New Report: Black Gay Men are more affected by AIDS than any population in the developed world

This is devastating news. According to the Black AIDS Institute, most Black Gay men are deeply affected the AIDS epidemic.

"Black MSM continue to be first in line when it comes to need, but remain at the back of the line when it comes to assistance," said Phill Wilson, Founder and Executive Director of the Black AIDS Institute. 

"This report not only highlights the gaps and why they still exist after 30 years, but it also provides a blueprint for how to close the gaps and move those most at risk up to the front." Black MSM account for 1 in 500 Americans, but represent nearly 1 in 4 new HIV infections. 

Black MSM are also significantly less likely to be alive three years after being diagnosed with AIDS than are white or Latino MSM. By the age of 25, Black gay men have a 1 in 4 chance of becoming infected with HIV.

This is just a piece of the report, here it is in full from Tlrd. However, this info goes hand in hand with the Frontline special, ENDGAME: AIDS in Black America - you can watch it here

  

"Black MSM continue to be first in line when it comes to need, but remain at the back of the line when it comes to assistance," said Phill Wilson, Founder and Executive Director of the Black AIDS Institute. "This report not only highlights the gaps and why they still exist after 30 years, but it also provides a blueprint for how to close the gaps and move those most at risk up to the front." Black MSM account for 1 in 500 Americans, but represent nearly 1 in 4 new HIV infections. Black MSM are also significantly less likely to be alive three years after being diagnosed with AIDS than are white or Latino MSM. By the age of 25, Black gay men have a 1 in 4 chance of becoming infected with HIV.

Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-black-gay-men-affected-aids.html#jCp

"Black MSM continue to be first in line when it comes to need, but remain at the back of the line when it comes to assistance," said Phill Wilson, Founder and Executive Director of the Black AIDS Institute. "This report not only highlights the gaps and why they still exist after 30 years, but it also provides a blueprint for how to close the gaps and move those most at risk up to the front." Black MSM account for 1 in 500 Americans, but represent nearly 1 in 4 new HIV infections. Black MSM are also significantly less likely to be alive three years after being diagnosed with AIDS than are white or Latino MSM. By the age of 25, Black gay men have a 1 in 4 chance of becoming infected with HIV.

Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-black-gay-men-affected-aids.html#jCp

Historian Reveals over 100 Photos of Black Gay Couples from the past 150 Years

Historian Trent Kelly has found and collected over 100 photos of Black gay couples from the past 150 years.

Colorlines has a statement from Trent:

Historically, the Afro American gay male and couple has largely been defined by everyone but themselves. Afro American gay men are ignored into nonexistence in parts of black culture and are basically second class citizens in gay culture. The black church which has historically played a fundamental role in protesting against civil injustices toward its parishioners has been want to deny its gay members their right to live a life free and open without prejudice. Despite public projections of a “rainbow” community living together in harmonious co-habitation, openly active and passive prejudices exist in the larger gay community against gay Afro Americans.

This is wonderful and it gives such a rich history of our Black gay culture. Thank you, Trent for gathering this collection.

WATCH: President Obama addresses Black Gay Men in his World AIDS Speech

Big Surprise! Gay College Students are using Sugar Daddies to pay Debt

Lord, this was something I knew was true, but I didn't want to know. Gay boys are using Sugar Daddies to pay their debt.

Of Sugar Daddy For Me’s 3 million members, Sharma says that about 2 million are sugar babies. Men seeking a gay sugar daddy account for about 80,000 of the site’s members and of these, about a quarter list some combination of “school,” “college,” “university,” “money for school,” “student debt,” “college debt,” “tuition,” and “college expenses” in their profile.


Another site, SeekingArrangement.com, which boasts over 800,000 members, has seen a sharp increase in users that it defines as “college sugar babies.” The site's 41-year-old founder, Brandon Wade, estimates that about 35 percent of its members are college students and 90,000 are gay male sugar babies. In 2007, the site said it had 5,239 gay male sugar babies who were also enrolled in college. Today, that figure stands at 35,682.

Kirk tries to abide by a few basic ground rules when getting sex for money: he refuses to perform oral sex, always wears protection, and will only have sex as a top, never a bottom. Whenever possible, he tries to avoid having sex with supposedly straight, married men looking for a “discreet” hook-up.


“I don’t want to feel objectified because of an exchange of money for sex. I want to feel equal and empowered, but I’m also really explicit that I’m just there for the money,” says Kirk, who estimates that he’s received money for having sex with more than 100 men in the last few years.

Please check out the rest of the article... Eric Arvin could probably write a hot story about this.


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Testing Makes Us Stronger Campaign targets Gay Black Men

After the startling news of HIV hikes in Black Men, a new campaign hopes to reach out to the community.

It's called "Testing Makes Us Stronger" and here's the story behind it, from Richard Wolitski, a deputy director in the CDC’s HIV/AIDS Prevention Division:

Testing Makes Us Stronger builds on the strengths of young black gay and bisexual men. This campaign was developed based on extensive input by a panel of 19 black men who have sex with men who are leaders in their community. The CDC then used these recommendations to expand the formative research to develop images and final concept for final campaign with 400 men participating by the end.


We believe that the message of this campaign is affirming. We wanted to show black gay couples who are loving and supportive and, at the same time, we wanted to document a diverse range of strong men in community. We hope to show that their isn’t one idealized form of masculinity but men who represent different forms of strength that come from a place of affirmation.

We do need stronger messaging, but we also need the Black community to get involve more than ever.

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12 Things Black LGBT folks need to do NOW!

Okay, it's time for more Black LGBT folks to step up and represent. Now, I'm not saying that it's not happening, but we can do more. So, I have some ideas on what we can do to get on point.

1. Vote in all elections. Yes, Obama is key; but we need to make sure the right congressperson or Governor is in office.
2. Come Out!
3. Mentor someone trying to find their way.
4. Stand up to religious leaders and hold them accountable for their bigotry and lies.
5. Be visible.
6. Not only join LGBT organizations, but get on the board.
7. Get involved in community organizing.
8. Write a blog explaining your experiences. There are kids looking for examples, stories, and someone to connect with. 
9. Become more savvy about current events, not just on Beyonce.
10. Be proud of who you are.
11. Learn LGBT history. We should learn where we been, in order to know where to go.
12. Become more politically aware.

In NoMoreDownLow TV: Colin Powell and Phylicia Rashad speak on Homophobia

Also in the episode: Tyler Perry address Black men in Drag, funny lesbian Gloria Bigelow and the movie Children of God

Kenyon Farrow is a Modern Black History Hero

LGBT Activist and Executive Director of Queers For Economic Justice, Kenyon Farrow, received the title of BET's Modern Black History Hero.

Here's the video profile

This is good to see Kenyon honored for his hard work. Also it is good to see BET recognizing a Gay Black man.

Congrats, Kenyon


via Rod 2.0

Haters want the "I Am Gay" Billboards to come down

Ignorance is truly bliss. A few fools think this billboard is wrong and has to come down. Here's more about this foolishness:

The Rev. Alfred Thompkins, of Calvary Tabernacle, said the “I am gay” billboard message only encourages troubled youth to embrace homosexuality.

“A thirteen-year-old looks at these billboards and says, ‘That must be it, I must be gay,’ ” he said. “That goes directly against God’s purpose. As a resident of Schenectady, a pastor who works with young people, with families, frankly I’m really bothered by the message these send.”

The billboards offer three messages, showing gay men with their families, in church and on a basketball court. Each message starts with the announcement “I am gay,” in large letters, and concludes with, “We have always been a part of this community.”

They were designed by In Our Own Voices, a gay advocacy group in Albany. The state Department of Health paid for the billboards as part of an effort to find a more effective way to reduce the HIV infection rate, which has disproportionately hit gay and bisexual black men. Last year, the Centers for Disease Control said the epidemic had reached such a level that new methods must be found to encourage men to use condoms.

But there is no overt mention of HIV on the billboards. In Our Own Voices is instead hoping that greater acceptance of homosexuality could lead men to make healthier choices.

Daycare provider Pamela Spicer told the City Council that the billboards were so vague they were worthless.
“These messages are a failure. I think the Department of Health needs their money back,” she said. “The intent is to instruct them not to spread HIV if they have it … That does not come across in the message.”

Instead, she said, the billboards allow “inappropriate sexual expression.”

She argued that the messages should be limited to adult business zones — mainly industrial areas at the outskirts of the city.

She told the council that her clients read the billboards as she drives them to events in the city. She offers daycare to a 2-year-old, 4-year-old and 8-year-old.
“When I’m driving them to the Schenectady Public Library and they say, ‘What does gay mean?’ how do I answer that question?” she said. “How do I expose them to such content?”

Oh please! Stop this stupid notion about "what do I tell the kids" or if "they say I'm gay, then I am". Those reasons are dumb and ignorant at best. The reality is these people are just plain silly.This billboard is not worthless or pointless. It sends a powerful message that: Black men are gay and happy, We can have families and We Exist! Yes, we exist!

Because you don't like it or can't handle it, is not my problem or the billboard's problem. It's yours. You Pamela, you Rev. Thompkins and you Councilman Joseph. Y'all need to get over it, because we exist and if you take away the billboard, we will still exist.

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UPDATE in the Eddie Long Case: First Hearing Held Friday/May move to Mediation

This may be settled out of court.
Here's the story from Fox 5

The first court hearing in the Bishop Eddie Long sexual misconduct case was held Friday, and the case is headed for settlement talks. Lawyers for the bishop and the four young men who have filed suits against him said they want to avoid a trial and resolve the dispute in mediation early next year.

During a status conference held Friday, lawyers for both sides gave a road map of what's going to happen throughout the case, when it's going to happen and why it's going to happen.

On the way into the courthouse, Bishop Eddie Long's attorney Craig Gillen, and the young accusers' attorney, B.J. Bernstein, had little to say. But after a short status conference, one thing was clear: Both sides were ready to resolve the case.

 

WATCH the Latest 'No More Down Low' episode

Watch an interesting look into the Black Gay Culture 

A Great Story of a Gay Teen rising Above

Here is a great story of how this gay teen dealt with adversity and kept moving. Kadeem Swenson is living proof that It Gets Better.

Kadeem Swenson looks forward to graduating from D.C.’s Ballou STAY High School in June and is applying for admission to college. He gets good grades and his principal considers him a promising student with a good future.

But the strapping, six-foot-tall 18-year-old, who came out as gay at age 16, says he spent most of the past year hiding a part of his life that became far more difficult to deal with than his sexual orientation.
Forced by his parents to leave his home in Waldorf, Md., two years ago after he told them he’s gay, Swenson stayed with friends and relatives in D.C. and North Carolina for several months. He and his grandmother then prevailed upon his mother to enroll him in Ballou STAY, one of the D.C. public school system’s vocational and academic high schools that offer classes at night.

He stayed at the D.C. home of a student friend and her mother until the family moved to Chicago last year, leaving Swenson without a place to live. Believing a return to his mother and stepfather’s home in Waldorf wasn’t an option, Swenson said he set up residence in abandoned apartment buildings in the city’s Congress Heights section near Ballou.


With some financial support from his grandmother, he managed to get through his junior and part of his senior year at Ballou while hiding the fact that he lived a secret life as a homeless person. He stayed most of the time in a debris-strewn abandoned apartment building a few blocks from his school with no electricity or running water.

Please read more on Kadeem, it's a great story. Thanks to Son of Baldwin for the heads up

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New Trailer: Out. The Glenn Burke Story

WATCH the Men of Morehouse respond to Vibe's "Mean Girls" article

Last week, Vibe magazine released an article about gays, the dress code and the "image of men" of Morehouse College.

Now, the students respond, please watch.


A wink to Darian for the info.

New Web Series: "No More Down Low"

Yes! Black America Web reports that a new web series will discuss the Down Low drama and how it needs to end.
Here's some info:

"No More Down Low," a new online show launched this week, aims to portray the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community in a more holistic light and dispel myths about gay life.

The series will be on www.NoMoreDownLow.tv, so if you're interested check it out.


a wink to JMG

Vibe Magazine focuses on the Mean Girls of Morehouse College

Yes, I said Morehouse College. The prestigious black, all male college who last year, sparked drama after enforcing a dress code that focused on "men dressing like girls."


Vibe magazine has talked to a few of the gay students there. Here are some pieces from the article:

“I’ve always been into clothes, shoes, hair and everything,” says Diamond, who was born and raised in Providence, R.I. He says there’s a good chance he’ll transition into a woman at some point. “My mother says I always played dress-up in her clothes, my grandmother’s clothes. I’d even get my brother to do it sometimes. That’s just always been me—pushing the envelope of what I’m supposed to be as a man.”

So does Diamond really consider herself a man? At the question, he groans. “Yes, I refer to myself as a man, you know, to relieve any confusion. Sometimes people don’t understand the whole androgyny thing. There’s always the question: Well, what are you? Yes, I’m a man. I like women’s clothes. And yeah, I’m gay. But I don’t want that to define me. How come people can’t just see me as a person?”

...

Michael—who lives with Diamond and his boyfriend, Eric—and Brian, who has an off-campus apartment, are two of the current students at Morehouse who proudly call themselves members of the Plastics. “When I first got here, the androgynous kids were called the Glams,” Brian explains. “And then one day we were all sitting together on Brown Street and some straight guys walked by and called us the Plastics. Straight boys are the ones who gave us the name.”

While the two admit that the relationship between the Plastics and the straight community is fraught with issues, they say the rest of the gay community who can be downright hostile. “The gays hate us,” says Brian plainly.

“It’s because we have a certain aura,” says Michael. “We don’t care what people think about us when it comes to how we dress and carry ourselves. Some people are uncomfortable with it.”

...

Phillip—who hails from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.—came to Morehouse in hopes of pleasing his father, a minister from Jamaica who he says is staunchly homophobic. “I’ve always wanted to be a man’s man,” says Phillip, with a sigh. “I wanted to be masculine. I thought by coming here to Morehouse I could be the masculine man my father wanted me to be. The first day I got to campus, I was a boy. I had my little dreads pulled back, jeans and all that. Trying to be this masculine boy, real cool and real quiet.”

 

It took exactly one day on campus for Phillip to see that this plan was not going to work. “The first time I walked from my dorm to student services, someone yelled out ‘faggot’ and a crew of boys started laughing at me.” Phillip throws his hands up dramatically. “That was it. I was going to have to be me. There was no hiding that I was not masculine. That I was not a boy. I went back to taking my female hormones and rocking my hair.”

 I encourage y'all to check this article out. It's very interesting

1 in 5 Gay Men are and bisexual men in 21 major U.S. cities are infected with HIV

Damn, here is some staggering news, particularly about gay men of color:

Young men, and especially young black men, are least likely to know if they are infected with HIV, according to a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"We need to reinvigorate our response to preventing HIV among gay and bisexual men," Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, said in a telephone interview.

"We can't allow HIV to continue its devastating toll among gay and bisexual men, and in particular, among young black men."

Mermin's comments echoed an AIDS policy rolled out in July by the White House that asked states and federal agencies to find ways to cut new HIV infections by 25 percent.
Researchers at the CDC studied 8,153 men who have sex with men in 21 U.S. cities. The men were taking part in the 2008 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System, which looked at prevalence and awareness of the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Overall, they found that 19 percent of gay men are infected with HIV.
The study found that 28 percent of gay black men infected with HIV, compared with 18 percent of Hispanic men and 16 percent of white men.

Black men in the study were also least likely to be aware of their infection, with 59 percent unaware of their infection compared with 46 percent of Hispanic men and 26 percent of white men.

Age also plays a role. Among 18 to 29-year-old men, 63 percent did not know they were infected with HIV, compared with 37 percent of men aged 30 and older, the team reported in the CDC's weekly report on death and disease.

Please play safe guys.

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