Having dependable cornerstones in my life was helpful, and I shared information with them that I didn't even tell my own mother. I have seen the good and bad times in life. One upon of time I was criticized as being one of the most intellectual people that didn't have any motivation or discipline, and currently people are praising my success in college. My growth as a young African American male is because of these men.

There presence in my life shows how a father figure can make a difference in life. These men have been known as my father, and I have thankful for there involvement in my life. They have seen me play sports, struggle with grades, received my high school diploma, struggle with the temptations of selling drugs, succeed as a student leadership, and once again these men will be sitting in the crowd when I graduate with my Bachelor's of Arts Degree in English next year.

Even though, I am a grown man there are times, I still need guidance in my life because I am human and make mistakes in life. My suffrage fathers are usually only a phone call away. There are many community fathers that are living within many different communities across the United States. These are teachers, administrators, mentors, coaches, etc. that have taken the time out to give much needed advice to young men, so they are able be successful in life. In appreciation of these men, I want to wish them a well deserved Happy Father's Day.

Suddenly, my world became dismantled at the age of thirteen, and I no longer had the stability of a father in my life. My father died from colon cancer just a week after being diagnosed. The sad thing about my father's death is he knew he didn't have long to live. My father came home after being diagnosed for a few days, and he went to Hospice a few days later. Although, he went to Hospice to try to recover, my father ended up dying the next day after he was admitted.

So now, as I approach my fifth decade of life, I ask myself, "what happened?" And the only answer I can give is, "Life." But that's a cop-out and never let it be said that I am one to run away from the truth. The real deal for this writer is that being a Black man seems to have become so much more difficult, so much more of a monumental feat -- especially if you have somehow avoided the common pitfalls that await us -- prison, drug addiction, HIV/AIDS, unemployment ... the list goes on.

Then, to add to the complexity of this challenging road, I am an out SGL man. In other words, I love other men. More specifically, at this moment, I love ONE man. And he, like me, is a father. The question is how do you reconcile the quest to be the perfect father with the need to be the perfect lover? How do you spend time with the children and then spend time with your "man?" And why is it so difficult to blend both worlds?

When I asked her, what would happen to without strong leadership from strong Black Gay Leadership from Robinson? Huffman replies, "I rely on him heavily…".

"…it would be catastrophic"

Within the last few weeks Ms. Oprah has featured about three shows on domestic abuse. On the episode with Ms. Givens, are former domestic abuse men, husbands and boyfriends who are suppose to give an insight on why such animals beat up on women. What I find interesting is that this show (as the others) talk about the abuse towards women. But what about the men who are abused by women, wives, girlfriends even mothers. A man can not call the police and charge that he's getting his ass kicked by his wife or girlfriend. It would become a laughing matter.

It would only be fair to focus on the forgotten victims, men who are abused by the opposite sex. And what about the gay men and women who are involved in domestic abuse relationships. Where's the voice of that forgotten helpless person or group of people? It appears that our society has a hard time realizing some men are abused by their partners. This is also a problem within the gay community. Many gay men (and women) endure abuse mentally, physically, emotionally, sexually and spiritually. No different than our straight brothers and sisters.

Are the television shows discussing this to educate or shock the viewer? Ms. Oprah informed, "Three women die from domestic abuse everyday". Perhaps with such shows and media interest, the laws will become tougher and the punishment will be more strict, severe and harsh. Hopefully this will happen sooner than later. We don't need to lose another life due to this domestic cancer.

You read it here at GBMNews.com

"This all became an issue for me when I was at church a few months ago and a young brother walked up to the altar to give his life to Christ," King said. "His pants were sagging so low that they actually fell down to his knees when he got to the altar. One sister commented "that's a damned shame - that boy's ass out like that and no one is saying anything about it." That comment really hit me and as the father of two sons I have always been on them about making sure they dress appropriately so that they are taken seriously."

Prompted by that experience, King says he put together a group of nine black men, the youngest being 17 and had a candid conversation. And what he discovered so moved him that he began to wonder how he could change the sagging behavior pattern that is now so prevalent in the black community.

"Most of the guys said they were sagging their pants because it was popular but few knew that the "style" came out of prison as a means of brothers signaling that they were looking for sex," he said. "And then I told them that for gay men like me, they were sending us signals too - I mean I love looking at ass and want to see the pants down even lower. And then, it's not just [gay] men who are looking - women are looking too.

Once the group was approved to march, they immediately sent information out from their websites, inviting any and everyone to join them for this historic event. Once I saw the invitation, I knew I had to be there.

During the parade, we realized the significance of each step we were taking. We were telling the Black community that yes; there is a Los Angeles Black LGBT community. We are just like you and we are not going anywhere. However, as we marched, a few of us became a bit nervous as much as excited.

“I realized that I was coming out to my people, and that frighten me and inspired me at the same time,” a fellow marcher stated.

The crowd showed nothing but love for us. Thousands of people were able to see and hear us as we walked roughly two miles from Crenshaw to Western Avenue down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

I can’t tell you how the smiles and cheers just encouraged everyone to move on. Of course there were some people who were not happy to see us, but the interesting part was how the crowd around them responded. Many people chastised the ‘haters’ and quickly turned it around. Many of us were moved by this gesture.

This was truly a momentous event. We hope we inspired others to take a stand and possibly join us next year.