GMAD moves to Brooklyn, takes over POCC

By Sr. Correspondent, Antoine Craigwell

(New York, NY) Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD) is moving from its home in Manhattan to Brooklyn, and in so doing it is supposed to be taking over of People of Color in Crisis (POCC) which has seen a crisis in its operations, since scandal rocked the agency last summer.



 

 
Early in the summer of 2008, in the height of plans for NY's Black Pride, word started seeping out that something had happened at POCC. When the August date for Black Pride arrived, the final word was that Black Pride was canceled. Rumors swirled about theft and allegations in news reports that the executive director, Michael Roberson, had misappropriated the organization's funds for his personal use, including, using the organization's corporate credit card to pay the bail for one of his paramours. This act was seen as the final straw, for an organization that had been under federal and state scrutiny for misuse of funds.

POCC began in 1988 by a group of African Americans and Afro-Caribbean gay men, but, as is usual for organizations receiving federal, state or local government funding, there is an annual audit of how organizations use and manages funds. After many years of auditing questions, POCC was targeted for funding cuts.
Gary English, former POCC executive director, now interim executive director of the NY State Black Gay Network, said that POCC had problems with the accounting and when the Inspector General came in and conducted an audit, along with several accounting irregularities, many items were found out of place.
  
English added that he doesn't know if there would be a Black Pride celebration this year, and if there would be one, who is sponsoring it.

As part of the shake-up, while GMAD would retain an office in Harlem, their main office would now be in Brooklyn. Part of the condition for moving, is that GMAD would have access to the funds previously earmarked for POCC. And, according to a source, with this move, GMAD would step into the void created by POCC's absence, which means taking over the work that POCC was doing in Brooklyn, to provide HIV/AIDS and counseling services among a predominantly Afro-Caribbean gay population.
 
But to help the overall Black gay community in New York City understand what's happening, the NY State AIDS Institute hired Washington, D.C.-based consultant Leo Rennie to formulate a plan for NY Black gay social service organizations, and that a meeting scheduled for sometime between Apr 26 and May 2, would be an opportunity to inform the Black gay community on what's happening and the future of Black gay organizations.

"While I can't speak about GMAD's move to Brooklyn, I think it's a fine idea that they are stepping into the service gap created by POCC no longer being there," said Rennie.
Rennie said he advised the interim executive director, Evelyn Williams, to be open about what was happening with the organization and its relationship to the community. So far, as he could tell, that wasn't done, and he didn't know if POCC still had an office.

Calls to Williams have not been returned and a recording to the listed number for POCC stated it was temporarily disconnected. As an effort to save itself, toward the end of Dec 2008, a flyer, also on the organization's Website, advertised for an all male strip party at Club Langston in Brooklyn, listing the event as a benefit for POCC.

As a former board member and executive director of POCC, Rennie discussed the happenings at the organization in an article dated Sept 18, 2008 in Gay City News.

In the recent past, GMAD itself has been under scrutiny, as it struggled with varying financial problems, including funding cuts. With this move to Brooklyn, GMAD will be attempting to reassert itself as one of the leading Black gay social service organization in New York.

However, calls to and messages left for Tokes Osubu, executive director of GMAD for comment have not been returned. As of writing, Osubu, was supposed to have been at the proposed new office in the Court Street area of downtown Brooklyn, finalizing plans for the move.

From conversations with several people familiar with the workings of Black gay organizations, there seems to be fear of not wanting to speak about what's happening - as if an aura of secrecy surrounds the activities of many of the Black gay social service organizations who are afraid of missteps or misstatements which could potentially jeopardize their negotiation of scarce funds. But, admitting that there was a lot of secrecy about GMAD's move, Rennie said he anticipates some unfavorable comments to this change in dynamic in the New York Black gay community, especially that POCC would eventually be defunct.