I do not believe that most men, upon reflection, would want a negative depiction of men (as expressed in the slogan) to justify the rejection of an equal rights ordinance. "Men ofHouston", I do not believe you deserve the fear-mongering that used your gender to defeat an equal rights ordinance!
Read MoreThose who suggest that today's justice is universal and embraces us all, are either unknowing and unobserving, or they are seeking to preserve their privilege and power at the expense of those without privilege and power.
Read MoreHow should these pictures of a slice of Black History that some would deny, others would revise, and still others would respond to with amnesia, shape our response to the brutality of "Islamic State group militants?" In other pictures that I have, there are men in their white robes gathered around burning crosses. If they are not Christian terrorists, why should we be so certain about speaking/writing of "Islamic Terrorists?”
Read MoreAlthough I do not agree with Dr. Carson's views on marriage equality, nor with the ways he is being embraced by some conservatives, my greater concern is how Dr. Carson identifies with America's greatest protest movement, the Civil Rights Movement. Do those who embrace Dr. Ben Carson because of his conservatism on a host of issues do so as a way of separating him from a movement that was neither liberal or conservative — America's Civil Rights Movement? ...Dr. Ben Carson, Oprah Winfrey has given witness to her long support of black justice by playing the role of Annie Lee Cooper in SELMA. If given the opportunity, what role would you have played in the film?
Read MoreLangston Hughes ends his poem by asking; "What happens to a dream deferred?........ does it like a raisin in the sun explode?" How do we, or do we, find ways to assess the emotional and spiritual toll that hiding in the closet of internalized racism and/or internalized heterosexism takes on the lives, humanity and well-being of those who are black, those who are gay and those who are both? Could the THERE of "From Selma to Stonewall: Are we there yet?" be that place that none of us or few of us have dared to go?
Read MoreI long ago ceased engaging in debate about the differences between the discrimination/oppression of blacks and gay. There is no equivalence! I have written these words to call for a new and/or renewed coalition of Blacks and Gays and our ally/advocates as we confront the "isms" that empower some at the expense of others. The economic, educational, healthcare, business ownership, residential and other inequities that divide us, call for activist coalitions.
Read MoreI can only hope that opening this conversation on film will also open these doors to private struggles, and let them flow out to the streets where they are diluted with love and acceptance. Actually, I can do more than just hope. I can march forward with these civil rights soldiers with my own tools of battle. Camera. Speed. Action!
Read More"From Selma to Stonewall raises critical issues and highlights the pivotal role that religion should play in ensuring equal rights and justice for all."
Read MoreOn this Juneteenth and in honor of LGBTQ Pride celebrations worldwide, Truth in Progress is celebrating by launching our crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter for our 30-minute documentary film FROM SELMA TO STONEWALL!... The power of the human story to connect people, bring deeper meaning, and unite rather than divide is immeasurable. When a people rise up together, out of the struggle, there is a power that is unstoppable. FROM SELMA TO STONEWALL will be a resource for many audiences, individuals, national and local organizations, and classroom studies. Please back this goal by making a donation today. On this JUNETEENTH, freedom is on time!
Read MoreI, as a black person who is "straight" call upon those of us who are straight allies and advocates of gay rights, even as we with our LGBTQ colleagues, have reasons to rejoice today, we think about this, "What must it be like to be Gay and live in Arizona where Legislators, thought so little of me and my humanity that the passing of SB 1032 was almost a 'slam dunk'?" I in my life's journey have wanted those who are not black to imagine what it is like to "walk in my shoes". Therefore for those of us who are straight, may our celebrations be sobered as we imagine what it is like to be Gay in Arizona, the day after and the days after, the news about SB 1032. The "negative music" that embraced the Bill may be over, but the "negative melody" that made possible the passage of the Bill, lingers on.
Read MoreGil, how could a simple majority not decisively vote to end the suffering? It was after their vote that the second group that you were a part of was arrested from the stage where you stood between the delegates and the bishops, taken away by officers of the Cleveland police. Later, as I signed the papers for each of the 28 of you to get out on bail, the clerk said to me, “The Klan was here a few months ago. No one arrested them.” I believe Jesus would have wept at this sorrow.
Read MoreNearly fifty years later, I am reminded of Selma as I witness new voter ID laws popping up across our country. These laws will disenfranchise huge numbers of Americans this November—especially African Americans, the elderly, and college students. These voter ID laws make a mockery of the Selma to Montgomery March and the many sacrifices that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965."
Read More