VIDEO: Baltimore Ravens' Brendon Ayanbadejo for Marriage Equality

By John Wagner

A video featuring Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo made its debut Friday, becoming the second in a Web campaign that seeks to build support for same-sex marriage legislation in Maryland.

“I support marriage for gay and lesbian couples who want to make a lifetime commitment to each other,” Ayanbadejo says in the video sponsored by Marylanders for Marriage Equality. “It’s the right thing to do.”

Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), who has pledged to sponsor the bill in the coming session, appeared in the campaign’s first video earlier this month. Organizers have vowed to produce a stream of videos until the bill is considered early next year. The videos are expected to include other athletes as well as clergy, law enforcement officers and other well-known politicians.

The Web campaign is loosely patterned after an effort in New York in advance of that state’s embrace of a same-sex marriage bill this year.

A same-sex marriage bill passed the Senate in the last legislative session but fell short in the House of Delegates. Advocates on both sides are gearing up for another intense round of lobbying.

Ayanbadejo spoke out in favor of the bill during last session as well, appearing in a video that was not as well-publicized.

“We are honored to have a three-time Pro-Bowler and a hometown hero join us in this historic campaign,” said Lisa Polyak of Equality Maryland, a member of the broader coalition pushing for the bill. “Brendon knows what it means to be a leader, both on and off the field.”

WATCH: Video - The Talk Party Series: Gay in Ghana

Each month, ACCRA [dot] ALT hosts The Talk Party Series, a monthly film and discussion series in Ghana where the dopest artists and creatives meet over good cinema, talk, food and music.

Over the past few months, President Mills, preachers, and Parliamentarians have made vigorous speeches about homosexuality being ungodly and un-African. In contest to these public statements, September's Talk Party explored life in Accra for young gay men.

These men (from the Coalition Against Homophobia in Ghana) spoke proudly of their sexuality and answered questions from our curious crowd about the challenges of being gay in Ghana.

Produced by REDD Kat Pictures
Camera: Abass Ismael Edit: SelormJay

Arts.Advocacy+Wellness: "New York achieves it! MARRIAGE EQUALITY"

Cornelius reflects on
MARRIAGE EQUALITY
FOR
THE EMPIRE STATE

Love and fairness wins the day for all New Yorkers, our families, and allies!
I remember going to Albany (in 2009) with my friend Angel to rally for Marriage Equality, Anti-Bullying in Schools, and GendaRights...meeting the many faces, advocates, activists, politicians, young&old supporting Empire State Pride Agenda...and the day has come NY Legislators approve same-sex marriage. Awesome Victory...

My journey was to support Angel, he had been with his partner for over 6 years, sharing a home in Long Island, but not able to obtain rights as other legally married couples. While, at the time, I was totally jaded and cynical to the idea of same sex marriage (mainly because I had not experienced a meaningful and mature partnership). I knew this was really important to him. I needed to support and to be educated. While in Albany, my ideals shifted. I was awakened and more educated. Everyone deserves equal rights, especially in marriage, if one chooses to go that route, regardless of how long or short the marriage lasts. While I, myself, stood more in favor for Anti-Bullying and Safe schools (having been bullied and harassed throughout elementary, middle,and high school), being in Albany opened my eyes to HUMAN RIGHTS/HUMAN NEEDS. I was also exposed to GendaRights (equal rights for my transgendered brothers and sisters). We don't know why we feel, think, or act a certain way or do have the answers to every question or adversity in life, but I feel we are ultimately individuals who aspire to live peacefully, safely, and harmoniously and we all deserve to be treated fairly and respectfully.

Oh yes, the tide has turned in the east and may this victory be infectious and effective to all states across our country, until everyone is granted the freedom to love, live, and be joyous.

....AND, Congrats Angel!!!

Tune in next Wednesday for more

Arts.Advocacy+Wellness with Cornelius Jones Jr.

Stay connected with me:

www.corneliusjonesjr.com

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www.theblacktraveler.com

For Faith, For Love: FOREVER the movie on April 21st

On Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at 7:00pm, The Center NYC LGBT Community Center located at 208 West 13th Street, NY, NY 10011, in association with Catch A Dream Entertainment and, The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry of Berkeley, CA will screen the powerful and thought provoking documentary entitled: For Faith, For Love, FOREVER.

As the presidential inauguration in 2009 came to a close, millions of people around the world witnessed a historical event in time; however, 2,500 miles due west there is division in California where the highly publicized Proposition 8 appeared on the general election ballot in November 2008. The proposition eliminated the right for same sex couples to marry, and has been fiercely debated over the past several years, Civil Rights!

The future of marriage equality was discussed during a Town Hall Meeting at First Congregational Church of Oakland, CA and documented by filmmaker Nefertiti Strong. The documentary, in final negotiations to be narrated by Rodney Chester, the lead actor of Logo’s hit movie Noah’s Arc – Jumping the Broom, explores the debate on same-sex marriage in the African-American community and its inclusion of the black church. Despite media portrayals suggesting complete disapproval, African-American clergy strongly believe in allowing people to live “in Spirit and in Truth” in regards to their God-given identities.

The Town Hall discussion, sponsored by the San Francisco Foundation and the Haas Jr. Fund, brought “dialogue and people together to work out issues in their communities,” said Reverend Roland Stringfellow, the event’s organizer, gay rights activist and Executive Producer of For Faith, For Love, FOREVER. “What the film 'For Faith, For Love, FOREVER' seeks to do, through the lens of the African-American church context, is to give courage to people of faith to address open and honestly the issue of being 'in the life' and the ways to find a way back to church communities we love."

Over the past year, the HOT button issue has been gay marriage. Strong believes the recording of the documentary has shed light onto a very important issue; however, gives people who may not been in attendance a chance to weigh in on the issues. “The beauty of film has captured a moment in time forever, that generations can not only see what happened, but understand why you did something,” Strong said.
Strong is president and founder of Catch a Dream, Inc. a TV/Film production based in Los Angeles and New York. The Center is hosting a fundraiser for the film in New York City LGBT Center and will screen the youth-focused 2010 HIV/AIDS PSA Campaign “Get Down” written and directed by Kim J. Ford of Lionqueen 192, Productions, Inc and FACES NY Inc.

Arts.Advocacy+Wellness: "Black Gay and Lesbian Leaders in NYC take a stand""

Black Gay and Lesbian Leaders in NYC take a stand

The title of the December 4, 2009 Metro News article read: "Black and Gay is Beautiful."  

This ad was supported by a few of NYC's Black Gay and Lesbian leaders, who are taking a stand for equality and respect in the pulpit, which is so often denounced in the black churches in America.  

I want to thank Pastor Joseph Tolton of Rehoboth Temple Christ Conscious Church for organizing this movement, that I proudly admit, I was part of.  This is one cause I felt I needed to support.  It hits so close to home and after all the work I've been doing with FlagBoy and creating new artistic works that speak to the empowerment and progression of Black Gay Men, Black Men in general, and the Black family, I must continue to stand on my word.  

Here's what appeared in last week's Metro News, December 4, 2009, pg. 17.  

Black & Gay is Beautiful

LIVE!

God has promised us life, and life more abundantly. At this juncture in our global history, the tide is turning as God’s plan is unfolding for the inclusion of all people based on their divine design as gay, lesbian, straight, bi-sexual, or transgendered. God is by all means up to something, and the day of reckoning is here. The universe will not tolerate bigotry much longer as racism, sexism, homophobia, and ultimately patriarchy are being dismantled brick by brick. So God’s call for the non-straight oriented community is that we LIVE! LIVE truthfully! LIVE courageously! LIVE spiritually! LIVE emotionally! LIVE financially! LIVE romantically! LIVE fearlessly! So come out, come out wherever you are and LIVE. For God is great and life is grand. It’s our time.

We are FAMILY!

As gay black people - brothers and sisters alike - we are building strong families, strong churches, strong business and strong communities in ways that we never dreamed possible. Be encouraged and again we say LIVE! There is no need to be held hostage by fear. There is no need to live disconnected and in isolation. There is LIFE for us and it begins by US loving and supporting US.

Spiritual Violence

For those of us of faith who have always loved God and loved the black Church, the defining issues of our lives has been the church’s damning stance on homosexuality. As children, this condemnation shattered our spirit. As adolescents, this ridicule broke our hearts. As young adults, this disdain has attempted to drive us to the brink. Spiritual violence is wrong and it kills the spirit. The black Church must find new ways to talk about sex and sexuality. The noise around homosexuality in our community distracts us from confronting human sexuality in the context of the black experience in America.  And black America is afraid to confront human sexuality because it means dealing with these issues: 

·       What is the emotional legacy we bear as a result of the rape of our women and untold rape of our men in slavery?

·       Black men have been held captive to notions of manhood defined by hyper masculinity.

·       The high proportion of gay men in the church and the prospect of marriage between them is frightening in the face of a record number of unwed black women in the Church.

·       Fully functional (straight and gay I might add) brothers are hard to find when there are more brothers incarcerated than are in college.

·       The experience black men have with other men in prison and how we negotiate the bandwidth of their sexual proclivity upon returning home.

·       The silent grief we felt but publicly never discussed when our brother’s died in record numbers between 1988 – 1998.

Hypocrisy in the pulpit

Come on Bishops, Elders and Pastors, it is time to stop abusing your gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and trans-gendered daughters and sons and deal with the real issue that drives your homophobia. White folks hid behind the bible - Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord, Colossians 3:22 - and you were the ones who exposed them. Hypocrisy does not look good on you. Stop the spiritual violence NOW!

Pastor Donnie McClurkin

We love you brother and in ways the traditional church cannot because we understand your pain. You are not a man who loves men because of being molested as a child. That grave and despicable tragedy broke your spirit and damaged your mind; however, it did not have the capacity to change your DNA. There is so much love in our community for you. We want to see you healed and whole. Whenever you are ready, come home and we’ll love you until it doesn’t hurt anymore. That’s how we do!

Long Island, Rehoboth Temple, GayByGod.net, and our partners will be coming your way with an awesome crusade soon. Your sisters and brothers are concerned about you and we’re planning to bring a radically inclusive REVIVAL with a strategic plan for sustained support in your area. We love you. You are not alone!

Pastor Joseph W. Tolton &

 

Batty Boy

Jamaicans like music, but hate fags
By Son of Baldwin
The literary, socio-political, sexual, pop culture blog. Live from Bedford-Stuyvesant.

We don't understand this.

Jamaicans have a deep-seeded hatred of homosexuals that goes way beyond the simple homophobia and rests firmly on the grounds of Schizophrenia. Jamaicans HATE homosexuals--including the ones with whom they have sex. Shit, even Jamaican homosexuals hate homosexuals.

The hatred infects every atom of the society and every cell of the citizenry. It's in the DNA. They're proud of it. It's rivaled only by the Middle East. And we just have one question: Why?

We just read an article where the Jamaican prime minister wants the Jamaican constitution amended to restrict gay rights. "I make no apology in saying decisively and emphatically that the government of Jamaica remains irrevocably opposed to the recognition, legitimization or acceptance of same-sex marriages or same-sex unions," he said, before disappearing into the forest to give dome to some random stranger with a big dick.

We're kidding about that last part, but wouldn't be the least bit surprised if we discovered that it was true. And before we get all high and mighty about Jamaican homophobia, let us not forget that America ain't exactly loving the homos, either. In fact, hatred of homosexuals is pretty much the only subject where you can get Christians, Muslims, Hindis, Jews, the Taliban, al-Qaeda, democrats, and republicans to agree.

Read the full article here.

Discover a Cool Blog - #4

As the presidential inauguration in the beginning of this year came to a close, millions of people around the world witnessed a historical event in time; however, 2,500 miles due west there is division in California where the highly publicized Proposition 8 appeared on the general election ballot last November. The proposition eliminated the right for same sex couples to marry, and has been fiercely debated over the past several years, Civil Rights!

The future of marriage equality was discussed during a Townhall Meeting at First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison St. Oakland, CA on October 2, 2008. In association with Catch A Dream Entertainment and The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry, filmmaker Nefertiti Strong filmed the event in a documentary entitled: “For Faith, For Love, Forever.”

The documentary, in final negotiations to be narrated by Rodney Chester, the lead actor of Logo’s hit movie Noah’s Arc – Jumping the Broom, explores the debate on same-sex marriage in the African-American community and its inclusion of the black church. Despite media portrayals suggesting complete disapproval, African-American clergy will have an opportunity to express their individual opinions on same-sex marriage. These African-American pastors and ministers will also have a chance to speak openly about their reasons for being for or against the inclusions of same sex couples, their rights to marry and being a part of their individual congregations.

“For Faith, For Love, Forever will dig down deep, past the politics, and focus on the people and the lives at are really affected by this proposition,” say Nefertiti Strong the Director and Producer of this powerful documentary.

The townhall discussion, sponsored by the San Francisco Foundation, Energy 92.7 FM, and First Congregational Church of Oakland, brought “dialogue and people together to work out issues in their communities,” said Reverend Roland Stringfellow, the event’s organizer, gay rights activist and Executive Producer of For Faith, For Love: FOREVER, “its effectiveness as a tool for ministry; as well as its instructions, theories and motivations as it relates to homosexuality such as how is it expressed, what is taught and how homosexuality is tolerated.”

In the past few months, the HOT button issue has been gay marriage. Strong believes the recording of the documentary will not only shed light onto a very important issue, but give people who may not been in attendance a chance to weigh in on the issues. “The beauty of film has captured a moment in time forever, that generations can not only see what happened, but understand why you did something,” Strong said.

THE MOVIE TRAILER


For more information visit For Faith, For Love, Forever the movie.

Fear or Faith

The role of faith communities in the dialog for a new campaign for marriage equality in California.
By Rev. Roland Stringfellow

rstringfellow@clgs.org

By now most people have heard how the blame game was played after the passage of Prop 8 in California. Scapegoats included people of color, campaign organizers, communities of faith, even Hollywood (who is seen as being kind to queer folk) because they could have help bank rolled the campaign more than they already did. There were groups of angry people who took matters a step further and decided to vandalize places of worship, such as Catholic Churches and Mormon Temples as these two communities were targeted as the main financial supporters of the “Yes on 8” campaign.

As an organizer working with faith communities, one of my goals during the No on 8 campaign was not only to move “church going” folk in their voting for marriage equality, I also found that I had an equally challenging task of moving marriage equality activists away from an aversion or fear of faith communities in order to encourage them to use tactics and language that would speak to congregations. The common thread between the “Yes on 8” and “No on 8” campaigns was fear – fear to listen to lesbian and gay voices as they shared their stories of the value of their relationships, families and their faith. From a faith perspective, I found that with conservative congregations, my work included addressing their fear that same-sex marriage destroys families and challenging the misconception it is wacky, fringe, or blasphemous to open their doors and welcome LGBTQI individuals. On the activist side, the task was to address that queer people who attend religious services are not naïve in their faith by clinging to a God that has no love for them or doesn’t exist.

Many would agree that religion is the root reason why there is so much homo and transphobia in our society, why we have such suppressed views about sexuality in general, and why lesbians and gays deal with internalized homophobia. Post election polling data confirmed what many of us already knew that people who voted for Prop 8 (and against marriage equality) did so largely based on their religious convictions. Religious conviction is also the reason why President Obama states why he is opposed to same-sex marriage, but in favor of domestic partnerships. No doubt, addressing religious arguments will be important and need to taken into account as we move forward in the new and next phase of campaigning for marriage equality.

As much as we hate to admit it, the separation between church and state is not a reality in the minds of many Americans and religious convictions DO dictate public policy. While I support the right of anyone to their own theological beliefs, such as our President, I stand against any theology that is oppressive and not life-giving (i.e. murdering physicians who perform late term abortions). While I understand the argument that says “All theology and religion has been oppressive”, I disagree with it. Many of us are familiar with people who say they are spiritual, but not religious. We understand them to mean that they acknowledge a higher power in their lives, but do not subscribe to religious institutions that are exclusive and oppressive of human beings. This, in and of itself, is a theology and when put into practice can be considered “religion”. All of this is to say that there are religious convictions that can be positive and life-giving.

The day following the California Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Proposition 8, I was watching Larry King Live who pitted a legal activist who was for marriage equality against a former pro-football player who is now a pastor of a conservative congregation in Southern California. While the legal activist was incredibly knowledgeable, she spoke a different language than this pastor. Legal and activist arguments do not always mesh well with theological ones. In public discourses, why don’t we pair up legal minds with legal minds and theologians with other theologians? There are theologians who have dedicated their lives to the study ancient texts as they pertain to LGBT people in order to understand the culture and context in which these words were written. These men and women teach in theological institutions and lead congregations as they encourage students and parishioners to seek live-giving ways to become more inclusive and less exclusive.

As strategies are being formulated about the when’s and how’s of the next campaign to “change hearts and minds” about marriage equality, let us consider inviting and listening to these progressive scholars and religious practitioners who have experience dismantling these religious arguments made by religious conservatives. One way of addressing their arguments is by addressing their fear. In many fundamentalist congregations, it is a belief if they support the “liberal ideology” of gay marriage they will go to Hell. Yet, these same people fail to see they condemn LGBT people to a Hell when they shun, bash, or shame them. Is this what they mean by “preaching the Good News?” It is time to dismantle the hypocrisy of theology that masquerade as life-giving, but is actually a bitter pill that produces death. Hopefully as we move forward we will not be motivated by fear, but by faith that the real Good News is creating a society where separate is not equal and people are free to live with authenticity and peace with the person they love because they have all the rights and legal protections that a constitution provides. People say that I am a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.

Rev. Roland Stringfellow is the Coordinator of the Bay Area Coalition of Welcoming Congregations, which is a program of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry located at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA. For more info go to: www.clgs.org