Obama, should remember only too well the Roman observation: how fickle the populace of Rome - who briefly rejoiced in the victories of Pompeii and before the last sound of praise could be heard in his honor, turned against and reviled him. If he cannot deliver on the promises, like every politician before him, he has made, he would be hounded out of office in infamy. He is a lawyer and like all of his profession, he has over the last several weeks, since the elections, when the campaigning was over and he became starkly aware that his rhetoric had now to become practical, began to cover himself with a disclaimer. 

Not wanting to seem as though he has stepped away from his promises of change, he has begun to temper the expectations he created in the people of what he would do. In the later days of the interregnum, he has changed his tune, repeatedly he has cautioned that in the first 100 days of his administration, he may not be able to meet all the expectations people have of him, not that he has created in a people thirsty and desperate for a new American direction, and more importantly, being able to fulfill the promises he made to win; admitting to the possibility of making mistakes and missteps.  His electoral victory was a demonstration of who could fool all of the people better; everyone saw through Sen. John McCain's weak political strategies and rejected his posturing as a continuation of a Republican party steeped in the corrupt machinery born and developed since the Regan presidential era.

By Antoine Craigwell

Commemorating the National AIDS Awareness Day, February 7, and reiterating the 2008 statistics of the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), the National Black AIDS Institute today issued its annual report of the State of AIDS in Black America.

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According to the Institute's report, the premier national Black AIDS service organization, the number of Black Americans, who constitute 13 percent of the U.S. population, but 45 percent of all who are HIV positive and living with AIDS, is greater than the populations of Ethiopia, Botswana, Haiti and Guyana combined.



But, the report says, drawing on a new president and legislature amenable to, and a Black America more willing to engage in discussion about HIV and AIDS issues, "could create real, lasting change in the course of the U.S. AIDS epidemic."

Announced in a press release from the Institute's Los Angeles, CA office, by Phill Wilson, the Institute's CEO, the report Making Change Real: The State of AIDS in Black America 2009, was co-written by Kai Wright and Myisha Patterson-Gatson. The report draws not only on the statistics of the CDC, but on the testimonies of epidemiological professionals, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the National Institutes of Health; and Dr. Kevin Fenton, director, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention with the CDC; as well as individual people from different parts of the country to highlight the nationwide impact and effect of the virus.

Phil Wilson

"With our country facing so many challenges-two wars, a financial meltdown and the growing threat of environmental devastation-it may be tempting to relegate the AIDS epidemic to the back burner of national priorities. That would be a grave mistake," says Wilson.

Using charts and graphs to demonstrate the stark racial disparities, the 76-page report addresses among other issues the amount of money committed, and spent on HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment in Black communities as well as highlights the sharply increased number of Black women and young men between 13 and 29-years-old who are infected with the virus. It also calls for the establishment of National AIDS Strategy to effectively address the epidemic of HIV and AIDS in Black communities.

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(New York, NY) - The National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS (NBLCA) hosted its inaugural commemoration at City Hall on Thursday, Feb 5, as a precursor to the nationwide celebrations of Feb 7, National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

Rev. Alfonso Wyatt

Close to 200 people gathered in City Hall's Council Chambers for a program on the State of HIV/AIDS in Black America which was presented by NBLCA, and which included State Senator Bill Perkins (D-30th Senate District), Council Members Inez Dickens (D-Council District 9), Robert Jackson (D-Council District 7), and Alan Gerson (D-Council District 1).

The program's master of ceremonies was Rev. Alfonso Wyatt, chair, NBLCA-NYC, who introduced Dickens and Jackson, each of whom made remarks. As the co-chair of the Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus, Jackson, drawing a comparison to the tuberculosis test he had as a child, he said that everyone needs to know their HIV status. Continuing along the vein of personal commitment to his community, he said since he has been making blood donations annually, now he gives platelets and is a registered organ and bone marrow donor. As the Majority Whip in the City Council, Dickens spoke of the representation of change with a new president, but said that despite the complications, HIV must be a priority.

C. Virginia Fields

To set the stage for the keynote address, there was a showing of an excerpt from the ABC News documentary, Out of Control - AIDS in Black America which was aired on Aug 24, 2006.
C. Virginia Fields presented the key note address. After acknowledging and recognizing various people in the audience, including the NBCLA staff, she said that almost three years and three decades later Black people nationwide are still facing some of the same issues; the HIV crisis is far from over. She quoted statistics from the U.S. Center for Diseases Control and from the National Medical Association (NMA) report, Addressing the HIV/AIDS Crisis in the African American Community: Fact, Fiction and Policy.

Drawing comparisons between the numbers of Blacks in America who are HIV positive, Fields said that it was greater than the populations of Ethiopia, Botswana, Haiti and Guyana, combined.

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(This is the first in a series of reflections on what an Obama presidency means.)

As the celebrations from the night, when it was announced that Sen. Barack Obama, by majority of the electoral college and later confirmed by pronouncement by the combined houses of the legislature, had won the elections and was named President-elect, had given way to the stark reality of daylight, in Washington Heights trees lining the streets were festooned with toilet paper hanging from branches as if it was the morning after a festival, presenting a surreal image as if New Years had arrived early on November 5th.


 

(New York, NY) Sitting opposite me in a subway car as the A train rolled through a tunnel in Brooklyn was a light skinned Black young man, seemingly between 17 or 19-year-old, dressed in New York's black uniform: black sweater, black jacket, and black cargo pants, with black boots. 

By Sr. Correspondent, Antoine Craigwell

With the significant rise in HIV infections in Black women and troubled by the number of supposedly "straight" men seeking his attention and favors, a writer has published a book intending to provide women with the tools to recognize when their men are having sex or "creeping" with other men, and advises women how to protect themselves from confusion, hurt, and disease.

  

The dross continues to rise to the top in the Wall Street meltdown with the exposure of Marc Drier's and Bernard Madoff's combined $50.113 billion scams; the latter's ignominy eclipsed the former, in a swindling one-up-man-ship, out scamming the other.


 

By Sr. Correspondent, Antoine Craigwell

(New York, NY) Across the city last week, two events seemed to go unnoticed: a discussion among African-Americans on California's Proposition 8 with a viewing of Debra Wilson's film Jumpin the Broom, and an informational discussion of three bills coming up before the state's Assembly and Senate in the 2009 legislative session.


 

(New York, NY) On an alter was a kinara with seven candles, three green, three red and one solitary black in the middle; an African statuette and a varied collection of fruits. Close to 300 people gathered for the 21st Annual Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Kwanza celebration, which was held on Dec 27, in the Michael Lerner room at the LGBT Community Center. The celebration was the culmination of a day of activities which included an African market, a cultural program and a Karamu or community feast.


 

"Black Men Honoring Black Women"





By Antoine Craigwell

(New York, NY) "The woods are lovely, dark and deep/But I have promises to keep/And miles to go before I sleep," Robert Frost (1874-1963) from Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening - echo poetically the state of HIV and AIDS globally. Coming out of the darkness and depth of ignorance, poverty, stigma, insufficient funding, discrimination, and death from AIDS that promises were made by leaders of communities and nations worldwide to work toward the eradication of HIV/AIDS.

At a World AIDS Day commemoration held at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the National Black AIDS Institute, 8th Anniversary "Heroes In The Struggle" (HITS), presented a photographic tribute of African Americans who have made outstanding contributions in the fight against HIV/AIDS.


 

(New York, NY) While debates and protests intensify over California's Proposition 8, and the marriage and constitutional amendments nationwide, there is a project in New York City addressing the issue of homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth.


 

By Antoine Craigwell

(New York, NY) When the Chelsea-based Rush Arts Gallery (RAG) hosted the Lorenzo Jackson Foundation (LJF) first annual awards gala on Wednesday, November 19, to honor leaders in the community and to present college scholarships to HIV-positive high school students, it seemed as if it had begun the Dec 1, World AIDS Day celebrations two weeks early.


 

(New York, NY) - When close to 100 African-American men and women gathered at the New York's Lesbian and Gay Community Center on Wednesday, October 29 for a social networking and panel discussion on "The Future of Black Gay New York City," it was the result of a successful email and word-of-mouth advertising.

The organizers of the networking mixer and panel discussion, Randall Isaacs, principal and founder, Festa Events by Chelsey, an event planning company; Cornelius Jones, Jr., CorneliusJonesJr.com, star of an autobiographical one-man performance "Flag Boy" and formerly of the Broadway production of The Lion King; and Nathan "Seven" Scott, promoter and life coach, Ngenius Empire TV.

 

By Antoine Craigwell

(New York, NY) - After sipping on red and white wine, sampling from cheese platters, introducing themselves to each other and exchanging business cards, close to 100 Black gay men and women gathered on Wednesday, October 29 at New York City's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center (LGBT), for a panel discussion on the "Future of Black Gay New York City."

 

New York, NY - Originality, ingenuity, creativeness, inspiration from life, versatility and difference, and longevity as artists better describe the works of over 300 artists and 40 galleries represented at the 5th Annual Art Off The Main exhibition held from October 2 to 5 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea.

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For four of the five years Art Off The Main exhibition was held at the Puck Building, but this year, due to renovations, the exhibition was relocated to the artsy Chelsea exhibition gallery on West 19th Street.

"The exhibitors, as studios, collectives and individual artists brought their work to show that they can be taken just as seriously as and be placed alongside other mainstream artists. Like in all events, a person will find work that is exceptional and others as average. One of the things we endeavor to maintain in the show is in the quality of the work which we select by looking at the artists we invite to participate,"

says Crawford who is also the curator and owner of Savacou Gallery. Featured artists at the exhibition included Michael Escoffrey, the Caribbean Cultural Center, bronze sculptures "They Are Waiting" by Nnamdi Okonkwo Studios, Dick Griffin Studios, En Foco, Inc., Diaspora Now/Caribbean Arts, Arte Inversion Galleria of Puerto Rico, and the International Cultural Exchange.

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Channeled by the confines of police crowd control barricades, a line of people extended from the front of the Roseland Ballroom on West 52nd Street on Saturday, August 23. Snaking around the corner to Broadway those in line waited patiently for security clearance to enter the Ballroom for Gay Men's Health Crisis' (GMHC) 18th Annual Latex Ball.


 

New York: The New York think tank, the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID) has condemned as Police abuse, the July 17th arrest of Guyanese-American Richard Fraser and his friend, Trinidadian-American, Jeremy Phillips, by NYPD narcotics officers attached to the Brooklyn South Task Force. The Institute said the two were unjustly and unlawfully arrested.

On July 17th, 2008 Fraser and Phillips, while awaiting the bus at the intersection of Avenue N and Utica Avenue in Brooklyn, witnessed several plain clothe Police officers rush into a store, tackled a young black male to the floor and then dragged him from the store on to the roadway. Fraser, upon seeing the young man being maltreated, turned on his phone camera and began to record the incident.

When the officers realized that they were being recorded, one went over to Fraser and demanded that he prove that he is a United States citizen, telling him that he was obstructing a Police investigation and that he would be arrested for obstructing a government agent, if he did not give up the video recording. Fraser refused and was arrested. During this arrest he allegedly sustained injuries. A videotape of an aspect of this incident can be viewed...

As the officers attempted to effect Fraser's arrest, he threw his cell phone to Phillips for safe keeping. However,once the officers had handcuffed and placed Fraser into a Police van, they then turned their attention to Phillips. They demanded that he also produce identification to prove that he is a United States citizen and that he hand over Fraser's phone to them. Phillips produced his New York State "drivers" license but refused to surrender the phone. He too was then arrested and placed in handcuffs. Fraser's phone was also forcibly confiscated. Once the officers seized Fraser's phone from Phillips, he was releasedon the scene.

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(New York, NY) - As if dedicating July to the celebration of America's independence, the solo play, Flag Boy, set to play with a first show on July 14, at 6:30 p.m., for three shows, is also a celebration of the liberation and establishment of the French Republic on Bastille Day.

Directed by Josh Ian, Flag Boy will open at the Eagle Theater, located on 347 West 36th Street, ground floor, New York, NY. It is part of the Midtown International Art Festival. After the opening, a second show will be held on Sunday, July 27, at 12:45 p.m., and the third show on Friday, August 1 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $18.00.

The show is exactly one hour, without an intermission. Jones will also be doing a benefit performance on July 27 for the 3Lions Stage Theater Company, and a single performance on September 18, at 8 p.m. at the Christina Cultural Arts Center in Wilmington, Delaware.

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(New York, NY) - Former Broadway actor, Cornelius Jones, Jr., who after six years with the Lion King, is making a comeback with his solo-autobiographical play, Flag Boy.

For Jones, the play is an affirmation of his identity as a Black gay man. It is two stories: a young boy's journey toward acceptance of himself and his sexuality, and about a flag - a gay flag, a country's flag and the symbolism that goes with flags - the sense of identity and pride.

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As the night deepened, getting closer to 11:30pm, a group of people marched brazenly into and headed toward the back of Gemini's Lounge on Liberty Avenue in the Richmond Hill section of Queens, NY and proceeded to enjoy the pulsating mix of calypso, reggae and Indian chutney music. The crowd at Gemini, a mix of straight, bi-curious and gay and lesbian men and women, is mostly of East Indian descent from Guyana, the only English-speaking country on the northeast coast of South America.

In a black dress and dancing with her friends was Vermal Persaud, an incomplete transsexual of Indian descent originally from Guyana.

Vermal, as she prefers to be called, had come from a one-time performance of the play, Tara's Crossing, at the Richmond Hill High School on Saturday, May 17 and which told the story of her experience as a young boy struggling with his sexual identity, persecution in the countryside and in Georgetown, Guyana's capital, to asylum seeking and detention in the U.S, in Miami and Elizabeth, New Jersey. Along with some of her closest friends, the play's cast, and with the play's writer, director and producer, Vermal twirled and danced to the music blaring from two large speakers.

"Although the play does tell my story, it only tells of my experiences when I arrived in the U.S. and not of my complete experience back in Guyana," said Vermal shimmying and gyrating to the music as if she was casting off the memories of the pain she had endured.

As she explained, the name "Tara's Crossing" was taken from the Hindi word for star, which she attributes to her experience and likening to a star crossing in the night sky.

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