#ITLQBM - The Erasure of Black Queer Lives in Media - #BoycottStonewallMovie (UPDATE)

Intersectionality Through the Lens of a Queer Black Man

I came across an article on Buzzfeed entitled Director Roland Emmerich Discusses “Stonewall” Controversy and frankly, I am now even more offended at his erasure. Last month he released a statement that clearly did not address what he attempted to justify in his most recent buzzfeed interview, I still will boycott this movie and I encourage People of Color in the LGBT community to do the same.

The author clearly sided with him when she stated that "The trailer depicts the film’s handsome white protagonist, Danny Winters (Jeremy Irvine), arriving in the West Village on a bus from his Indiana hometown, meeting a colorful gang of queer street femmes and tossing the first brick to incite the Stonewall riots, which would inspire the first Gay Liberation March a year later in New York City. Critics online quickly took issue. From the looks of things, said naysayers, Danny — a fictional character inserted into a historical event of monumental significance to the LGBT community — was being painted as Stonewall’s hero, rather than the real-life trans women, butch dykes, and drag queens of color many argue were at the forefront of the turmoil that hot summer night." YES, we took issue with this revisionist depiction of history that actually took place and included the people that you claim that we "argued" existed. Facts cannot be argued, but lies and whitewashing can be argued because we are tired of this erasure in Hollywood.

"You have to understand one thing: I didn’t make this movie only for gay people, I made it also for straight people,” he said. “I kind of found out, in the testing process, that actually, for straight people, [Danny] is a very easy in. Danny’s very straight-acting. He gets mistreated because of that. [Straight audiences] can feel for him." - Emmerich

That is the most ridiculous assertion in this interview! This movie is supposed to tell the story for ALL people, LGBT and straight to understand what that period of time was like and how change came about. Why the masculine White, cis man???? According to the piece "Emmerich said that deciding which of the real-life heroes to include involved long, frequent discussions with the film’s screenwriter, Jon Robin Baitz. But Marsha P. Johnson is the only clearly discernible trans character in the film; Emmerich said that in consultation with historians and veterans, he concluded that “there were only a couple of transgender women in the Stonewall ever. They were like a minority.” And I agree with what Miss Major Griffin-Gracie had to say, “I’m sorry, but the last time I checked, the only gay people I saw hanging around were across the street cheering. They were not the ones getting slugged or having stones thrown at them,” she said. “It’s just aggravating. And hurtful! For all the girls who are no longer here who can’t say anything, this movie just acts like they didn’t exist.”

Not sure if there is anything left to say, except please avoid this White, cis male centered movie when it hits theaters.

***********************************************************************************

Previously: "According to Wikipedia, "Very few establishments welcomed openly gay people in the 1950s and 1960s. Those that did were often bars, although bar owners and managers were rarely gay. At the time, the Stonewall Inn was owned by the Mafia.^[5][6] It catered to an assortment of patrons and was known to be popular among the poorest and most marginalized people in the gay community: drag queens, representatives of the transgender community, effeminate young men, male prostitutes, and homeless youth..."

The recent trailer depicts a very different vision of the Stonewall events, in the context that the events were led by Cis, White men and I guess we have to wait for the damn movie to verify whether it is inclusive or not."

***For good laughs and to join the conversation follow #BoycottStonewallMovie***

Here is what director Roland Emmerich had to say about the Stonewall movie according to Vulture with my responses (LMAO):

"It was a huge challenge to make this movie, and if I had not absolutely wanted it, it would not have happened..." 

"It was an uphill battle, but we finally did it..."

"We wanted to do it in New York on location, and that failed miserably because it was so expensive..."

"If you can cast a central character with one or two famous actors, you have a good chance to get the movie financed, but in my case, I knew there was not really one central character in the Stonewall riots,"

"I think we represented it very well..."

You mean to tell me/us that you had all of these issues to make this movie that included but was not limited to reluctant studio execs, financing & location is your excuse to commit the level of erasure we are witnessing here? You are a gay white man who directed this movie out of your desire to illustrate a historic moment in our country. You hired a gay white man to be your screenwriter and developed a fictional white gay male character to take the place of people who are well documented in literature as a protagonist. I CALL BULLSHIT, you didn't represent very well! Well actually you did, you did what we expect you cisgender White men to do, ERASE, erase people in order to create a more comfortable REVISIONIST history...so yeah you represented very well.

"We have drag queens, lesbians, we have everything in the film because we wanted to portray a broader image of what 'gay' means."

So your "broader image of what gay means" is to overgeneralize LGBT into one male dominated, cisgender, White image? It was not them who fought that battle, in reality it was Marsha P Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, lesbians and many others who defied the social norms of gender identity and sexual orientation that sparked the historic riot in 1969. Mr. Emmerich, there is a difference between being Transsexual and being a Drag Queen, you really, as a gay man should catch up to the twenty first century. I would submit that you are portraying a narrower image of what "gay means." What is more insulting is that you used the INCLUSIVE speech of President Barack Obama as you committed the crime of ERASURE against Black & Brown persons, women, Transpersons and many others who played an intricate role in this event. You used a Black man to commit a micro/macroaggression many of us in the LGBTQ community and you need to go back to the drawing board!

As I started this blog post, Emmerich released this statement:

"When I first learned about the Stonewall Riots through my work with the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, I was struck that the circumstances that lead to LGBT youth homelessness today are pretty much the same as they were 45 years ago. The courageous actions of everyone who fought against injustice in 1969 inspired me to tell a compelling, fictionalized drama of those days centering on homeless LGBT youth, specifically a young midwestern gay man who is kicked out of his home for his sexuality and comes to New York, befriending the people who are actively involved in the events leading up to the riots and the riots themselves. I understand that following the release of our trailer there have been initial concerns about how this character’s involvement is portrayed, but when this film – which is truly a labor of love for me – finally comes to theaters, audiences will see that it deeply honors the real-life activists who were there — including Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Ray Castro — and all the brave people who sparked the civil rights movement which continues to this day. We are all the same in our struggle for acceptance."

If our struggle was the same for acceptance, we wouldn't really be in a struggle, you are the poster boy for privilege: White, Cisgender, Male. Do not co- opt a struggle that you know nothing about, this is not to say that you don't experience homophobia, but you don't know shit about being Black, Trans or a woman and I would suggest you go and ACTUALLY learn LGBT history so that you don't keep up this theme of revisionist history.

#ITLQBM - The Erasure of Black Queer Lives in Media #HERO

Intersectionality Through the Lens of a Queer Black Man

"Take all of those factors and apply which ever resonates to you individually now add to it being out and Gay. We still have to deal with those stigmas that our heterosexual counterparts have to deal with and then some. We are attacked by those who look like us for not cosigning what I described earlier as what it means to be a strong Black man, we are told that because of who we are that we do not exist. IN FACT, we do have the same issues and then we are treated as if we are no longer Black and are still niggers in the eyes of society on a systemic and structural level."

Over the past Couple of weeks the fight to save the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance went into overdrive and that meant the mobilization of supporters and opponents alike. With that being said, queue the erasure of people of color by all sides, I mean it is so blatant! I recently recorded a video about it...

One of my biggest issues about HERO is the media coverage, where they only show specs of minorities and has been very Whitewash and Cisgender in nature. We don't see very many Trans persons, let alone Trans People of Color in recent and overall news coverage. The lack of Persons of Color being represented in this fight to protect an ordinance that is supposed to protect ALL Houstonians is a fatal flaw. We witnessed Council Member Boykins say that the LGBT community is not involved in issues pertaining to the Black community. That was a statement of erasure, erasure that I have always talked about at length. It is a big problem to be a Black man out here fighting for rights of groups that are representative of one's intersections, only to be told by both sides that "you do great work," and then be erased in the same breath. It is not a serious surprise to me that this is happening, because it always has and I for one am tired of it!

This issue has taken on national attention and with national attention comes national media coverage of various forms. One of the biggest issues that I see is that when Black and Brown people are shown at length and often, it is usually the opposition and that feeds into the idea that the Black community is inherently homophobic. The funny thing is that this isn't the first time that I had to address the issue. Last year, Outsmart magazine published an edition of its magazine with a big spread on HERO and I was pissed at the time, at the lack of People of Color. It was in that moment I started a hashtag called #BlackPeopleWhoShowUp in an effort to show that there was actually support from the Black community for HERO. Ironically I gathered all the Black folk around in the lobby of City Hall and we took pictures, which prompted the Mayor Parker to hop in  and it wound up in the news paper!

We need to see a diverse coalition representing HERO going forward, not just behind the scenes, a united front in every way possible. I testified to the existence of People of Color at the most recent council meeting:

My #HERO testimony 8/4/15 catch the shade fest...
Posted by Ashton P. Woods on Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Which brings me to the preview of the new movie about the Stonewall Riots Which is full of erasure as well. According to Wikipedia, "Very few establishments welcomed openly gay people in the 1950s and 1960s. Those that did were often bars, although bar owners and managers were rarely gay. At the time, the Stonewall Inn was owned by the Mafia.^[5][6] It catered to an assortment of patrons and was known to be popular among the poorest and most marginalized people in the gay community: drag queens, representatives of the transgender community, effeminate young men, male prostitutes, and homeless youth. Police raids on gay bars were routine in the 1960s, but officers quickly lost control of the situation at the Stonewall Inn. They attracted a crowd that was incited to riot. Tensions between New York City police and gay residents of Greenwich Village erupted into more protests the next evening, and again several nights later. Within weeks, Village residents quickly organized into activist groups to concentrate efforts on establishing places for gays and lesbians to be open about their sexual orientation without fear of being arrested."

The recent trailer depicts a very different vision of the Stonewall events, in the context that the events were led by Cis, White men and I guess we have to wait for the damn movie to verify whether it is inclusive or not.

To be continued...

#ITLQBM - Blackness & Equality Under Attack (Video Update)

Intersectionality Through the Lens of a Queer Black Man

Waller, TX

Houston City Council

In recent posts, I have discussed at length the Sandra Bland case and on a macro level about how #BlackLivesMatter. On the flip side of the coin, my involvement with the #HERO (Houston equal rights ordinance) has been very active, especially since a rushed ruling just came down from the Texas Supreme Court. These are the intersections that I and many of my counterparts of Color speak of when we are doing the work to demand respect and the decriminalization of Blackness. As of today, I am faced with a choice to testify at Houston City Hall tomorrow during the Council meeting on behalf of HERO or be in Waller county to meet with my cohorts in front of  the county jail to stand in solidarity for our fallen sister Sandra and discuss next steps beyond our planned event on August 9th.

***For some background on both issues follow these links:

http://ashtonpwoods.strengthinnumbershouston.com/2015/07/a-call-to-action-blacklivesmatter.html

http://ashtonpwoods.strengthinnumbershouston.com/2015/07/hero-interrupted-texas-supreme-court.html

http://ashtonpwoods.strengthinnumbershouston.com/2015/07/what-happened-to-sandra-bland-we-need.html

When you think about it HERO intersects with the movement for Black lives in ways that are quite interesting. Here is how: 

*The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance provides protections in employment (both public and private), housing and public accommodations for the following classes as it applies to my intersections:
- sex - race - sexual orientation - color- ethnicity- gender identity*

As a Black man I choose to be part of movements that impact all People of Color for the better and isn't it interesting that regardless of where I stand, I am under attack by the current power structure. In this case the power structure is clergy, government, law enforcement and at its foundation is homophobia, racism, prejudice and bigotry. In a previous post I said "...Honestly, the factors that I have just pointed out are a primer for the real discussion about being a “Black Queer Man.” Take all of those factors and apply which ever resonates to you individually now add to it being out and Gay. We still have to deal with those stigmas that our heterosexual counterparts have to deal with and then some. We are attacked by those who look like us for not cosigning what I described earlier as what it means to be a strong Black man, we are told that because of who we are that we do not exist. IN FACT, we do have the same issues and then we are treated as if we are no longer Black and are still niggers in the eyes of society on a systemic and structural level. Now, let me take that down to a micro level and deal with all that I previously mentioned and combine it with the issues that we experience as Queer Black Men of color. First, we still have to deal with racism from a group that we are supposedly part of and are “welcome” to, which is the mainstream LGBT community. In many ways we are shut out by mainstream White gays unless we bring something to the table that they just cannot function without, DIVERSITY...We are only needed when it’s beneficial and then we have to live in our poverty that people think we don’t experience. We work in jobs that not only attack our race systemically and structurally, now we have the vector of homophobia in the work place to deal with. In fact, the structural and systematic homophobia that plague the LGBT community at large is much worse on people of color due to the same racial barriers to access as our heterosexual counterparts. We work in low paying jobs that range from fast food to hospitality and then we have to deal with being looked down upon by the ones that look like us and are gay like us who are making some good pay and etc. There is an overriding theme that we are being attacked from all sides, do you see it?"

When I wrote this, I had no clue that it would be so relevant to my feelings and what I am currently experiencing. I feel extremely stressed out and emphasis on being under attack. Do you know what it feels like to have people vying to be Mayor of Houston, currently elected/appointed judges tell me and so many others that an ordinance that protects me as an individual in six different ways is void in the eyes of the state of Texas. It is a constant feeling of siege when I hear about the loss of a Black life at the hands of some cop who likes to use excessive force and abuses his/her power. There is no way that Sandra Bland killed herself and it is clear that this is a cover up of epic proportions. Black Lives truly do matter and intersectionally speaking, this is the time to rise up, not just for the protections from discrimination and for law enforcement to do right by us. The time is now to rise up and recognize that we are being pushed out of affordable housing while being moved to the outskirts of the city, we lack access good healthcare facilities, and our kids are sent to schools in one of the most segregated school districts in the country that has a focus on the early criminalization of students. Who expels a kindergartner? WE are under a level of attack that cant be quantified or measured, we need our voting rights restored, we need affirmative action to be protected! What good is it if I can get same sex married at city hall and walk out to the possibility of some bigot protesting my rights, a cop ready to put his bullet in my brain, the prospect of losing my job for being gay, and a host of other issues not being discussed. Lets expose the hate, racism, and bigotry where ever it may be hiding....

#ITLQBM - Netroots Presidential Forum Interrupted #SayHerName #BlackLivesMatter

Intersectionality Through the Lens of a Queer Black Man

On Saturday, July 18 at 11:07 a.m., I and many Black and Brown #NN15 attendees disrupted the Presidential forum as Mike O'Malley and Bernie Sanders were in a Q & A session about why they should be the next President. I dedicate my part in organizing this action to Sandra Bland and many of our Queens lost do to forms of police violence against Blackness. The following video is from my point of view, so sit back and watch democracy in action #BlackLivesMatter #SayHerName #IfIDieInPoliceCustody:

*This is one the FIRST (maybe the first) disruptions where Sandra Bland was honored nationally along with so many of the other powerful Black women (Cis/Trans) lost to police brutality.

Ashton Goes to Phoenix #NN15/#ITLQBM: EQUALITY ACTION CAUCUS (UPDATE)

After the Black Caucus, I went to the Equality Action Caucus where activists and leaders of the broad based equality to discuss key priorities and connect with allies. We attempted talk about the progress and future directions of the equality. The central question of the event was "where do we go from here?" When I got a chance to speak from a place of Blackness, support of the Transgender community and other marginalized groups within the SGL/LGBT community. I gave a disclaimer because of a gut feeling that I had, that my comments would come off  as angry and abrasive. I stated that I had three points that would point out problematic language, Trans erasure and Black erasure. I was interrupted several times by a White guy who happened to one one the moderators. I kept to my principles and made my points all while telling him to check his privileges and to stop interrupting me. This caused a very strong reaction from other people in attendance in my favor, OF ALL RACES. They even called him out on it and how he was making the space hostile and unwelcoming to folks of color and allies. Many people including myself left afterwards and it was very interesting and crazy how it all happened! Next year look for me to submit a proposal to these conferences to create Trans inclusive, safe for Blackness, SGL_LGBT spaces!

Ashton Goes to Phoenix #NN15

For a week or so I will be in Phoenix, AZ for Netroots Nation 2015 to interact with other activists, politicians, and like minded individuals. This post will contain daily updates and photos from my time in Phoenix at the conference. For this first entry I would like to thank the Blue Nation Review and Netroots Connect for their extending scholarships to me in order for me to attend this week's events. I would like to thank all of my friends and supporters who made donations to help cover expenses that the scholarship did not cover. If you would like to make a donation please send it via PayPal to email address ashtonpwoods@gmail.com. 

Netroots LGBT Connect (7/15)

During the Connect event I had the pleasure to meet so many like minded people, to learn, relearn, unlearn, and affirm a lot of things about how I practice my activism. We had an all day discussion on intersectionality, which was rather refreshing in so many ways. It was refreshing because the discussion is rarely held in my home town of Houston and it makes me a little annoyed (I will get over it). It is always the case that I leave home and find my place within a group of like minded people and I can truly be myself with out the subtext of respectability politics and the my way is better than your way attitudes. The were some moments of internal contention for me when I realized that I made sure to illustrate that it is bad to question a person's Blackness and therefore diminishing that person's experiences as a Black person. On the flip side of that coin, it was very much so annoying that there were some folks of color who just could not wash off the obvious Whitewash that they were wearing in a space with not very many Black people. It is what it is, and all that means is that I shall continue to stay in my lane and do the work that I am called to do, over all it was a great day of pre- Netroots activities....

Netroots Day One (7/16)

Today is the first day of Netroots and so far I have seen a hand full of Black people in a sea of White, there are many factors that contribute to this. I will not discuss these factors, YET, but I will say that this event has been very good for me to observe as far as my presence in this space. I went and registered for the weekend events.....

The first session that I attended was State Battlegrounds: The Real Fight for Voting rights where we discussed the passage of voting restrictions in nearly two dozen states since 2010. There were many nuances that came to light that ranged from actual voter IDs to Native American and mainstream voter suppression as a whole. I enjoyed the time that I had to listen to and even speak on the issue of voter suppression. Right now I am currently at We One: Overcoming Shared Opposition of the LGBT & Reproductive Rights Movements. At this event we are discussing the intersections of reproductive rights, religion, the LGBT community, and how they all affect/effect each other . 

I went to the the Queer People of  Color Caucus which provided a safe space for people who identified with being within the Queer spectrum and as People of Color. One of the many orders of housekeeping that I came to enjoy greatly is that the moderators of the event asked that those who did not identify as Queer or as a Person of Color to leave the room. Too many times when a space is created for people it is not respected and this time it wasn't allowed, but it did lead to a blow up in the common area know as the "Town Square" that houses booths for some of the organizations in attendance. One of the White people who were asked to leave the space went off at the LGBT connect booth and it was said that several people witnessed it. Here are some photos including Jennicet Eva Gutiérrez's appearance:

After the Queer POC caucus, I went to the Black caucus and we discussed at length whether or not the black community is, should be or part of the Progressive movement. The event was live broadcast via internet show "This Week in Blackness" and of course the hosts like Elon James White and other new friends in the selfies and event photos below....

More updates in a coming post : )

#ITLQBM - A Letter from Huey Newton

Intersectionality Through the Lens of a Queer Black Man

On 21 August 1970, Huey Newton, co-founder and leader of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense published an article in “The Black Panther” newsletter. It was titled A Letter from Huey Newton to the Revolutionary Brothers and Sisters about the Women’s Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements and was the first pro-gay pronouncement to come from the black civil rights movement, stemming from his friendship with Jean Genet.

A Letter from Huey Newton to the Revolutionary Brothers and Sisters about the Women’s Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements

“During the past few years strong movements have developed among women and among homosexuals seeking their liberation. There has been some uncertainty about how to relate to these movements.

Whatever your personal opinions and your insecurities about homosexuality and the various liberation movements among homosexuals and women (and I speak of the homosexuals and women as oppressed groups), we should try to unite with them in a revolutionary fashion. I say “whatever your insecurities are” because as we very well know, sometimes our first instinct is to want to hit a homosexual in the mouth, and want a woman to be quiet. We want to hit a homosexual in the mouth because we are afraid that we might be homosexual; and we want to hit the women or shut her up because we are afraid that she might castrate us, or take the nuts that we might not have to start with.

We must gain security in ourselves and therefore have respect and feelings for all oppressed people. We must not use the racist attitude that the White racists use against our people because they are Black and poor. Many times the poorest White person is the most racist because he is afraid that he might lose something, or discover something that he does not have. So you’re some kind of a threat to him. This kind of psychology is in operation when we view oppressed people and we are angry with them because of their particular kind of behavior, or their particular kind of deviation from the established norm.

Remember, we have not established a revolutionary value system; we are only in the process of establishing it. I do not remember our ever constituting any value that said that a revolutionary must say offensive things towards homosexuals, or that a revolutionary should make sure that women do not speak out about their own particular kind of oppression. As a matter of fact, it is just the opposite: we say that we recognize the women’s right to be free. We have not said much about the homosexual at all, but we must relate to the homosexual movement because it is a real thing. And I know through reading, and through my life experience and observations that homosexuals are not given freedom and liberty by anyone in the society. They might be the most oppressed people in the society.

And what made them homosexual? Perhaps it’s a phenomenon that I don’t understand entirely. Some people say that it is the decadence of capitalism. I don’t know if that is the case; I rather doubt it. But whatever the case is, we know that homosexuality is a fact that exists, and we must understand it in its purest form: that is, a person should have the freedom to use his body in whatever way he wants.

That is not endorsing things in homosexuality that we wouldn’t view as revolutionary. But there is nothing to say that a homosexual cannot also be a revolutionary. And maybe I’m now injecting some of my prejudice by saying that “even a homosexual can be a revolutionary.” Quite the contrary, maybe a homosexual could be the most revolutionary.

When we have revolutionary conferences, rallies, and demonstrations, there should be full participation of the gay liberation movement and the women’s liberation movement. Some groups might be more revolutionary than others. We should not use the actions of a few to say that they are all reactionary or counterrevolutionary, because they are not.

We should deal with the factions just as we deal with any other group or party that claims to be revolutionary. We should try to judge, somehow, whether they are operating in a sincere revolutionary fashion and from a really oppressed situation. (And we will grant that if they are women they are probably oppressed.) If they do things that are unrevolutionary or counterrevolutionary, then criticize that action. If we feel that the group in spirit means to be revolutionary in practice, but they make mistakes in interpretation of the revolutionary philosophy, or they do not understand the dialectics of the social forces in operation, we should criticize that and not criticize them because they are women trying to be free. And the same is true for homosexuals. We should never say a whole movement is dishonest when in fact they are trying to be honest. They are just making honest mistakes. Friends are allowed to make mistakes. The enemy is not allowed to make mistakes because his whole existence is a mistake, and we suffer from it. But the women’s liberation front and gay liberation front are our friends, they are our potential allies, and we need as many allies as possible.

We should be willing to discuss the insecurities that many people have about homosexuality. When I say “insecurities,” I mean the fear that they are some kind of threat to our manhood. I can understand this fear. Because of the long conditioning process which builds insecurity in the American male, homosexuality might produce certain hang-ups in us. I have hang-ups myself about male homosexuality. But on the other hand, I have no hang-up about female homosexuality. And that is a phenomenon in itself. I think it is probably because male homosexuality is a threat to me and female homosexuality is not.

We should be careful about using those terms that might turn our friends off. The terms “faggot” and “punk” should be deleted from our vocabulary, and especially we should not attach names normally designed for homosexuals to men who are enemies of the people, such as Nixon or Mitchell. Homosexuals are not enemies of the people.

We should try to form a working coalition with the gay liberation and women’s liberation groups. We must always handle social forces in the most appropriate manner.”

#ITLQBM - Check Your Religious Privilege: Agnosticism

Intersectionality Through the Lens of a Queer Black Man

Previously: "THIS is the definition of Atheism which is the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities.Most inclusively, atheism is the absence of belief that any deities exist. Atheism is contrasted with theism, which, in its most general form, is the belief that at least one deity exists. "Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods. Older dictionaries define atheism as "a belief that there is no God." Now, here is the thing that one must understand, I still know right from wrong and just because I don't believe in something does not mean I am not a good person with standards and some form of morals."

I am going to go ahead and dive right in, I need believers to understand that there are those who exist in between the two ends of the spectrum of Atheism and Theism. Today I will talk about the mid point on the scale, those who are Agnostic and are treated much like the "B" & "T" in the LGBT community. Agnostics are looked at as confused much like the Bisexual community and tend to be unfairly treated or a whole lot like the Trans community in that they are clumped in under the umbrella of Atheism which is not fair as they are not Atheists. Here are some definitions for your future reference:

Agnostic - a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God. 

Agnosticism -  is the view that the truth values of certain claims – especially metaphysical and religious claims such as whether or not God, the divine or the supernatural exist – are unknown and perhaps unknowable.

When someone tells you they are agnostic please take the time to hear them out and try not to assume what their disclosure to you means. Remember to check your privileges be it religious privilege or specifically Christian privilege (the dominant religion in the USA) which, as I have shared before is "the system of advantages bestowed upon Christians in some societies. This system arises out of the presumption that the belief in Christianity is a social norm, leading to the exclusion of the nonreligious and members of other religions through institutional religious discrimination. Christian privilege can also lead to the neglect of outsiders' cultural heritage and religious practices." Try not to reconcile a person's identity as Agnostic and their stance on the claims of religion or deities as them being an Atheist. I cannot stress this enough. Do not under any circumstances question their belief system,it is not their responsibility to help you reconcile why they are Agnostic. Nor should you feel the need to go on autopilot and feel the need to save Agnostics from the eternal damnation that your bible claims to be punishment for disobedience. I am being as respectful as possible, as I say this.....Be willing to accept that what you have been indoctrinated with may not be the crown jewel of civilization and that your manifest destiny mentality may need to be unlearned. 

On the flip side of that coin, I need for those who lean strongly to Atheist end of spectrum to be respectful as well. A lot of times we also cast judgement on those who may very well be an ally and are usually clumped in with with us, Agnostics. Here is a problematic language from Atheist Richard Dawkins: 

 "...a distinction between agnosticism and atheism is unwieldy and depends on how close to zero a person is willing to rate the probability of existence for any given god-like entity. About himself, Dawkins continues, "I am agnostic only to the extent that I am agnostic about fairies at the bottom of the garden." Dawkins also identifies two categories of agnostics; "Temporary Agnostics in Practice" (TAPs), and "Permanent Agnostics in Principle" (PAPs). Dawkins considers temporary agnosticism an entirely reasonable position, but views permanent agnosticism as "fence-sitting, intellectual cowardice."

In a nutshell, Agnostics are often characterized as confused and cowardly fence sitters who refuse to make up their minds about where they stand. We should consider agnosticism to be more than the tired misconceptions that we may have about it. The battle between atheists  and theists has the tendency to exclude and degrade Agnostics. This is because both sides are locked in an argument where Theists make the case for God via scripture and faith, while Atheists argue argue against the existence of a God, deity or supreme being. We have to understand that this is not a black and white argument, that we may be silencing Agnostic voices and forcing them to the outer fringes of the larger debate. We all need to come together and acknowledge our contributions to some fairly serious misconceptions as to what Agnosticism really means.

#ITLQBM - Brandon's Independence Day

Intersectionality Through the Lens of a Queer Black Man

I have never felt a connection to the 4th of July. I know that is the day that Americans celebrate the United States independence from England, and its supposed to be a collective celebration of freedom and independence. However, I have never had a connection to the holiday because, July 4, 1776, those were like me, black, gay, male, we were not free in this country. We were still enslaved in the United States. You couldn’t marry or be publicly be in a relationship with someone of the same gender. You couldn’t really be fluid in terms of gender back then. Therefore, it makes sense why the 4th of July has never really resonated with me.

I am a survivor of many things in my life. I have survived Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma twice. I am a rape survivor. I am a child-abuse survivor. Combine all of this with the daily struggles of being black, gay, and not 100% male conforming, it is a lot! I deal with all of these issues in my own way and in many ways in silence. One of the reasons why I deal with them in silence is because I’m often told to deal with them in silence because the world doesn’t like to hear people talk about the painful difficult aspects of their lives, especially if you have many. I also deal with them in silence because many of these experiences have been belittled and minimized by other people and you get to a point where you do not want your experiences to be minimized so you just remain quiet about it. Well, today I guess I am celebrating an Independence Day by saying to the world through this post that I am a Black Gay Male, Cancer, Rape, Child Abuse survivor who is dealing with all of these issues simultaneously each and everyday and I’m doing my best to handle it in the way that is most comfortable for me to handle it. It may not be the way that you deal with it, but at the same time, you’re not living with it. We as Black people have often been told that we have to love our enemies and understand others, without that same understanding coming our way. We as Gay people have often been told that we have to respect everyone else’s marriages and loves without having that same respect coming our way. We as gender non-conformists, have often been told that we need to not put ourselves out there, that are non-conforming behavior is problematic for other members of the LGBT community, and that are non-conforming is damaging to society. I say, why should any of us understand, respect, or conform to those who are not understanding, respecting, or behaving in a way that is pleasing to us.

I have spent a great deal of my life, silencing myself, understanding others, helping others, and trying to conform to standards that don’t have me in mind or are in my best interests. I know many of you who are reading this have also silenced yourself, given of yourself, minimized yourself, and conformed to standards that do not fit you. Today, I say, celebrate your Independence Day, and be free from all things that are inhibiting your voice, your progress, your growth, and your ability to freely live in all your intersections. Don’t wait because trust me as someone who has had his own family turn away from him, friends who may or may not be there when you need them, no real sense of consistency when it comes to love, you will drive yourself crazy if you keep conforming and waiting for these people. As my best friend has to often remind me, no one owes you closure, and at the same time, no one owes you, YOU. YOU owe yourself to be fully who you are.

So don’ t wait for others to grant you independence, claim your own independence in being freely all of who you are and expressing in the ways YOU feel you need to. I’m celebrating my Independence Day by claiming my own freedom in being fully who I am as a survivor of a whole lot of shit and someone who is finding his way the best way he knows how and marching to the beat of his own drum. I invite you to celebrate your own and let what ever flag you carry fly!

#ITLQBM - Kedric Speaks

Intersectionality Through the Lens of a Queer Black Man

It was the summer of 2001. I was sitting in a church worship service in a city in East Texas. I am an avid church attendee and volunteer member at the church that I consider a home church. This particular church is a large church in the city that I lived in during that time. They have a fabulous choir, an awesome youth and young adult ministry and great outreach to their local community. Every Sunday is always a pomp and circumstance with the music, dance and sermons. The pageantry is an epic occasion of people driving their freshly washed cars, wearing their newly pressed outfits, women with their new hair-do, the men with their fresh edges and tapers and the clergy and choir dressed in their angelic dress and robing. The sanctuary was always filled with standing room only crowds with a visual average of 30 years to 50. The last Sunday that I was in attendance there, the assistant pastor at the time was in charge of the pulpit as the orator of the sermon. He was a young man at the time in his mid-30’s. He was doing great with the delivery of his sermon until the speaking about the seven deadly sins. One of them being homosexuality.

I believe it was sin number five on the list. As soon as it was mentioned with his personal interpretation and elaboration, the congregation rose in a responsive shout of support of homosexuals “going tell hell for doing what they do.” As the eruption and uproar happened, I just sat in the pew. I immediately became upset, somewhat depressed and felt outcast. As soon as the hoopla was over, I made my exit out of the building with haste. I arrived to my car and the tears flowed. At that time, I was really dealing with my own self-identity and spirituality. Being a man who grew up in church, I love God and I worship God as my creator, comforter and parent. I didn’t want to do anything wrong against God. According to them and my childhood church, I did. It was that day that I decided to make a change for myself and not attend any kind of church until there was one for me and others like me. I then began a quest of find a community of spirited people with the same ideals as I had. I heard about a small community of faith not far from where I lived that was inclusive of all people. I started attending and soon became unhappy because I then realized that I didn’t want traditional church. Yes they preached a God of all but, they were not practicing what they preached. Lots of closeted religion was felt and that was not good for me and the lack of community involvement because of the fear of being put on front street. It was then that I decided not to attend church of any kind. I have always known that Sunday morning church doesn’t enhance my life or get me closer to God. Within several months, I moved here to Houston and I didn’t attend church for a two years.

Before and after my arrival to Houston, I heard about this church named Resurrection. I heard that it was a “gay church” and that phrase alone made me a bit leery at the time. I decided to give it a try and see what happens. As soon as I arrived, I noticed a very large building. I immediately thought it was a dream! A gay church. This LARGE?!?!? In the south?!?!?!?! I hope it is a church beyond the thought of just “gay church.” This has to be a joke right? So, I gave it a try. I drove up and parked. I was hesitant to leave my car just to walk in. I mustered up enough energy and where with all to get out and walk to the door. I entered the building and was immediately greeted with a hearty hello and a warm embrace. I was then a bit nervous. I walked into the worship space. Soon as I entered, I noticed a diverse group of people. Male and female. Black, brown and white. The attire of the people were very casual and the gospel choir was singing that day. I was immediately drawn in! At least 500 people were in attendance that day and I immediately felt at home. I have now been there for 11 years and it has been a blast! Since I have been here, I have learned that we are a Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) denomination with over 300 churches across the globe. We all serve a God of all. A God that loves all people of different life experiences, faith/spiritual/denomination backgrounds…churched and unchurched. I will admit, we also have our challenges as a church/Christian organization.

The preaching, teaching and living the life of a Christian has it’s challenges when educating people here in the south that we are good people who will not judge or bash a person for being basically different. To earnestly and honestly live out the golden rule of loving your neighbor as yourself is a huge challenge. We as adult people have the tendency to become rigid in our thoughts and feelings that will cause us to become oblivious to anyone who is willing to extend a Christian hand of love and full acceptance of you…not just tolerance…and not just LGBTIQA. I have invited people to our place of worship numerous times. I always have a hope that they would attend immediately following the invitation. However with Houston being a mega city with mega churches where people can get lost in attending, I have come to let people come and attend on their own. I have also seen a growth of new churches who are inclusive as well. Now this makes me a bit sad because of two reasons. The first is the thought of church competition: who has the best worship experience to get the people to attend?

The second is the thought of leadership minded people with a personal and strong conviction, taking their original faith and denomination backgrounds, starting these religious organizations and (seemingly) not healing from their own personal oppression. What I love about my local MCC church is that we do the work for healing and wholeness. We challenge the book that is called a bible and collectively talk about the history of the text as a community. Our church is not a church of pomp and circumstance. It is really about people and their wellbeing. The trick is for a person to really have the willingness to open themselves to doing church differently. It’s about personal and spiritual growth. Personal and spiritual development. Personal and spiritual change. If we as people would just do the work and gather together to talk about intersectionality within in church and religious context, the thought and practice of intersectionality will be null.

 Having a church on every corner does not help when they all have the same faith roots. I understand that organizations do have an influence based on the community they are surrounded by. For example, it is important to have a Spanish, Asian and Jewish language church. It is also great to have different practices of faith and religion. I feel that it is not ok to have two of the same denominational churches a block away from one another. Why can’t they blend and work together to build community? Also, will there ever be a day where we can all bring our differences together and talk about them without demeaning one another? This is one experience that I am glad about MCC churches. We have every kind of makeup of people in our congregation and spiritual development classes every week. It is with this kind of experience of creating a place and space for people to freely be themselves that will stop self and public oppression. Respect all to love all.

- Kedric Brown

#ITLQBM - Angry Black Man (Video)

This is a a free form video post and is not as structured as my written posts. Sit back, relax and enjoy... I had to speak my mind because I have held this in for long enough.

#ITLQBM – Leslie Speaks

Intersectionality Through the Lens of a Queer Black Man

It is with some reservation and hesitance that I post this profile picture because there is so much I want to say about my identity and there is only so much time and space for me to do so. I am very grateful to Seek for his work on these images. 

To say I am black and gay is a limiting identification and not a full representation of who I am in totality but I do believe for the sake of this discussion it should shed some light on my struggles and accomplishments. My experience may be very different from others who live at the intersection of black and gay.

In my early years, from elementary until the spring semester of my sixth grade year I lived amongst black people and I attended a predominantly black school. I was constantly taunted and bullied – it was very common for me to be called a fag at least once a day. Through much therapy, reflection, and prayer over the last ten years, I now understand how traumatic this experience was and how it has shaped who I am today.

After we moved to the suburbs during my sixth grade year, I found acceptance and peace among white people. I was not taunted and bullied. And maybe using the word acceptance is an overstatement but I never felt shut out or marginalized. My grades went from C’s and D’s to A’s and B’s. This wonderful transition came at a cost. Due to the trauma I experienced amongst black people and the welcome I experienced among white people, I developed a bad case of internalized racism. For years I despised my skin because it was people who looked like me who showed me so much hate – white was obviously right and certainly best for me. I remember being asked to be the Master of Ceremony for a Black History program and I was worried about what it might look like for me to do so but the gay side of me couldn’t resist the spotlight so I accepted the opportunity.

To this day, I’m still friends with some of these folks who showed me so much love during my formative years. To this day, these same friends who are white, conservative Christians and Republicans have shown support for gay marriage while still holding their religious convictions regarding homosexuality. To me, they have embodied Christian love better than some liberal Christians I know.

The hate I felt for my skin was one of the major driving factors for my success. I worked hard to put myself in environments that made me feel comfortable and those environments were the void of black people for the most part. I had to do what was comfortable for me and in doing so garnered much success.

The Navy was no different! I felt I had to work very hard to get ahead of everyone else not because I am gay but because I am black. No one in the Navy knew this. No one in the Navy, not even my boyfriend at the time, knew how much I sought success in order to get ahead of everyone else so that I might not be considered “one of them.” Yet again in the Navy it was white people who welcomed and supported me, and on occasion, when I was harassed it was by black people, and that only further reinforced my internalized racism.

It wasn’t until I went to Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York that my internalized racism was challenged. My academic advisor, Dr. James Cone, forced me, literally forced me to claim my identity. I was so against defining myself that I almost failed his class. At the same time, the school itself engaged in a level of racism I had never experienced. The school struggled to understand the black experience. It struggled to understand the evangelical experience as well. It was institutional racism that opened my eyes, and at the age of 32 I started the journey of learning how to love myself. I was very outspoken about racism at Union, and little did anyone know, I had just begun to love my skin. I graduated with honors because of my outspoken work regarding race and much needed changed at Union. Many have criticized Union and still stand in opposition of the institution but I think it was the academic rigor and the institutionalized racism that changed my life for the better. The school gave me my voice by giving me an opportunity to finally experience racism and to speak against it.

For years I abused my body, contemplated suicide, and shut out the black experience. It has been a struggle that I don’t wish on anyone. All the while everyone saw success and a person with great promise, there was a struggle going on inside of me. I was fighting for my life! When people talk about getting delivered, I want to share with them that I didn’t need to get delivered from homosexuality, I needed to get delivered from people, places, and things that didn’t affirm the fullness of my identity.

As we celebrate the Freedom to Marry and the advancement of the Gay Rights movement, we should also conduct an internal audit of the gay movement itself. We suffer from racism. We are not stepping up for the Transgender community. We are not stepping up for the education of all children. We are not stepping up for hunger and food insecurity. We are not saying, “This movement is about more than marriage or rights in the workplace.” More than anything, we have also failed to see that our movement is a movement of justice and that none of us are free until all people are free. Never before has one movement cut across all identities: race, class, gender, poverty, hunger, immigration, religious freedom, and so much more. This is our power! We need to claim it! We need to harness it for the good of the diverse identities in the LGBT movement. I long for the day when the Pride flag will be a symbol not just of the gay movement but the movement of justice.

I am so grateful to my Mother who has shown me nothing but acceptance even when I didn’t accept myself. I am so grateful to my Father and Step-Mother who through their struggles being an interracial couple have shown me how to press on when others don’t want to affirm your relationship. I am so grateful for my mixed-race sisters who have added another layer of complexity to how I discuss race and identity. I’m so grateful to Unity of Houston for teaching me how to value myself as a unique expression of God – there will never be another me! I’m so grateful to Pilgrim Congregational Church in Houston (a historic and predominantly black church) that welcomed me and Marcus with open arms. I am grateful to Union Theological Seminary for just being…well, Union! I am grateful to all the students at Union who called me to be a voice for them. I am grateful to Cathedral of Hope-Houston for welcoming me and allowing me to just be me. I am grateful for all of my experience, even the ones that pushed me to the edge of taking my life. More than anything, I’m grateful to Marcus for being a proud black man that knew I was struggling with race yet stood by me. All of this has made me who I am!

I am grateful to be one of the unique expressions of the ever-living God who chose to express himself as me: a beautiful Black and Gay Christian man with moderate theological and political views. I am grateful to still be a work in progress. The Master is not done with me yet! And for that, I AM OH SO GRATEFUL!

What I once perceived as a weakness has become my greatest strength. In the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians: I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Leslie Jackson