Meet & Greet with the City Gym Boys at the Liberty, Unity, Strength Festival; Sunday, May 25, 2008 12 pm - 6pm Francis Field 2425 N St, NW Washington, DC

City Gym Boys is an elite team of natural bodybuilders from the inner city dedicated to mentoring young men and women on the lifelong benefits of fitness and exercise.

City Gym Boys was founded in 1997 by owner Charles La Salle to reach young men and women in the New York City area. "Our mission is to help eliminate the onset of obesity, particularly among African-Americans and Latino's in the inner city, by getting teens hooked on working out. If we can get 15 to 23 year olds to make fitness a habit, then we are on our way to reducing diabetes and heart disease", says La Salle, who is natural bodybuilder and personal trainer.

The City Gym Boys are proof of how dedication, patience and hard work can change one's body, mind and life. These positive role models are from different cultural backgrounds including: African-American, Barbadian, Cuban, Dominican, Ghanaian, Jamaican, Panamanian, Puerto Rican, Trinidadian and Venezuelan but they all share a commitment to increasing awareness among today's youth about the lifelong benefits of being fit.

The City Gym Boys have appeared on Rap City- Da Basement, 106 & Park and other BET programs. They have also appeared on Japanese T.V.- New York Style and other T.V. Networks. They have been on College Tours throughout the United States giving lectures and demonstrations. These athletes have also appeared in various magazines and newspapers such as: The New York Times, Vibe, Natural Bodybuilding, Honey, Men's Workout, Today's Black Woman, Young and Modern, Flex and the Atlanta Journal- Constitution.

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California has lifted the ban on gay marriage. California Supreme court’s decision comes nearly two weeks after the passing of Mildred Loving. 

Mildred Loving, a black woman whose anger over being banished from Virginia for marrying a white man led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling overturning state miscegenation laws, died on May 2 at her home in Central Point, VA of pneumonia. She was 68.

Mrs. Loving stopped giving interviews and issued a statement in 2007 on the 40th anniversary of the announcement of the Supreme Court ruling, urging that gay men and lesbians be allowed to marry.

At the age of 17-year-old Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving, a 23-year-old white construction worker, drove 90 miles north to marry in the District of Columbia.

At the time Mrs. Loving was pregnant with the first child.

The Lovings’ returned to Central Point, Va., between Richmond and Spotsylvania, to begin their new life together.

In the morning of July 11, 1958, the police burst into their bedroom and shined flashlights in their eyes. A threatening voice demanded, “Who is this woman you're sleeping with?”

Mrs. Loving answered in a confused tone, “I'm his wife.”

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In 2005, 1.2-million-member UCC became first, largest mainline denomination to support same-gender marriage equality

Cleveland, OH- United Church of Christ leaders are affirming today's decision by the California Supreme Court to overturn the state's same-gender marriage ban.

The Rev. John H. Thomas, the United Church of Christ's general minister and president, based in Cleveland, said he is pleased by the court's decision.

"I am gratified by the decision of the courts in California to reject discrimination and affirm the dignity of same gender couples," Thomas said. "As recent decisions in other states makes clear, until all couples are able to marry, their separate status will never be equal status."

Five UCC congregations in California -- Community UCC of Atascadero, Mt. Hollywood Congregational UCC, Parkside Community UCC in Sacramento, Pilgrim UCC in Carlsbad and United Church of Christ in Simi Valley - as well as UCC-related Pacific School of Religion, joined an interfaith amicus brief filed earlier this year in support of the ban's overturn.

After the court decision was announced, several UCC members in California responded positively to the news.

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This letter was given to NBJC (National Black Justice Coalition) supporters by Mr. Alexander Robinson CEO and Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition, in lieu of the recent decision to lift the ban on Gay Marriage for the state of California. 

 

Dear Friend,

Today is a joyous day for the millions of us who have been denied equality our entire lives. After years of hard work the California Supreme Court struck down California's discriminatory marriage laws and allow loving, same-sex couples to marry.

Civil Rights leaders such as the late Coretta Scott King, Representative John Lewis, NAACP Chair Julian bond, and Reverend Al Sharpton have long supported equal protection under the law for LGBT individuals and communities. 

In fact, John Lewis filed a friend-of-the court brief in the Massachusetts case that led to the state becoming the first in the country to legalize marriage equality.  In the state of California, we have been working with the California State NAACP to file an amicus brief as did the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in New York City.

"The African American community has been at the forefront of many struggles to secure right for disenfranchised groups and communities" stated Willie Brown, former mayor of San Francisco.  "It is my belief that this is our fight too", Brown continued.

Please join the National Black Justice Coalition in fighting this assault on our families. http://ga4.org/nbjcoalition/join.tcl

Then help us win this fight by contributing to NBJC's Action Fund.  https://secure.ga4.org/01/nbjc_donate

On behalf of the entire NBJC team we would like to thank everyone who donated to or volunteered with our campaign to keep this amendment off the ballot. Because of that effort we have already talked to over a hundred thousand Californians about this initiative and the harm it could cause for millions of California families.  

Thousands of people volunteered and over 76,000 voters signed up to oppose the initiative. We built an incredibly strong network of opposition to this amendment, but we have to expand it even more between now and November. 

Some have called this campaign "the single most important battle we have ever seen in the LGBT rights movement." Such an unprecedented battle will require an unprecedented commitment from all of us. With your continued support we will defeat the right wing extremists and ensure equality for all.

The stuggle is not over!! A pending November ballot initiative threatens to overturn our victory in California.  Howver, Equality For All has been at the forefront of the fight for fairness and equality. In fact the coalition has talked to hundreds of thousands Californians about this initiative and the harm it could cause for millions of California families.  NBJC asks that you please donate to Equality For All in order to strengthen their efforts within California.

Sincerely, 

 H. Alexander Robinson, CEO

NBJC and NBJC Action are the only two black lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organizations in the country. Our unique perspective and targeted focus will allow us to successfully reach our constituency through culturally relevant GOTV efforts and to access our voting blocs—heterosexual African-American voters and African-American SGL/LGBTQ voters. NBJC provides a credible voice on LGBT issues within Black communities and among African-American elected officials. 

At least 13 people have been killed and 50 others injured in Johannesburg after mobs attacked immigrants from neighbouring African countries using guns, knives and iron bars.

At least two victims were burned alive when a flaming tyre was put round their necks.

The violence began last week and was directed at houses and businesses owned by foreigners in the city's Alexandra township. But the assaults have now spread to other parts of the city, where properties have been looted and torched.

Hundreds of immigrants are now sheltering from the violence in police stations and churches where the Red Cross is distributing food and blankets amid reports that 3,000 people have been made destitute.

Johannesburg police said 200 people had been arrested on charges ranging from rape to robbery and other acts of violence. Police had to use tear gas and volleys of rubber bullets to disperse the rioters.

Political leaders, including the former president Nelson Mandela, have condemned the violence.

"The communities should act together with the police and together we should say this is very, very wrong," said President Thabo Mbeki. "It is unacceptable that there should be this kind of violence."

The president has set up a panel of experts to investigate the violence.

His likely successor Jacob Zuma, the head of the African National Congress, warned his compatriots against hatred of foreigners. "We cannot allow South Africa to be famous for xenophobia," he said.

The attacks have dented South Africa's image as a "rainbow nation" that is welcoming towards immigrants and asylum seekers from other African countries.

More than 3 million Zimbabweans have fled violence at home to settle in South Africa alongside many Mozambicans and Malawians. They are often accused of accentuating unemployment, a housing shortage and high crime rates.

South Africa has one of the worst rates of murder in the world, with an average 50 killings a day.

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On May 6th, 2008 Lawrence Webb became the first openly gay black man to take public office in the commonwealth state of Virginia.

Virginia has long been a state that has voted and prided itself on being conservative. This is a complete and pleasant surprise to all of us in the Black LGBT community. On July 1, Webb will be sworn into one of the three of the Falls Church Councilmember seats. Webb came in third place after Nader Baroukh and incumbent Robin Gardner. Webb beat out the next candidate by 39 votes. In the past Webb has always been apart of the political arena. He became the first black student elected to serve as president of student government at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va.

Webb's love of Virginia --  and love of his partner, Clifton Taylor -- may be complicated by Virginia voters approving in 2006 arguably the most restrictive constitutional amendment of any state in the union, barring any and all recognition of same-sex couples, but not to the point that he would consider leaving, he says. After all, if he can win a local election as an openly gay man, he may be one of the keys to the state's progress.

''There are things that have made me think about moving to other states,'' Webb says. ''I've thought about it. But when all is said and done, I still love where I live. I still love Virginia.'' Webb adds that while his sexual orientation did not seem to be an issue with Falls Church voters, he's emphatic that race never was.

Instead, he thinks voters appreciated his endorsement by the nonpartisan Citizens for a Better City (CBC) group, as he plans to concentrate on measured, thoughtful development for the city. Webb also had a lot of support from some of our own LGBT organizations. The D.C.-based Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, with a mission to back qualified GLBT candidates for public office. The Democrat will also be also working as an assistant dean of administration at the University of Mary Washington.

Webb gives Metro Weekly this statement

"My agenda is to make sure that as we move forward with development, we're careful, making sure we bring the right sort of development. We're primed for the small, eclectic businesses, not necessarily the big-box stores. Boutique-type stores are more of a direction we could go in. Maybe bringing in some of the bigger retail -- but being very selective."

If elected president Barack Obama says that he will not necessitate that his Joint Chiefs of Staff appointees support allowing gays to serve openly in the military.

The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy" was instituted during former President Bill Clinton's administration. Hillary Rodham Clinton's husband.

A Wikipedia article about Maj. Alan Rogers, a gay soldier who was killed in January 2008 in Iraq, was apparently edited by someone in the Pentagon, who removed any mention that Rogers was gay. Maj. Alan Rogers was out in his private life but not out in the Army. Source: Blade

Obama adds that his priority for the Joint Chiefs will be that they make decisions to strengthen the military and keep the country safe, not their position on the policy.

Obama gave this statement in an interview with the LGBT magazine, The Advocate, "I would never make this a litmus test for the Joint Chiefs of Staff."

"But I think there's increasing recognition within the Armed Forces that this is a counterproductive strategy," he said. "We're spending large sums of money to kick highly qualified gays or lesbians out of our military, some of whom possess specialties like Arab-language capabilities that we desperately need. That doesn't make us more safe."

Obama has been hit hard by a lot of gay groups for not being supportive enough. He was not surprisingly criticized by the Philadelphia for giving an interview. The Philadelphia gay magazine ran a large blank space on its front page next to an interview with Hillary Rodham Clinton to highlight that he did not talk to the publication.

"The gay press may feel like I'm not giving them enough love, but basically all press feels that way at all times," Obama told The Advocate. Obama has frequently spoken out against homophobia and in support of gay rights. He also points out the he believes in federal benefits for same sex couples.

By Edith M. Lederer

More than a thousand prominent African-American leaders, executives, entertainers and activists will head to Tanzania for a summit with their African counterparts to help raise living standards on the world's poorest continent.

Sullivan Summit VIII

Organizers said Monday that U.S. participants in next month's summit will include executives from the Coca-Cola Co., General Electric, Chevron Corp. and Procter and Gamble. Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, comedian Chris Tucker and professional basketball player Kelenna Azubuike also plan to attend.

"This is kind of a poor man's African Davos," said summit co-chairman Andrew Young, referring to the annual economic forum in the Swiss mountain resort. "It's a potpourri of ideas and projects and our efforts to respond to the needs of Africa."

Young, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and mayor of Atlanta, said the meeting will focus on topics ranging from climate change and energy needs to jobs for young people, improving health care and coping with rising food prices.

The June 2-6 gathering in Arusha, Tanzania will give American businesses "a good sounding board as to what ideas and what products, and frankly what countries, are most susceptible and ready for investment" in Africa, he added.

There are 4.5 million African-Americans whose ancestors came to the United States during the slave trade and more than 5 million Africans who have come to the U.S. since 1970 as students or political refugees, Young said in a recent interview.

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The mayor of District Heights, Md., pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges of soliciting a male prostitute.

Mayor James L. Walls

On April 24th, the mayor of District Heights, Maryland was arrested for allegedly propositioning an undercover officer posing as a male prostitute

James L. Walls Jr., 30, was arrested at 12:30 a.m. at Sixth and F streets NW and charged with solicitation for lewd and immoral purposes, according to police.

Walls is an ordained Baptist minister, according to the District Heights Web site. He is the former assistant pastor of Greater Light Missionary Baptist Church and is the associate pastor of Forestville New Redeemer Baptist Church.

Walls was elected mayor in May 2006, the youngest person to ever serve as the city's mayor, according to the site. His term runs until 2010.

He is a graduate of Bowie State University and works for the Town of Fairmount Heights as the town administrator, according to the District Heights Web site. Walls will remain out on bond. He is set to appear in court again on June 19.

By Mark Henderson

The fight against the AIDS epidemic in Africa is founded on ineffective strategies and should focus on male circumcision and reducing promiscuity, according to leading scientists in the field.

HIV containment is generally based on the “three pillars” - promotion and provision of condoms, HIV status testing and treatment of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that can increase the risk of becoming infected. There is little evidence, however, that any of these methods works well in sub-Saharan Africa, where two thirds of the 33.2 million people who carry the virus live, a review for the journal Science has found. It was published in a special issue to mark the 25th anniversary of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes Aids.

Its authors said that only two approaches - male circumcision and campaigns to persuade people to take fewer sexual partners - have been shown to reduce HIV transmission significantly in the world's worst affected region.

International resources need to focus on these unfashionable policies, which receive minimal funding, to make them the cornerstones of HIV prevention, the scientists from Harvard School of Public Health and the University of California, Berkeley, said.

“Despite relatively large investments in Aids prevention efforts for some years, including sizeable spending in some of the most heavily affected countries (such as South Africa and Botswana), it's clear that we need to do a better job of reducing the rate of new HIV infections,” said Daniel Halperin, of Harvard, who led the research team.

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When police discovered the body of Damian Oldfield, 33, they also have said to have found part of his right leg.

The leg had been carved up and the flesh sliced and cooked in a kitchen counter space. "It appears it was being prepared for cooking." Said a Police source

Anthony Morley: left (suspect), Damian Oldfield: right (victim)

They are now considering the possibility that some of the flesh was also eaten by the suspect Police believe that Oldfield, was stabbed to death before the leg was removed from his body. A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: "On arrival officers discovered the body of a 33 year old man and a 35-year-old man has been charged with murder." The force would not confirm any other information about the killing.

Anthony Morley, 35, who won the Mr. Gay UK competition in 1993 at the age of 20, appeared in court earlier this week charged with Oldfield's murder. He has been remanded in custody. He is due to appear before the courts in Leeds again.

Morley and Oldfield were thought to be friends but not lovers.

After being crowned the winner of the beauty pageant at a Blackpool nightclub in 1993, Morley enjoyed a brief spell as a minor celebrity on the gay scene, making a guest appearance at the London Pride festival and opening a holiday complex for gays in Gran Canaria.

By Entertainment Correspondent, John Frazier

You may recall published through GBMNews.com on 4.8.08, we informed you of the drama concerning the Rapper Diva, Remy Ma, she was in court following, per Remy, the accidental shooting of her former home girl, in the stomach.

Ms. Ma was missing some big bucks and accused Ms. Makeda Barnes of going into her pocket book and stealing. Well Ms. Barnes was shoot and Ms. Ma was sentenced for weapon possession, attempted coercion and for assault. She could have gotten up to 25 years, however was sentenced to only 8 years, I'm pretty sure with good behavior she will be out sooner than that.

Remy's attorney's plan to appeal. Whenever Ms. Ma is released, I'm sure this will enable her to write of this experience and add to her street credit.

Tune in tomorrow.

You read it first at GBMNews.com

SAN FRANCISCO - Like other gay men in their golden years, Jack Norris and Seymour Sirota had heard the horror stories.

An elderly lesbian couple is housed on separate floors of a nursing home and kept from seeing each other. A gay retired college professor feels compelled to keep his sexual orientation a secret after his roommate at an assisted living facility asks to be transferred.

“I thought, ‘We are not going to be in that situation,”’ the 67-year-old Norris says crisply. “This is not going to happen to us in our final days.”

That’s how the two New Yorkers, partners for 14 years, landed at Rainbow Vision, a just-completed senior community in Santa Fe, N.M. From the private dining room named after Truman Capote to the cabaret where '60s teen icon Lesley “It’s My Party” Gore was scheduled to appear this weekend, everything about the 146-unit retirement village was designed with the comfort of graying gays and lesbians in mind.

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By Clem Richardson

Many aging baby boomers are about to find out some of what gay people have been dealing with for the past few decades.

Aging is too often about isolation; families and friends die, often taking a person's social networks with them.

John Genke, Ty Martin and Emily Vargas, social worker, Harlem program manager and social worker, respectively, for SAGE, Services & Advocacy for Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian and Transgender Elders, said isolation is something gay New Yorkers have been dealing with for years, stoked by twin scourges of homophobia and the AIDS epidemic.

"We started mourning the loss of peers 30 years ago," said Martin, 60. "Now other people outside of the community are starting to bury their parents and deal with that aspect of life."

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Black gays, lesbians work to overcome rejection

By Jeff Kunerth

At an early age, Jay-Michael Jarrod knew that he was gay and that because he was also black his life would be an odyssey of rejection.

He would be rejected by his family, his church, his community. And when he turned to Orlando's gay community, he found a lack of acceptance there as well.

For blacks, that support is largely missing.

"There is so much you have to leave behind. You leave behind your family, your home, your church, the people you grew up with," said Kathy Beasley, a 42-year-old black lesbian. "You are cast out, and there isn't a receiving community."

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In the roll up to potentially electing the first African American President, it is import to review how we got there. Holding high office in the United States government has been illusive for African Americans. In all of U.S. history there have only been 5 black Senators and never more than one in the Senate at a given time.

 

Hiram Revels

Hiram Revels of Mississippi became the first African American senator in 1870.  Born in North Carolina in 1827, Revels attended Knox College in Illinois and later served as minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland.  He raised two black regiments during the Civil War and fought at the battle of Vicksburg in Mississippi.  The Mississippi state legislature sent him to the U.S. Senate during Reconstruction where he became an outspoken opponent of racial segregation.  Although Revels served in the Senate for just a year, he broke new ground for African Americans in Congress.  (Photo: Library of Congress)

Blanche K. Bruce

Born into slavery in 1841, Blanche K. Bruce spent his childhood years in Virginia where he received his earliest education from the tutor hired to teach his master's son.  At the dawn of the Civil War, Bruce escaped slavery and traveled north to  begin a distinguished career in education and politics. Elected to the Senate in 1874 by the Mississippi state legislature, he served from 1875 to 1881. In 2002, the Senate commissioned a new portrait of Bruce, now on display in the U.S. Capitol.  (Photo: Library of Congress)

 

Edward Brooke

The first African American elected to the Senate by popular vote, Edward Brooke of Massachusetts served two full terms, from 1967 to 1979. Born in Washington, D.C. in 1919, Brooke graduated from Howard University before serving in the United States Army during World War II.  After the war, he received a law degree from Boston University. During his Senate career he championed the causes of low-income housing and an increased minimum wage, and promoted commuter rail and mass transit systems. He also worked tirelessly to promote racial equality in the South.  (Photo: Senate Historical Office)

 

Carol Moseley Braun

Some called 1992 the "Year of the Woman." More women than ever before were elected to political office in November of that year, and five of them came to the U.S. Senate.  Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois not only joined that class on January 3, 1993, but also became the first African American woman ever to serve as U.S. Senator.  During her Senate career, Moseley Braun sponsored progressive education bills and campaigned for gun control. Moseley Braun left the Senate in January of 1999, and soon after became the U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand, a position she held until 2001. Moseley Braun ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2004. (Photo: Senate Historical Office)

 

Barack Obama

Barack Obama (D-IL)

Barack Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4th, 1961. He received his earliest education in Hawaii and Indonesia, and then graduated from Columbia University in 1983. He moved to Chicago in 1985 to work for a church-based group seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods. In 1991, Obama graduated from Harvard Law School where he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. He served in the Illinois state senate from 1997 to 2004. Elected to the United States Senate in November of 2004, he took the oath of office and became the fifth African American to serve in the Senate on January 3, 2005.

 

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New book shows irony how the Nation's capital was built by slaves

By Neil Foote

The nation is riddled in debt. Elected officials are split among party lines, blaming each other for the inefficiencies of government. Racial politics are at the heart of the on-going debate about the future of the country. The public is disillusioned by the ‘back room' politics driving decision-making.

Sound familiar? That was 1790. Just 14 years after the Revolutionary War, this ‘great' nation was struggling with many of the same issues it is now. In his newly published book, "Washington, The Making of the American Capital" (Amistad/HarperCollins Publishers Imprint, 27.95, 384 pp) author Fergus M. Bordewich offers an insightful, thorough and ironic picture of America.

As the nation chooses what is likely to be its first African-American Democratic presidential nominee and potential president, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) would be making history in many ways. He would move full-time into a city that once was a bustling city for slave trade, and live in a house built by slaves.

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Founded in 1856, Wilberforce University can trace its origin to a period of history before the Civil War, when the Ohio Underground Railroad was established as a means of escape for all those blacks who sought their freedom in the North from the yoke of slavery, one of the destination points of this railroad became Wilberforce University. As the Underground Railroad provided a route from physical bondage, the University was formed to provide an intellectual Mecca and refuge from slavery's first rule: ignorance.

Wilberforce University, the nation's oldest private, historically black university, was named to honor the great 18th century abolitionist, William Wilberforce. Early in 1856, the Methodist Episcopal Church purchased property for the new institution at Tawawa Springs, near Xenia, Ohio. The school met with early success until the Civil War when enrollment and financial support dwindled. 

The original Wilberforce closed its doors in 1862. In March of the following year, Bishop Daniel A. Payne of the African Methodist Episcopal Church negotiated to purchase the University's facilities. Payne, a member of the original 1856 corporation, secured the cooperation of John G. Mitchell, principal of the Eastern District Public School of Cincinnati, Ohio and James A. Shorter, pastor of the A.M.E. Church of Zanesville, Ohio. The property was soon turned over to them as agents of the church.

The University was newly incorporated on July 10, 1863. In 1887 the State of Ohio began to fund the University by establishing a combined normal and industrial department. This department later became the University's sister institution, Central State University. Wilberforce also spawned another institution, Payne Theological Seminary. It was founded in 1891 as an outgrowth of the Theological Department at Wilberforce University.

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By Entertainment Correspondent, John Frazier

When I was asked if I would interview, Ms. Alyson Williams, of "Just Call My Name" fame, I replied, "Would I?" "But of course, I would." I remember the song like it was yesterday, her singing lead with male background vocals and it seemed that I heard this song in every household I went to, gay and straight. Her unique voice sounded like no one else.

She was an original, standing out in the vocal department, yet there was something about her that said, "Diva." Perhaps it was in the way that she was dressed, or the sophisticate hat that framed her head. Or was it the way she looked into your eyes, as if she knew what you were thinking and feeling.

When the interview was over, it became my job to edit the conversation that we had, that lasted a little over one hour. Sometimes in editing you remove the personality, of which, I did not want to do. Ms. Williams is a wonderful story teller. She shared with me some of her life experiences. We touched on a little bit of everything.

The true divas are able to continue to shine, even without a top 10 hit. If you've never heard of Alyson Williams, trust me, you are in for a treat, as Ms. Williams doesn't just sing, she becomes the song.

I telephoned Ms. Williams at our scheduled time, which was 12:00 noon. She was dog sitting for a friend and asked if I could call her back in about 10 minutes, as she had to dry the dog, they had returned from his walk. At 12:10, I called, and she was ready for her close-up. I found her to be honest, and thoughtful before answering a question.

I found her to be grateful for her success and for her life's journey thus far. I have a feeling that now that she's a little bit more seasoned and has lived, that the best is yet to come for her.

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By Entertainment Correspondent, John Frazier

What do you get when you mix the Philadelphia, PA sound with the Atlanta, GA sound?

Times up! You get a totally new sound, a combination, a creation that equals something fresh, off the hook and chain, yes the birth of Phylle (pronounced Philly).

 

Yes, girls that one is for you. Sorry guys, the brother is totally straight, so all you can do you look, dream but don't touch. His CD has a little bit of everything, music to dance, rap, sing and make love to. He respects the ladies, you wont hear him calling our sistah's bitches and hoes. Get ready world, Phylle is coming for you.

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By Cheryl V. Jackson

Chicago-based Playboy Enterprises Inc. is getting into the gay market, providing guy-on-guy erotic movies for on-demand cable broadcast stations in the U.S. The initiative, under the corporation's spicier Spice banner, will launch next month in a limited number of geographical areas, the company said Thursday.

Spice currently primarily distributes video movies featuring guy and girl sex content and some girl-on-girl content.

Spice has offered gay titles in the U.K. for about two years.

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By Moses Serugo

Uganda - Film buffs at the just-concluded Fifth Amakula Kampala International Film Festival must have wondered why the film showcase did not start on time last Thursday.

Most had come early to the National Theatre to watch Ugandan filmmaker George Sengendo's works Adopted Twins and Dangerous Decisions scheduled to show in the morning.

Unbeknownst to them, Pastor Martin Sempa had thrown a spanner in the festival works and had petitioned the Broadcast Council about the impending screening of a gay-themed movie The Watermelon Woman at 10.15p.m. that day in the Green Room. The Broadcast Council forwarded the complaint to the Media Council who summoned the festival organisers and asked that they preview the controversial film first.

The Watermelon Woman is a loosely constructed faux documentary about black lesbian filmmaker's obsession with obscure silent film star. Reel.com says it's the kind of film that would be much appreciated by those seeking mix of tongue-in-cheek humour with thought-provoking exploration of gender, race and identity.

The Media Council then decided that the film contained a lewd lesbian act that was not palatable for public consumption and its secretary Mr Paul Mukasa requested that they suspend the film but that the festival could go on.

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Cape Town - IMAGINE this! One minute two men are caught up in a heated argument about homosexuality, and the next they are locked in a passionate kiss.

This was the scene on the prime-time e.tv soapie Rhythm City last week that got TV viewers talking.

The protagonists were Stone (played by Zenzo Ngqobe) and Thula (Wright Ngubeni). Thula’s unemployed mother is bedridden by HIV/Aids, and to make ends meet he is selling his body to a married man. Not even his best childhood pal, Charlotte (Stone’s girlfriend) played by Nosipho Nkelemba, knows about the big secret. When Stone confronts Thula about the prostitution, there is an exchange of words and Stone suddenly kisses his friend, Thula. Both are left staring at each other in shock.

BIG MOMENT: Nozipho Nkelemba as Charlotte, Zenzo Ngqobe (middle) as Stone and Wright Ngubeni (right) as Thula, before their kiss in Rhythm City.

HEATED: Stone and Thula exchange words in SABC 1’s Rhythm City.  Their kiss on the screen has evoked widespread reaction.

The kiss did not last longer than five seconds, but is as big a talking point as After Nine – a locally produced short film on black gay men, screened on SABC1 last year. In an interview this week, Ngqobe was not fazed by the attention the scene was receiving. “I’ve been getting different opinions from people I meet in the street.

 

“Some think it was too graphic and shocking for a show that airs at 6.30pm,” he said.

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By Dominic Cavendish

Chris Rock is as dumbfounded as anyone by the phenomenal success that has come his way in the UK these past six months. On stage, when doing his stand-up, he's never at a loss for words but, when he's asked to reflect on how he got so popular here, so quickly, his slick, super-smart outpourings dwindle to a trickle of ums, ahs and who-knows.

The initial plan for Rock's debut shows in England were tentative - and you can see why.

Aside from a handful of Hollywood credits, he wasn't really a name here, let alone a face; he was best-known as a voice. You can hear him on Five narrating Everybody Hates Chris - the sweetly surreal sitcom that revisits his teenage days as a Brooklyn misfit in an all-white school.

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By Entertainment Correspondent, John Frazier

Being born and raised in NYC, I've always loved the beautiful Sue Simmons, the WNBC-TV's, Black American News Anchor. Ms. Simmons has always kept it real.

I can even recall once when the channel 4 re-did the name line up, and Ms. Simmons said, "Hell no!", as she didn't like the order and the power's that be had to re-do whatever it was to make it correct.

Now Ms. Simmons reacted on Tuesday, May 13, 2008, a little after 11:00 pm, when the wrong footage was aired, not realizing or forgetting that she was on live-TV, said, "What the f*ck are you doing?!" My understanding is that there was a momentarily blank screen immediately after Sue lost it. I can only imagine that the "boys upstairs turned beet red", by this outburst.

According to the New York Post, which for the most part, I've found are not "color friendly", claims that "Sue Simmons likes the sauce and she can be cranky about it," a former WNBC employee told the Post. "She was sometimes a little tipsy (on the air) to the point where colleagues would take notice." The Post also claims that Sue is famous for her liquid dinners between broadcast, potty mouth and zany behavior," another former co-worker, again, told the Post. Makes you wonder, the quotes are from former co-workers, how true is this or did the Post make it up?

Sue apologized for using the four letter word, that many may find offensive. Now I'm not sure if that kind of apology is heart felt. The Veteran anchor was quoted as saying, that she's "truly sorry" But you must admit that this sister is indeed a diva. I can only imagine what "Saturday Night Live" is going to do with this.

If you are interested in viewing the footage, just go to YouTube.

But don't tell Sue that I sent you, she might curse me out.

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