Living Out Loud with Darian

AID Atlanta and Eight Peace Productions have partnered together to bring an affirming message to black gay men in the wake of the recent HIV/AIDS data from The Center for Disease Control.


The CDC reports that HIV infections are up sharply among black gay and bisexual men under the age of 30 -- the only race and risk group in the United States to experience a significant increase between 2006 and 2009.


Charles Stephens, a Project Specialist at AID Atlanta, tells loldarian.com that "the video was created to focus on the resilience of young black gay men."





Watch From Where I Stand in the clip below. Feel free to spread it far and wide. Our community can't hear this message enough.

"From Where I Stand" Promo from Eight Peace Productions, LLC on Vimeo.

Whew! Is it just me or is it hot in here?! It looks like actor and Noah's Arc alum Darryl Stephens has landed a new gig opposite MTV The Real World: New Orleans alum Danny Roberts. Towleroad has the exclusive details on this "as-yet-untitled new gay scripted series created by Larry Kennar, Executive Producer of The L Word, about a group of friends in downtown L.A."


Via Towleroad:


The show is scripted but shot cinema-verité style, is still untitled, and keeps it raw and in your face " with dark humor and explicit humanity." Further details are being kept quiet as a certain network is negotiating the rights to air the series.Filming began Monday.


Head on over to Towleroad to view additional exclusive production stills here.


Let's just pray this show doesn't end up on Logo. We know what happened the last time Stephens starred in a show on that network.

The Grio has an alarming report on the steady increase in new HIV infections among black gay men.


The Grio reports:


Black gay and bisexual men of all ages account for 73 percent of new infections among black men, and the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that the burden of HIV is growing among some of the youngest members of our community.


CDC just reported that HIV infections are up sharply among black gay and bisexual men under the age of 30 -- the only race and risk group in the United States to experience a significant increase between 2006 and 2009.


Dr. Kevin Fenton, Director of National HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention for The Center for Disease Control writes:


A recent study of 21 major cities found that the majority of young black gay and bisexual men who were HIV-infected were unaware of their HIV status. These high rates of unawareness, coupled with the fact that young gay men tend to underestimate their chances of getting infected, are contributing to the increasing numbers of HIV infections we are seeing today.
When considering all of this information, the challenge before us is clear: we cannot end the black AIDS epidemic without confronting HIV among black gay men, and the stigma and homophobia that allows HIV to flourish in our communities.


The stigma of homosexuality runs deep in many of our communities. For young men who are just coming to terms with their sexuality, the weight of this stigma can be crushing. Tragically, it keeps many too fearful to seek the life-saving HIV prevention, testing and treatment services they need.


To protect the health of the next generation, each of us needs to confront the stigma that forces too many of our sons, brothers and friends into the shadows, and prevents them from seeking HIV prevention services that can help reverse the current trend.


The White House Office of Communications responds to the recent data implicating the urgency of curbing new infections among black gay men in an e-mail to loldarian.com:


Announced by White House officials in July 2010, the National HIV/AIDS Strategy seeks to reduce HIV incidence in the United States and prioritizes HIV prevention efforts in the populations where HIV is most heavily concentrated – gay and bisexual men of all races, African Americans and Latinos. To implement the Strategy, CDC is pursuing “High-Impact Prevention,” an approach that will prioritize prevention activities based on their effectiveness, cost, coverage, feasibility and scalability, in order to have the greatest possible impact with available resources.


The epidemic is far from over. We have to do better. Protect yourselves and each other. The lives of black gay men matter.

The world lost an incredibly gifted author when E. Lynn Harris transitioned in 2009, but fortunately for his fans, Harris left behind a trove of finished and unfinished work to delight his audience for years to come. No One In The World, his most recent novel is a collaboration with Harris protege' RM Johnson, a respected and gifted writer in his own right. Johnson accepted the task of completing "World" after a draft was found on Harris' computer after his death. This collaboration turns out one of the most dramatic and captivating page turners in recent memory from the E. Lynn Harris collection.





No One In The World centers around the life of Cobi Winslow, a handsome, well educated district attorney, who knows nothing about the life of his estranged twin brother Eric Reed, a career criminal raised in the foster care system. Following their parents death, Cobi searches for and finds his brother, hoping to regain lost years. Meanwhile, Cobi navigates the pressures of society as he lives life in the closet. The stress comes to a head when he learns that in order to inherit the wealth of his father's estate and save the struggling family business,he must marry a woman before he turns thirty-five.


And that's where the drama begins.


Harris & Johnson have skillfully created complex leading and supporting characters with their own individual stories that pull the reader in from the first page. It's next to impossible not to become emotionally invested in the journeys of Cobi Winslow and his don't ask, don't tell love affair with a conservative state Senator, or his abrasive and powerful sister Sissy, who is hellbent on saving the family business, or the parental drama between twin brother Eric Reed and his baby's mother. And if that isn't enough drama to keep you interested (although it is) throw in sex (both homo and hetero), greed, extortion, and murder.





Image: Project Q Atlanta


There is a lot going on in No One In The World and I loved every page of it! It's one of those books that you'll have a hard time putting down once you start. Harris and Johnson nailed this one! And there's a sequel in the works. I can't wait.


Have you read No One In The World? Tell me about it. If you haven't then pick it up at bookstores everywhere or online here.

Last week the NAACP hosted it's first ever town hall discussion on LGBT issues in the black community at their annual convention in Los Angeles. The discussion was moderated by newly out CNN anchor Don Lemon and panelists included civil rights legend Julian Bond, actress/comedienne Wanda Sykes, filmmaker Patrik-Ian Polk, scholar and activist Kenyon Farrow, Spelman College professor Beverly Guy Shefall, and NAACP President Benjamin Jealous.


Our friends at No More Down Low TV was present at the discussion and has posted the only video currently available of the discussion despite most of the sessions from the convention being available on NAACP's official website.


The exchange turned heated when NAACP President Benjamin Jealous was confronted by Earnest Winborne, creator of No More Down Low TV about the anti-gay rhetoric of NAACP board member Rev. Keith Ratliff. Ratliff, an Iowa minister is famous for asking the LGBT community to "stop hi-jacking the civil rights movement."


The town hall discussion also came under fire from members of the transgender community for excluding transgender voices from the panel.


Watch No More Down Low TV's report in the clip below.