(New York, NY) - During the weekend of Aug 7 to 9, Black gay men and women from all walks of life set up tents and spread their blankets on the beach in Cherry Grove for the 7th Annual Fire Island Black Out.
Over three days, members of the Black gay community, from New York City and farther afield, became recognizable faces on the playground of New York City's more affluent gay community at Fire Island.

Black Pride celebrations begin each year April, traditionally beginning in Austin (Texas), Philadelphia and then Washington, D.C. right around Memorial Day Weekend. So it should be no surprise that an estimated 75,000 are expected to swoop down on the city of Atlanta like the birds of Capistrano to take part in the country's largest cultural event promoting a positive look at SGL and LGBTQ communities of color and African descent.

The battle of the Prides and celebrations -Jubilation and Pride in the City 2009 -began in earnest on Friday, Jul 31 with Jubilation, but James Saunders's and Laurence Pinckney's 7th Annual Moonlight White Party Cruise in New York's harbor, was one highlight of the city's Pride events.

Section of crowd at the White Party

On a pleasant summer night, close to 400 people, men and women, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight, all garbed in their best white attire, formed an orderly line along Pier 62, and a few minutes after 12:30am, boarded the Spirit Cruise yacht which slipped its moorings and gradually drifted into the darkness over the Hudson River like a ribbon between the two collections of light, the city and the riverain cities of New Jersey.  The boat swung its bow and headed close to the New Jersey side of the river, passed Ellis Island, the Statute of Liberty, where it idled its engines for a few minutes, then to the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, at which point it turned around, hugging the Brooklyn side of the estuary, up to the Manhattan Bridge, turned again and slowly inched its way back to its moorings at a few minutes after 4:00am.

White Party organizer James Saunders and DJ Baker, DoDaDirty Show

On board, there were three levels of merriment: up stairs, on an open deck where the VIP dined at white table cloth service, immediately below were others, and below more people. The second and lower levels each were fitted out with separate DJs with music, separate bars and separate buffets.  On the second level, during the mixture of house, reggae, soca, and even some Anita Baker selections, Tammy Peay, a comedienne who is often featured on the October Nubian Dreams Cruise, emceed the show which included male and female dancers, singing performer Allison Williams, and other hip-hop singers.  There was a best dressed contest, in which many men and women competed; some in simple outfits and others in more elaborate all white ensembles. A few men wore coat-tails, while others were elegantly dressed in simple cut white jackets, pants, hats, and shoes for a summer's evening.

Please continue to Full Story

(New York, NY) - Following on last year's 11th hour cancellation of the Pride celebrations, this year there are two Pride celebrations, a beach picnic and a boat cruise each vying for the coveted Black gay dollar in these challenging economic times. At a time when many in New York's Black gay community are reeling and suffering from the effects of the recession, and have to make choices which event they would attend, reports suggest that this year, the Black gay community is to be treated to two Pride events, "Jubilation" - A new Era of Pride, from Jul 31 to Aug 2; the 7th Annual Moonlight White Party Boat Cruise scheduled for Aug 1; Pride In The City 2009 - Expressions, from Aug 7 to 9; and the Fire Island Black Out (FIBO) benefiting the Ali Forney Center, a homeless shelter for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth, also from Aug 7 to 9.

"Jubilation" -A new Era of Pride was conceived by a group of male and female club and party promoters who met and solicited sponsorships from several health and social service organizations serving the New York Black gay community. Pride in the City -Expressions is an attempt by Atlanta, GA-based National AIDS Education and Services for Minorities, Inc. (NAESM) to seize the reigns of the failed Pride In The City (PITC) events last year, which was hosted by the now defunct People of Color in Crisis (POCC).

The Moonlight White Party Boat Cruise is organized and promoted by James Saunders, the founder of Black Pride NYC, Inc., and Laurence Pinckney. Saunders says that while advance ticket sales are booming, he cautions that the price for tickets available at the pier would be higher.

FIBO, LLC, registered in Pennsylvania, PA and headed by James Wellons, was formed as an organization to promote and host the annual beach event at the Cherry Grove section of Fire Island. This year, a portion of the proceeds from the Fire Island event goes to support the Manhattan, NY-based Ali Forney Center, which has seen reduced funding for its homeless prevention and support programs.

With the exception of PITC 2009, FIBO has succeeded in collecting the support of several organizations and inter-related events, such as Circle of Voices, Inc.; SEWRVE, published by Washington, DC-based Brownstar Enterprises, and Next magazines; The Hilton Garden Inn; and Nubian Dreams Cruise 2.

Sponsors for ""Jubilation"" include Gay Men's Health Crisis, Gay Men of African Descent, Queer Black Cinema, Next Magazine, LezPlay, FP Promo, ShopUntilYouDrop.com, and Men Are From Mars.

Please continue to Full Story

Its pride week and to Greet The Press was just the perfect beginning to kick off this week's Pride events here in New York City. Presented by "The Future" a multimedia company targeting the LGBT community, Greet the Press was a spectacular gathering of modern gay media personalities representing print, online media and new media leaders in the black gay media. It was my privilege to have been invited to be one of the panelists on this, what I consider a very important forum produced by Dwight Allen O'Neal, and Richard E. Pelzer II, and co-moderated by Nathan Seven Scott and Cornelius Jones, Jr.


 

The event was billed as one to bring together the faces of the Black gay media, to address our lack of prominence on the national stage, to answer questions on important issues regarding our ability to tell our stories, and to hopefully harness the strength of our numbers into a bigger stronger more united force to reckon with.

I personally think this event succeeded in bringing many of us together and get us acquainted with each other, which I believe is the foundation for collaborative efforts in the future. The panels were broken up into three segments, including a separate panel for each of the three categories represented, i.e. print, online and new media. This gave the audience an opportunity to listen to the various perspectives of all of the panelists over a range of issues. It also gave us panelists the opportunity to express our views being that we were broken into small panels of four or five at a time,, as opposed to the possible fifteen that we could have had, had we all been on the same panel. The various panels addressed questions ranging from what we felt were the barriers to a greater synergy on the part of players in the Black gay media, why, if anything is it important to have a Black gay media, as well as why it might be important to have Black gays represent us in the mainstream media.

(New York, NY) - With June designated Pride month - celebrations and commemorations this year taking on additional significance - GBMNews.com asks several Black gay men about the meaning for and effect of the Stonewall Riots on the Black gay community 40 years later.


 

The Riots for many Black gay men, which took place in front of the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street, in Greenwich Village in New York City on Jun 28, 1969; was a seminal occurrence in the larger social fabric. It enabled benefits, opened doors and identified safe spaces for Black gay men to express of their sexuality, emerge from the shadows of anonymity, and as an action, cascaded down through the years into tangible activism.

And, while many in the Black gay community recognize that the enduring legacy of the Stonewall Riots provides the impetus for defining the direction

and future of the Black gay community as a body and as a movement, they lament the absence of a viable central Black gay organization to coordinate, be a channel of resources, and talent in the community.

In 1969, as an 11-years-old boy living in Toledo, OH, Kevin McGruder, former executive director of Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD) recalls hearing a television announcer mention the "gay liberation front." At the time he did not know what it meant, but as he grew into adulthood and became aware of the Stonewall protests, he was struck by how the numbers of Blacks and Latinos who were involved in that protest were overlooked as the White establishment subsumed it and made it their own. But, being able to be open about his sexuality and to work in and for the Black gay community were benefits, McGruder says, of the effects of the Riots, which was seen as ripples sweeping across the country. It's important, he cautions, as people get caught up in the symbolisms, to remember that some of the strategies used by the gay activists were borrowed from the civil rights movement and that, as is often forgotten, Black gay men and women were also active in the Black liberation movements in spite of some its homophobic and sexist slants.

The gay community had up until the Riots suffered indignities, persecution and injustices from the very people and institutions that were supposed to provide them with protection and ensure their safety as promised under the U.S. Constitution, says GMAD's current executive director Tokes Osubu.

Cleveland, Ohio hosted their annual Pride Day in downtown Cleveland this weekend.  There were many spectators from all over the Cleveland community and the many participants from other near by cities in the Ohio region. The event kicked off at 12:00 Noon capping off with a festival that concluded  around 9:00 P.M. In addition to the parade events there were many other gay pride events going on through out the " The Rock 'n' Roll Capital of the World" this past week.


 

DC Black Pride has gone through so much in the past years. But it was better than ever this year. I personally was working on my midterms and now because of my hard work I should be getting my AA in Communications in the mail. Even though Im not done with school I decided that I would celebrate by going to the Bachelors Mill last night with my partner and a couple of friends.

I asked people at the picnic what does pride mean to them and this is what they told me

You always hear about the lack of a unified Black gay community or how there’s no one leading us in a better direction. And while those are legitimate issues, they sometimes fall on deaf ears. However, there is someone who is listening and that person is doing something about it.

Milton Smith saw the need to bring the Black LGBT/SGL community of Los Angeles into the forefront. While there many activist groups, elders and organizations for LGBT people of color, many of them are unaware of each other’s existence. With that in mind, Milton has developed a fantastic outlet to change this ongoing problem…Black Pride Los Angeles.

According to their official website, Black Pride Los Angeles wants to see activities that directly speak to the social, economic, and political concerns of the Black LGBT/SGL community in Los Angeles. Their mission is to promote policy and advocacy, address health disparities, and ensure preservation of the cultural and ethnic identity and relevance among Black LGBT/SGL (Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender/ Same-Gender-Loving) individuals and institutions in Los Angeles. Milton knows this will be a challenge, but is very optimistic. They have the support of International Federation of Black Prides, led by their president, Earl Fowlkes. He is also accompanied by Jasmine Burnett, another LGBT activist, hoping to make L.A. a more inclusive space for Black LGBT /SGL community. Together, they will reach out to younger and older groups to establish an effective and organized force. “Black Pride Los Angeles is more than a get-together,” Milton said. “It will be an on-going event.”