marriage, and its domestic partnership recognition, while growing, is an uneven patchwork, and still leaves many spouses uninsured.





AOL Black Voices writer Kirsten Savali weighs in:


In this country, at least the last time I checked, it is illegal to discriminate based on race, religion, sex or creed. Why is same-sex marriage an exception?


It is one thing for personal religious beliefs (or homophobia disguised as religious beliefs) to condemn gay marriage; it's another situation to entirely deny a civil liberty based on those beliefs and endanger children in the process.


Rape, murder and slavery all occur and are accepted in the Bible, while in today's society they are considered the height of atrocities. This proves that some people select which biblical teachings to follow based on societal mores and their own harbored prejudices.


I find it highly hypocritical that socially conservative politicians with enough divorces and affairs under their belts to start a harem would dare attempt to define the sanctity of marriage.


When we place our hands over our hearts, and proudly speak these words, "...with liberty, and justice for all," we shouldn't silently add, "Unless you're black," "unless you're a woman," "unless you're gay" ... and "unless you're different."


That is not equality. That is not America.

Livng Out Loud with Darian endorses and commends The Evolution Center Atlanta for providing a safe space for gay men of color to connect and build relationships.


KISS'ing Sessions are a great way to connect with other black gay men outside of the bars, clubs, and hook-up sites. Sign up for a session and have a real conversation with other young men so you can talk about the issues you face dating and forming relationships. If you're "over" the men in Atlanta? Newly single? This is the group for you. If you just got into a new relationship and you're having issues talking to your partner? This is the group for you. If you're somewhere in between? This is the group for you. Call in and RSVP today. Participants will receive free dinner and a $10 giftcard. For more information email: project.evolution.atl@gmail.com or call 404.981.8976.

Outsports has the scoop on former University of Maryland footballer turned Greco-Roman wrestler Akil Patterson's recent decision to come out of the closet. Outsports spoke with Patterson in October of last year under the condition that only his initials would be used as to thwart off any internet searches, but what a difference a few months can make. Paterson recently opened up about his decision to come out.


From Outsports:


At Maryland, Patterson spent as much time drinking, fighting, smoking pot and chasing women as he did on his studies. “Self-medication,” he calls it. But no amount of pot or booze could erase the secret he was trying to hide from himself and others – he was gay.


“My sexuality was a big issue … a really big issue,” Patterson says. “I tried to squash it and move on.” Of his frequent sex with women, he says: “If it had on a skirt and it smiled, it was good enough. I spent a large portion [at Maryland] as a man-whore. I was just an athlete being an athlete.”


But none of this stopped rumors from spreading that he was gay. He was told that when he got drunk (a frequent occurrence back then) that he "tended to say some strange things.” And he says he was pressured by coaches to drop a course he enrolled in, “GLBT Studies.” “I was asked why I was taking fag classes,” Patterson said.


“I wasn't a good student,” he says. “ I was one of those 'C's get degrees' guys. I was partying too much and got blackout drunk. I wanted to be a loner. It was all because of my sexual identity. I spent two years internally wrestling with myself.





Patterson, though, slowly came to realize that he couldn't deny his sexual orientation. In the summer between his sophomore and junior year, he had sex with a waiter he had flirted with. With Johnny Cash's song “Hurt” playing in the background, Patterson and the waiter kissed, then kissed again. “It was good,” he said. “It was what I needed and it didn't feel wrong.”


But the low point may have come when he was asked by a coach, “What are you? Some fag?” Patterson denied it, but decided it was time to leave Maryland.


He took a year off from school and traveled for the first time to Europe. Seeing men kissing and holding hands in public made him realize there was a larger world out there than the one he was inhabiting. He came out to his family, went back to school and wound up becoming a two-time All America at guard.


Patterson says he is telling his story because “I don't want a 15- or 16-year-old kid to have to experience what I did,” hoping he can make a difference. Patterson is much more at peace with himself than when he was a scared yet wild college athlete.


“Nothing changes if nothing changes,” he said.

Now this isn't something you see on television everyday...and from a straight black man too.


Charles Barkley had the following to say during live coverage of the Celtics-Magic game yesterday on TNT during their simultaneous coverage of MLK Day in Los Angeles:


"You know, people try to make it about black and white. He talked about equality for every man, every woman. We have a thing going on now — people discriminating against homosexuality in this country. I love the homosexuality people. God bless the gay people. They are great people."


This isn't the first time Barkley has spoken out in favor of LGBT's. Barkley blasted conservatives in 2008 calling them "fake Christians" due to their ardent opposition to marriage equality.


We need more black straight allies like him and I have to comically agree with YouTube user plutogirllovek comments on Barkley's statement: "The homosexuality people"? No one could ever accuse Sir Charles of being a master of the English language, however, his sentiments are appreciated!!


Watch the video below. Barkley's statement begins around the 6:00 mark.





h/t Towleroad

You may recall reading about Anderson Cooper's AIDS Special on loldarian.com that aired last week reflecting on 30 years of the disease in America. Longtime activist Larry Kramer, co- founder of Gay Men's Health Crisis and ACT UP, was not impressed and is not holding back on his criticism of Cooper and the hour long special featuring Sir Elton John, Mo'Nique and Phil Wilson (Black AIDS Institute).


The Advocate reports:


"For the most part it was a pretty lackluster and bloodless affair, with the exception of a magnificent appearance by Elton John and a moving one by Mo'nique. The rest of it was pretty much pablum, recycled stuff from eons of too familiar footage, and appearances by people with nothing new or challenging to offer."





"What troubled me most about the show was Anderson himself. it was a noble gesture for a reporter, closeted or not, to put on an aids special, but did he have to be such a wimp on it himself? Reporters are meant to ask questions, and good questions (Anderson once had a reputation for doing just that; what in the world has happened to him?); The questions Anderson asked were puerile beyond belief. he challenged no one with anything. Is that what good reporters do? "


Kramer has penned a brutally honest and controversial piece on cnn.com titled "AIDS is a plague allowed to happen" in which he lists ten reasons why the epidemic still exist 30 years later with no foreseeable end.


Here's my favorite section of the article that I believes deserves some space here on loldarian.com:


Governments and bureaucrats and presidents and politicians and the people who run this world lie to people. They tell us HIV is under control. They tell us case numbers are decreasing. They tell us that all is being done that can be done. They tell us HIV is too complicated to eradicate. They tell us gay people and people of color have made more progress than ever before. These are all lies.


We must not believe them. How could we when, in one place or another:


-- They also tell us we can't get legally married.
-- They also tell us that we cannot legally adopt children.
-- They also tell us religions will not recognize us.
-- They also tell us we can't serve our country yet.
-- They also tell us our real history cannot be taught in schools.
-- They also tell us that gay students cannot organize in schools.
-- They also tell us that people who murder us are not committing hate crimes.
-- They also tell us we cannot insure our partners.
-- They also tell us our partners are not legal.
-- They also tell us we cannot have equal opportunities.
-- They also tell us we can't kiss each other or hold each other's hands in public.
-- They also tell us that our Supreme Court doesn't want to know about any of this, doesn't want to make us free and equal, doesn't want to honor the Bill of Rights.


If you want to know why AIDS is a plague, I have just told you why.


PREACH!


Just in case you missed it: Anderson Cooper's AIDS Special

The incredible out artist B. Slade (formerly known as Tonex') rocked the stage last weekend at the annual Bonnerfide Radio Party in Nashville. This year's Bonnerfide concert featured an eclectic mix of independent and mainstream artists prior to the Stellar Awards, the gospel equivalent of the Grammy's.


B. Slade performed a nearly 18- minute energetic and contemporary set before the largely gospel audience, a constituency that shunned him and basically labeled his career dead on arrival after he disclosed his sexual orientation on The Lexi Show.


He responded to his critics and most notably gospel superstar Kirk Franklin during his performance of the single Trust Theory.


"Been 'bout six years since I last spoke to Kirk Franklin...turned their backs on me since I spoke to Lexi, but I have a point to make and that's making history," he sang as the crowd gasped.


Slade's musical influences Michael and Janet Jackson are clearly evident throughout this performance and he turns in amazing performacne! Always consistent. I have the utmost respect for a man who isn't afraid to walk in his truth and who uses his music as a tool for healing and liberation while simultaneously rejecting any idea that a relationship with God is impossible.


Slade's character and resilience makes his bible-thumping haters look even more pathetic than they already do.


Get into his performance below and be sure to support his new album Stereotype HERE.

Photos: Dyana Bagby @thegavoice


Black LGBT's all across the country yesterday celebrated the birthday and legacy of civil rights icon Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
LGBT Atlantan's also took the time to reflect on the contributions of gay and lesbian unsung heroes Bayard Rustin and Audre Lorde at the annual Rustin/Lorde breakfast with an estimated 200 people in attendance. Here's a few snapshots of the brilliant and diverse group of people who participated in the celebration.





Activist Micael Brewer and friend





Co-organizer Darlene Hudson (2nd from left) and State Rep. Simone Bell (far right) with friends





Lonnell Willams of 3LWTV (L) and Darian Aaron





Activist and Co-Organizer Craig Washington greeting attendees


Watch video from the breakfast HERE.



Photos: No More Down Low TV


This was the third consecutive year that the Barbara Jordan/ Bayard Rustin Coalition, The Here to Stay Coalition, Black Lesbians United, In the Meantime Men’s Group, At the Beach Los Angeles Black Pride, and over 50 same gender-loving/LGBT activists marched down Crenshaw and King Blvd. to promote acceptance, visibility, dialogue and community-building as a strategy to fight homophobia and promote more awareness of Black LGBT issues within the Black community.














Watch footage from the parade HERE.

In observance of MLK Day I'll be spending the holiday with my boyfriend and Atlanta's Black LGBT Community at the annual Audre Lorde/Bayard Rustin breakfast so there may not be any new updates today. I may be able to squeeze in one or two posts if the boyfriend allows me to go near my computer. Lol! Until tomorrow enjoy your day!

It's been a five year journey with multiple prizes won along the way but this January Pariah makes it's way to the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.


The Dee Rees film explores the life of a Brooklyn teenager who juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression. The film was shot on location in December 2009 over 19 days in Brooklyn, NY and is loosely based on Rees' life.


"The inspiration for the script was the fact that I was coming out myself at the time and I was having a hard time figuring out where I fit in", says Rees. There seemed to be this really binary definition of sexuality...like butch or fem. I'm not butch and I'm not fem so then I become invisible."





Watch Rees talk about Pariah here.


In an e-mail to loldarian.com Rees' notes "Pariah seeks to personalize the struggles of gay/lesbian youth of color in such a way that evokes empathy, opens doors to communication, and promotes dialogue within families."


The cast and crew has created a way for fans and LGBT film enthusiasts to support the financial aspect of Pariah at Kickstarter.com and is on track to exceed their goal. You can help out here. A portion of the proceeds will benefit NY's Ali Forney Center for LGBT youth.


Get into a previously released trailer for the 2006 film short ( the 2010 version is currently in post-production) below and be on the lookout for Pariah. Congrats to the entire cast and crew!

This is the kinda stuff the Black church lives for. Paging Donnie McClurkin.


I honestly don't even know where to begin with this one. I'm still trying to figure out if the story of Pastor Ja'Von Crockett is real or a left over sketch found on the cutting room floor of the In Living Color Studios from 1993.


Here's his story in his own words:


At the age of seven I had many childhood experiences that led me into a lifestyle that the world may not understand. I had a neighborhood friend who happened to be a girl that I played with on a regular basis. She and I would often play with each others toys. I became fond of her Easy Bake Oven, Barbie Dolls and jump ropes, while she played with my GI Joe's and Armymen. Her toys became my preference and little did I know that this was the beginning of a life all too familiar to some. I felt like a girl, but in a boys body.


At the age of eight I had been exposed to a lifestyle that would hold my attention for over the next thirty years. Yes, thirty long years. Oddly enough, I met a preacher that expoesed me to the gay lifestyle. Yes. You heard me right. He was a preacher but he was gay. I saw and did things at the age of eight that would cause my parents to hate the very person that they should have respected, the preacher. Behind closed doors I met many preachers that were living gay and bisexual lifestyles.


From a fierce drag mother to a "very straight" preacher. Pastor Crockett has taken to local Atlanta TV stations to tell his story along with a supportive male friend and isn't shy about showing his past ball videos where he received 10'S across the board.


Lawd I can't!


Get into his redeemed fierceness below:







>
h/t Joe My God

CNN's Anderson Cooper will host a one-hour special Hope Survives: 30 Years of AIDS tonight at 9pm ET/PT on CNN and scheduled to appear are Phil WIlson of The Black AIDS Institute, Sir Elton John, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and Academy-Award winning actress Mo'Nique.





The panel will provide insight and perspective on HIV/AIDS in the U.S., with a focus on stigma and the disproportionate impact of HIV on Black Americans and men who have sex with men.


Phil Wilson will highlight pressing challenges and notable accomplishments, including the role of Greater Than AIDS- a new national movement to unite Americans on HIV/AIDS as mentioned on loldarian.com HERE.


As part of the show, CNN has filmed a montage with celebrities sharing personal "Deciding Moments" that changed how they thought about the disease and inspired them to get involved. Among the celebrities are retired basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and poet Maya Angelou.


"I have lost three precious people, friends, and a family members to AIDS", says Angelou. "When I say it is the cruelest...I mean when two people get together to say I trust myself with you...I trust you with me and in that joining AIDS intrudes. It is cruel."


Watch Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and May Angelou's Deciding Moments in the video below. Hope Survives: 30 Years of AIDS airs tonight at 9pm ET/PT on CNN.





Thanks Craig Washington

That's the question TheLoop21 writer David Dennis is asking following the well publicized false coming out of former B2K bandmate Omarion as bisexual last weekend via a fake press release.


Here is the fake statement: "I pride myself in being an honest, God Fearing, respectful man. I have kept my personal life private and wanted to keep it that way. Unfortunately, other's are interested in profiting from my anguish; so before they can do that, I will clarify things. I am not at all what certain ex-band members are trying to paint me as, I am however a respectable, mature, proud, bisexual man.


Of course it wasn't long before Omarion took to Twitter to deny the claim:





From The Loop 21:


This press release (which Omarion later denied) came after former B2K band mate Raz-B – who has only been relevant in the African-American community and gossip sites for his insistence on giving details about his alleged molestation at the hands of former B2K manager Chris Stokes - accused Omarion of being homosexual. Stop me if this all sounds like high school.


Meanwhile, in White celebrity news, Elton John and his husband welcomed the birth of their first son via a surrogate mother recently. Clay Aiken and his adopted son are doing well. And Ellen DeGeneres still hosts a talk show every day. She’s still gay.


Of the hundreds of mainstream African-American artists, there isn’t a single one that has professed his or her homosexuality (though it's worth noting fringe artists Donnie and Rahsaan Patterson for their acts of bravery). The same can be said for sports, where there aren’t any African-American athletes in any major sport who have come out of the closet. The sole exception that comes to mind, John Amaechi, waited until retirement to announce his sexuality. The statistics just don’t add up. This will continue to be the case until there is some sort of dialogue and understanding about homophobia in the African-American community.


I tweeted my thoughts on the Omarion press release and the subsequent reaction from black fans.











What do you think it'll take for a black star to feel it's safe to come out? It may happen one day but I can't imagine it happening any time soon.

Apparently pro-gay billboards aimed at reducing HIV infection in black men and the homophobia that fosters a lack of self-worth in many gay men leading to risky behavior is too much for the town of Schenectady, New York.


The Daily Gazette Reoprts:


The billboards offer three messages, showing gay men with their families, in church and on a basketball court. Each message starts with the announcement “I am gay,” in large letters, and concludes with, “We have always been a part of this community.”


The Rev. Alfred Thompkins, of Calvary Tabernacle, said the “I am gay” billboard message only encourages troubled youth to embrace homosexuality.


“A thirteen-year-old looks at these billboards and says, ‘That must be it, I must be gay,’ ” he said. “That goes directly against God’s purpose. As a resident of Schenectady, a pastor who works with young people, with families, frankly I’m really bothered by the message these send.”





They were designed by In Our Own Voices, a gay advocacy group in Albany. The state Department of Health paid for the billboards as part of an effort to find a more effective way to reduce the HIV infection rate, which has disproportionately hit gay and bisexual black men. Last year, the Centers for Disease Control said the epidemic had reached such a level that new methods must be found to encourage men to use condoms.


But there is no overt mention of HIV on the billboards. In Our Own Voices is instead hoping that greater acceptance of homosexuality could lead men to make healthier choices.


Daycare provider Pamela Spicer told the City Council that the billboards were so vague they were worthless.


She argued that the messages should be limited to adult business zones — mainly industrial areas at the outskirts of the city.
She told the council that her clients read the billboards as she drives them to events in the city. She offers daycare to a 2-year-old, 4-year-old and 8-year-old.


“When I’m driving them to the Schenectady Public Library and they say, ‘What does gay mean?’ how do I answer that question?” she said. “How do I expose them to such content?”





Well if a 2 year old can read these billboards then not only should he be able to skip kindergarten but he should be able to learn the basics about human sexuality.


Blogger Alvin McEwen nails it: What this is about is the deliberate inability of the African-American community to acknowledge the presence of lgbts of color. And that inability leads to the ignorance that we are seeing here. It's really a catch-22 situation because while I am not happy with the nonsense these folks have expressed, I know what will happen when this issue is discussed by some members of the lgbt community.


It's going to be transformed into a back and forth argument on whether lgbts are racist or are African-Americans homophobic.


Meanwhile, lgbts of color - that's us folks in the middle - will be ignored or rather seen as a prize to be won by whichever group can prove that they suffered more than the other group.


Bottom line to me is this - the billboards are an excellent idea and those who agree with this point should not allow themselves to go off on tangents. The issue is about the safety and health of lgbts of color and that's where the issue should stay.

18 Couples. 18 Experiences. 1 Book. Coming Spring 2011.


It's almost here! The book that I spent most of 2010 working on while I was on hiatus from the blog. Finally, a book that reflects the lives of same-gender loving African-American men who defy the stereotype that either we're not interested in loving committed relationships or we're not capable of having one.


Here's what author and activist Terry Angel Mason had to say about When Love Takes Over: A Celebration of SGL Couples of Color after reading an advanced copy:


One of my favorite quotations hails from the French philosopher Voltaire who uttered the famous words " There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come! And this book is another fascinating example of an idea whose time has definitely come!


Darian Aaron has beautifully captured and chronicled the passion, the joy, and the magic of true love that has been experienced by 18 same-sex couples. The result of Darian's endeavors is a compelling masterpiece that romantically inspires and emotionally engages the reader. Darian pulls back the curtain of time and takes us into the hearts and minds of the 18 couples as they share with us, their journey to romantic fulfillment from beginning to end.


Moreover, this literary chronicle of true love vindicates and validates the desires of same-sex couples in wanting to fully participate in the American Dream which promises all citizens " life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness "e.g., THE RIGHT TO MARRY THE LOVE OF THEIR LIVES!


Darian Aaron wisely documents the love stories of these 18 couples with a journalistic elegance and simple sophistication that allows the warmth and unique magic of each couple's story to unfold and engage the reader without being overshadowed by the author's ego. This literary ability sets Darian worlds apart from most contemporary writers and gives us, the reader, a timeless literary treasure that showcases the positive examples of same sex love.


It is my fervent hope and impassioned prayer that this book will inspire and motivate other couples to aspire to and emulate the couples represented in this book who boldly and bravely declared their love to each other and to the world, refusing to surrender to societal and familial pressures, vowing to remain true to each other because LOVE TOOK OVER!


When Love Takes Over: A Celebration of SGL Couples of Color available online and bookstores everywhere this spring.

Check out the new video for Ricky Martin's latest single "The Best Thing About Me Is You. This is a brand new Ricky Martin who is obviously living life more authentically these days after coming out and is spreading a message of love, equality, and accpetance through his music.





Get into the beautiful video below and if you're looking for a good read be sure to pick up Martin's memoir simply titled ME. I read it a few weeks ago and it's a page turner.