Join Us on Friday, March 23, 2012 at 6PM with Circle of Voices Inc. - A Tribute for Living Lesbians & Icons of African Descent

A Tribute for Living Lesbians & Icons of African Descent

Friday, March 23, 2012
6 - 10 PM

Bring your drums & Instruments for our
DRUM CIRCLE & Dance

New York State Senator
Eric Adams
(D, WF) 20th Senate District

This tribute will include a panel discussion and musical celebration from proud LGBT Women of African Descent who lived and celebrated their sexuality in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Sharing their history as they reflect on their many challenges, great events and how the LGBT lifestyle has changed.


Moderator:
Kaz Mitchell, Activist & Director of Circle of Voices Inc.

Panel:
Jean Wimberly, Founder & Executive Director Circle of Voices Inc.
Roberta Stokes aka Oloyade, Dancer, Choreographer & Musician
Suhir “Blackeagle” Jones, CC- Founder of “I Am Aware Self Esteem Series for Women & Girls and COVI's Talent Coordinator

Kim Ford, founded Kitchen Table Giving Circle: A Black/African Descent LGBTQ Women Philanthropic Initiative

Entertainment MC:
Comedian Diva-Tammy Peay
Don’t Tell Mamas, The Cutting Room, Comedy Cellar, Caroline’s, Gotham Comedy Club, Stand Up NY, Nubian Dreams Cruises, Moonlight Cruises & more.

Win 2 Tickets for “Sistas”-The Musical or A Gift Basket from Organogold Coffee

THE EVENING SPONSORS

El Dorado Rum Brooklyn Brewery Zen Biz Travel
Photos By Harlem Check Organogold Coffee Walker Communications Group

Circle of Voices Inc. a non-profit Womyn of African Descent and Womyn of Color organization that provide multi-cultural events of an artistic nature as nourishment for the human spirit. We provide a creative arts environment where Womyn of all orientations can exchange information, her-stories, knowledge and skills amongst each other and the community at large through performances, workshops, music festivals and seminars that express issues that affect our environment.

Brooklyn Borough Hall –Brooklyn Borough President’s Office
209 Joralemons @Court Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201
Door Open at 6:00pm
Panel & Entertainment start 7:00pm
THIS IS AN ALL GENDER EVENT, We welcome Community Members & Friends
Subway: 2,3,4,5, -Borough Hall/A,C,F- Jay St. / Borough Hall-/N, R –Court St. Bus: B25, B26, B37, B38, B41, B51, B52, B54, B61, B65, B67, B75

Why Are So Many Young Gay Men Lost?

I thought I was going to avoid talking about something like this, but a recent incident just convinced me to do it.

One night, I was in the middle of the city, getting ready to walk inside this building, which held this event that I had to attend. All of a sudden, I ran into this old friend of mine outside of the building. He just happened to be strolling down the street.

I went up to see how he was doing. Without a simple greeting, he asked me if I knew this person he is dating. I told him I did. The guy is my ex-boyfriend, who I have not seen in over three years. I was instantly shocked on how he knew my ex. I have not seen him or spoke about him for that long. It wasn't a good relationship. It was a terrible on-off relationship that lasted for two years. The best thing I did was remove him from my life.

He revealed to me that my ex is his current boyfriend. My guard was already up. This boy is fifteen years old and my ex is twenty-five. They've been dating for three days and he said he's in love with him. When I asked him how much, he said they have been thinking about having bareback sex from now on.

I stopped talking to him, gave the security guard my pass, and entered the event. I was halfway focused on the entire event. I couldn't stop thinking about the conversation I had with that boy. It brought up a wide range of topics surrounding the gay community. I remember people calling me one of the lucky ones.  Now that I think about it, they're kind of right.

It's not a big secret. The gay community is still a work in progress. Even though we are fighting for our rights, we have to fix ourselves as well. These young gay men are so lost in this world due to the nonacceptance of family and friends, they go after numerous older men, hoping that they would found love. Little do they know they're expectations is going to bite them in the butt.

They're sexual actions are overshadowing their image as well. Admittingly, men loves sex. We talk about it and act it out all the time. So when it comes to two men dating, of course it's twice as crazy. However, there are some gay men who's sexual actions are overshadowing them as a person due to the fact that they think sex can solve everything. Little do they know that it can break a few things in the process.

The rise of HIV/AIDS is still at a high rate. It's almost as if it's been ignored. Everyone knows what will happen if you have unprotected sex. But it's almost like people don't care. They're afraid that if they don't have bareback sex, they'll lose they're lover. Eventually, they're going to have to realize that they're health is more important than they're lover.

Not only that, but it's also the terrible decline in education. I know that the gay community isn't the only place where this is occurring, but you see that a bunch. It's hard to have a normal conversation when you hear a cuss word coming out in every sentence. It becomes very uncomfortable and rubs you the wrong way.

These are just a few examples of what I see happening. I believe that if we want to make a change, we should start with the young audience. After all, our future is going to be in their hands soon. Even though we are still fighting for our rights, the one thing we should do is fix the problems that is going on in our community.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAYARD RUSTIN Today, he would have celebrated his 99th Birthday

Bayard Rustin at news briefing on the Civil Rights March on Washington in the Statler Hotel, half-length portrait, seated at table - August 27, 1963

Bayard Rustin (March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) was an American civil rights activist, important largely behind the scenes in the civil rights movement of the 1960s and earlier. He is credited as the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.


He counseled Martin Luther King, Jr. on the techniques of nonviolent resistance. He became an advocate on behalf of gay and lesbian causes in the latter part of his career. Homosexuality was criminalized at the time, which made him a target of suspicion and compromised some of his effectiveness.

Lady Gaga: Tell Target Child Labor Isn't Golden

By Tim Newman

Last month, pop superstar Lady Gaga partnered with Target to offer fans a special edition of her forthcoming album Born This Way. Gaga hoped that the partnership would also offer her the opportunity to work with Target to improve the company's policies toward gay rights, but apparently her hopes did not come to fruition as she has recently decided to sever ties with the company. Before Gaga completely frees herself of this bad romance, she should speak out against forced and child labor by joining almost 22,000 Change.org readers in calling on Target to agree to responsible sourcing policies for its gold.

When Target made large contributions last year to virulently anti-gay politicians in Minnesota, LGBT advocates, includingmany Change.org readers, put pressure on Target to end this support. Despite tepid apologies, Target reportedly has continued to finance anti-gay candidates. A supporter of equal rights, Gaga had stated, "Our relationship is hinged upon their reform in the company to support the gay community and to redeem the mistakes they've made supporting those [antigay] groups." If Gaga is not able to push Target to do more to support gay rights be sitting at the table with the company, she is right to end the partnership. Before she slams the door, there's one more thing she can do to change Target's policies for the better.

As we have written about on the Human Trafficking blog, Target is lagging behind other major retailers and jewelry companies in committing to responsibly sourcing the gold in its products. In many countries, gold mining is tainted by the use of child labor and forced labor, not to mention other human rights and environmental abuses. Over 70 major companies have endorsed the No Dirty Gold campaign's Golden Rules that include protecting internationally recognized labor rights and ensuring safe working conditions in addition to making environmental improvements and respecting human and land rights.

Target has indicated that it is considering endorsing the Golden Rules for its gold sourcing, but until those internal discussions result in concrete improvements for the workers around the world whose rights are being abused to mine gold, advocates will continue to pressure Target to responsibly source its gold. As one of the biggest voices in pop culture, an artist with several certified gold records and someone who has Target's ear, Lady Gaga's support for the campaign to clean up Target's gold would go a long way pushing the company to improve its policies. So, Mother Monster, as parting words to Target, why not mobilize your "Punk Art Pop Revolution" to support workers in the gold industry globally?

In the mean time, you can send an e-mail to Target and recruit your friends to join here. Keep checking Change.org for updates and new ways to take action to support this campaign in the coming days!

Your 101 Class on What's Really Going On in Uganda

Here are the Cliffs Notes on a past year of Gay, Human & Civil Rights that are being threatened in Uganda. We hope this helps you get up to speed.

October 14, 2009

Anti-homosexual bill in Uganda introduced by David Bahati

February 5, 2010

US condemns Uganda anti-gay law

The Obama Administration called Uganda to task as the African nation considers a law that would criminalise homosexuality. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she had expressed U.S. concerns about the bill to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

February 17, 2010

Anti-gay bill finds support in conservative Uganda

March 25, 2010

International Uproar over Uganda Anti-Gay Bill, Study Finds American Evangelicals Encouraging Homophobia

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/25/international_uproar_over_uganda_anti_gay

Proposed anti-gay legislation in Uganda has sparked international uproar. Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, but the new bill would impose much harsher punishments including life imprisonment and even the death penalty for some homosexual acts. We speak with a leading Ugandan gay rights organizer and a Zambian priest who has documented the role of American evangelicals in fostering homophobia in Uganda.

October 2, 2010

Ugandan media, politicians campaign against homosexuality

Gays and lesbians in Uganda say they are living in fear, targets of a media and political campaign to wipe homosexuality from the face of the East African country. Tabloid newspaper Rolling Stone is spreading anti-gay hatred and identifying gays in Uganda. In its Oct. 2 edition, the newspaper launched a campaign to identify 100 "top homos" in Uganda, adding on the front page, "Hang Them."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/11/22/f-uganda-anti-gay.html#ixzz1CTU2d7oc

December 8, 2010

Rachel Maddow - David Bahati "Kill The Gays" Bill Uganda Sponsor

- Part 1

December 14, 2010

African Americans protest Bahati’s US tour to promote “kill the gays” in Uganda

LGBT People of African Descent and our allies, family and friends are responding to the immediate attack on our fellow brother and sisters in the country of Uganda. The conservative Christian right organization known as The Family and so-called “ex-gay” activist Scott lively exported hatred to Africa with a direct threat to the LGBT community in Uganda by funding and sponsoring the “Anti-Homosexuality” bill which would introduce the death penalty for gay people and require extradition of gay Ugandans around the world.

LGBT communities of color in the USA and across the globe are at greater risk for hate crimes and persecutions. Killing LGBT people in Uganda or anywhere else around the world is wrong.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR BROTHERS AND SISTER IN UGANDA

Learn more about Frank Mugisha and the POWERFUL work he is doing.

Frank on NPR: (December 20, 2010)

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/20/132147169/anti-gay-atmosphere-permeates-uganda

Uganda: Anti-Gay Pastor Blasts David Kato's Funeral, Villagers Refuse to Bury Body

By Rod 2.0:Beta

David Kato

An unfortunate and absolutely vile update to the horrible murder of David Kato, the leading Ugandan gay rights activist who was brutally killed in his own home on Wednesday. As hundreds gathered at today's burial for the slain pastor, fights erupted after a local pastor grabbed the microphone and blasted homosexuality.

To add more disrespect: Villagers then refused to bury Kato's body. Kato's gay friends had no choice but to carry the body themselves to the burial site, reports Reuters.

"The world has gone crazy," the pastor told the congregation through a microphone. "People are turning away from the scriptures. They should turn back, they should abandon what they are doing. You cannot start admiring a fellow man."

Gay activists, wearing T-shirts featuring Kato's face with sleeves coloured with the gay pride flag, then stormed the pulpit and grabbed the microphone.

"It is ungodly," the pastor shouted, before being blocked from sight. "ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE US"

An unidentified female activist then began to shout from the pulpit. "Who are you to judge others?" she shouted. "We have not come to fight. You are not the judge of us. As long as he's gone to God his creator, who are we to judge Kato?"

Locals intervened on the side of the pastor and scuffles broke out before he was taken away to Kato's father's house to calm the situation. Villagers then refused to bury the body at which point a group of Kato's friends, most of whom were gay, carried his coffin to the grave and buried it themselves.

And yet another heartbreaking chapter in Uganda's state-sponsored anti-gay terror campaign, where gays cannot even be buried in peace ...

Meanwhile: Police report no leads on Kato's murder. Investigators refuse to link Kato's murder to his activism or the vicious anti-gay tabloid outing where his name and photo made the front page with the headline "Hang Them".

Happy Martin Luther King Day!!! -- Dare to DREAM

By Maurice Jamal

Today is set aside as a holiday of remembrance for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and his tireless work for equality, civil rights and justice. As national and world events occur, one might take a moment and wonder about the current condition of peace, freedom and liberty.

Often when people speak of Dr. King, they discuss "the dream". Not only his landmark speech on civil rights, but the essence and content of his dream. I was reminded today that dreams are limitless. There are no boundaries, hurdles, fears or obstacles that can stand in our way. And dreams are not a child's folly. They are the power of the human spirit reminding us that we can rise above the obvious and move towards the great. Dreams make the impossible, possible.

The work each of us does everyday is part of this dream. It moves us towards a world where equality, acceptance, peace and justice are the norms and not the exceptions. Where regardless of background and sexual orientation, people are not only free to love, live and pursue their liberty, they are encouraged and supported to do so.

This year brought both highs and lows for our community; from the victory of DADT to youth suicides that shook us to our core. And each of you has made a fundamental difference for good in this march towards equity.

A dream is more than an idea, it is permission. It allows someone the ability to craft a world that has everything they could want and desire. It emboldens them to say not only "I can" but "I will" and most importantly "I am".

When we struggle, fight and are working to survive, remember that there are men, women and young people across this country who look at the work you do. They see YOU as evidence that their dream has merit. Your talent, work, dedication and perseverance make a difference. Everyday.

GLO TV may appear to be a digital television network. But it is so much more than that.

It is the dreams of people in small towns, church congregations, school campuses and homes across this nation, who often need a voice to speak for them, an ear to hear them, arms to embrace them, and a heart to welcome them.

It is the reality of what their world can be.

The road ahead is one that we will all walk down together. It is not always easy nor the path always cleared. But it is a road we walk down triumphantly, knowing that every step we take, gives our community permission for them to be bold enough, to dare to dream "I AM".

BE your dream!

What is the NOH8 Campaign?

Many of my followers have asked me what exactly the picture is of the symbol on the face and the white T-Shirt?

Well this blog post is for you...

On November 4, 2008 Proposition 8 passed in California, amending the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The defeat provoked a groundswell of initiative within the GLBT community at a grassroots level, with many new political and protest organizations being formed in response.

The NOH8 Campaign is a photographic silent protest created by celebrity photographer Adam Bouska (http://www.bouska.net) and partner Jeff Parshley in direct response to the passage of Proposition 8. Photos feature subjects with duct tape over their mouths, symbolizing their voices being silenced by Prop 8 and similar legislation around the world, with "NOH8" painted on one cheek in protest.

Nearly two years since its inception, the NOH8 Campaign has grown to over 5,500 faces and continues to grow at an exponential rate. The campaign began with portraits of everyday Californians from all walks of life and soon rose to include politicians, military personnel, newlyweds, law enforcement, artists, celebrities, and many more.

The NOH8 Campaign has received overwhelming support from around the world, appearing on various local and national news programs and publications. The images are currently being used on various social networking sites to spread the message of equality, predominantly Facebook and Twitter. Eventually the images are expected to be compiled for a large-scale media campaign.
I was really excited to have the opportunity to add my face to this silent protest that really does show that a picture is really worth 1000 WORDS!!!!

White House staffers' It Gets Better video

by: Bil Browning

bilerico.com

Several LGBT White House staffers including Greg Millett, Senior Policy Advisor at the White House Office of National AIDS Policy got together to make an It Gets Better video. President Obama and Vice President have also both done videos to encourage LGBT kids that things do eventually get better.

This is a great entry to the IGB collective of videos. I've met quite a few of the folks featured and for all of the questioning of Obama's commitment to LGBT rights, they are some of the most dedicated advocates we could ask for. They bring LGBT issues to the White House daily.

And they're living proof that it does indeed get better.

Lauper to Open Shelter for Gay Youth

Singer Cyndi Lauper is opening New York City's first permanent housing for homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.

The True Colors Residence is set to open next year in Harlem and will provide young people between 18 and 24 a place to live while helping them get back on their feet, DNAinfo reports.

“Kids are coming out in greater numbers as they see themselves accepted and represented on TV and in movies, but they’re still being kicked out of their homes or running away and living on the streets," Lauper said in a statement Tuesday.


Pop singer Cyndi Lauper, through her foundation, is building Manhattan's first permanent shelter for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. The True Colors Residence will open next year in Harlem. Here she attends the fifth annual Focus for Change benefit dinner and concert in New York on Nov. 11, 2009 with friend Rodney Chester "Alex" from LOGO's Noah's Arc.

The '80s pop singer, known for her hits "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "True Colors," will donate money for the facility through her True Colors Fund, is an honorary board member and is championing and promoting it.

There are between 15,000 and 20,000 homeless youth in New York City, according to estimates from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Roughly 3,000 to 8,000 of them are LGBT, or comprising 20 to 40 percent homeless youth in the city, the Task Force said.

The six-story building will contain 30 studio apartments, a communal space, a library and computer room. It's expected to cost roughly $11 million. Residents will sign a year-long Section 8 lease and pay rent according to their income.

Lauper has long been a supporter for gay rights. Last month, her True Colors Fund launched the Give a Damn Campaign, an initiative to spur straight support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. The campaign will include a series of videos featuring Lauper and friends such as Elton John, Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Mraz, Cynthia Nixon and Anna Paquin, Tonic reported.