Teen in Exorcism Tells "Tyra Banks" He is "Healed" and Ex-Gay

The teen that has caused a sensation when a video of him being exorcised from "homosexual demons" was posted on YouTube has stated on "Tyra Banks" that he has been "healed."

From Rod 2.0:

There is a disturbing update to the case of the fundamentalist Connecticut church that became the focus of a child welfare investigation after it posted YouTube video which shows the pastors performing an exorcism of a black gay teen's "homosexual demons." The 16-year-old appeared on Tyra Banks on Wednesday and now claims he has been "healed" by the exorcism and no longer gay.

Read some more of his statements here.

Is homosexuality still taboo and unacceptable in the black community? Is this the only way for this teen to be accepted by his family? The conflict between sexual identity and the religious community (and identity) is very real, and one that seems to be difficult to resolve.

First HIV Vaccine Helps Prevent AIDS Infection

For the first time, an experimental vaccine has prevented infection with the HIV virus.

From The Huffington Post:

The World Health Organization and the U.N. agency UNAIDS said the results "instilled new hope" in the field of HIV vaccine research.

The vaccine – a combination of two previously unsuccessful vaccines – cut the risk of becoming infected with HIV by more than 31 percent in the world's largest AIDS vaccine trial of more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand, researchers announced Thursday in Bangkok.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/24/first-vaccine-helps-preve_n_298250.html

Read the full report here.

More Tour Dates Canceled for 'Homophobic' Jamaican Singer

You may have heard recently about Buju Banton, a Jamaican reggae singer who's currently on tour. More of this dates are getting cut. Banton's anti-gay anthem, "Boom Bye Bye," a popular song in Jamaica that talks about shooting gays and burning their bodies, has been a source of controversy. Banton however still has around 30 stops on his U.S. tour.

From Edge on the Net:

One venue that refused to cancel Banton’s appearance was the Trocadero in Philadelphia. Banton was scheduled to appear there on Sept. 12, but so were protesters who vowed to show up and demonstrate against Banton and against Trocadero owner Joanna Pang and a local promoter.

A Sept. 13 press release from the Gay Liberation Network noted that Web site CancelBujuBanton.com had announced that the performer had seen gigs fall through in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Minneapolis in the span of a few days.

Read the full story here.

Author E. Lynn Harris, 54, Dies Today

We here are mourning the death of E. Lynn Harris, one of the most significant cultural figures in the black LGBT community and modern movement. This mourning period, while sad, has served the important educational purpose of spreading Harris' powerful literary influence.

Our own Donna Payne has writes today:

Today I learned that someone very dear to the African American LGBT Community died. E. Lynn Harris was a well known author in our community and on a book tour when he had a heart attack. He blew everyone away in the early 1990’s with his first book “Invisible Life”. It chronicled the life of an African American male living a double life- one as a so-called straight man following the traditions of our black culture (going to church, attending college and family life). The other part of his double life was seeing a man on the side and keeping a cover of beautiful women around to appear straight.

E. Lynn Harris released us all from the “cultural secret” called the “down low” life. He left us over 12 books on the NY Best Seller list for over 15 years! His latest book out this week is “Basketball Jones”.

From CNN.com:

Though Harris wrote primarily about black gay men, some of his biggest fans were black women. His books became staples in black beauty salons, bookstores and book clubs.

"It was hard to go on a subway in places in New York or D.C. and not see some black woman reading an E. Lynn Harris novel," Boykin said.

Harris was an unlikely literary pioneer. He was a former IBM executive who decided to write about his life. He started off in 1991 selling books from the trunk of his car to African-American beauty salons and bookstores.

He eventually became one of the nation's most popular writers with an estimated 4 million of his books in print.

Read the full obituary on this extremely culturally important figure after the jump

Rainey Cheeks, an Affirming Bishop

Today the Washington Post did a biographic snapshot of one of the HRC's allies who works within black, faith-based communities to promote LGBT awareness and affirmation. Bishop Rainey Cheeks, who is often interviewed and placed in debate on both radio and television as a progressive voice, is truly a valued member of our community.

From the Post:

In the middle of a sermon, Bishop Rainey Cheeks felt his medicine bottle bulging in his pocket and realized he hadn't taken his pills. He paused in the pulpit and faced the congregation in his tiny storefront church.

"Excuse me," Cheeks remembers telling his parishioners last year as he poured three pills into his hand. "This is my HIV medicine. I'm going to take it now."

As he washed down the pills with water, Cheeks saw some members staring with wide eyes. Everybody knew that their pastor, an imposing man with flowing dreadlocks who once competed in taekwondo championships, is gay. But not everyone knew that he is HIV-positive.

"Go ahead, Rev," a few congregants urged. But most shrugged and waited for the bishop to swallow and get on with delivering the good word.

Inner Light Ministries in the District's H Street corridor might seem like a traditional black church, with fiery sermons, electric gospel music, a soulful choir and a congregation that sways and claps in rhythm. But it is hardly that.

For 16 years, it has served as a sanctuary for a small community of black gays and lesbians who say they feel shunned from all directions -- by black men and women who give them cutting looks of disapproval, by mainstream black ministers who condemn homosexuality, and by white gays who make them feel unwelcome in subtle ways, such as switching from hip-hop to country music in a club when too many black men hit the dance floor.

Read the rest of the mini-bio after the jump

Anthony Woods for Congress!

Today, the HRC released their official endorsement for Anthony Woods as congressman of California's 10th District






From HRC Backstory:

Today the Human Rights Campaign PAC along with the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund announced their endorsement of Anthony Woods for U.S. Congress. Woods, who is running in the September 1, Special Election for California’s 10th Congressional District, earned the Bronze Star after serving two tours in Iraq in the U.S. Army. He was honorably discharged after challenging the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law.

Said HRC President Joe Solmonese: “The Human Rights Campaign is proud to endorse Anthony Woods, a veteran of the Iraq war and steadfast advocate for our community, to become the next U.S. Congressman from California’s 10th district. Anthony hasn’t just shown his support on issues of LGBT equality, he’s lived them — especially the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ Anthony’s support of marriage equality will also be important as we work to repeal Proposition 8, which stripped marriage rights away for California’s same-sex couples. There is no doubt that Anthony will be a role model for LGBT youth, and we applaud his continuing service to our country.”

"Gay is not the New Black"

Picture Property of ESPN


Commentator and public personality, LZ Granderson, Recently wrote a piece for CNN on why the gay rights movement is distinct from the civil rights movement, and where there might be confusion and conflict within the two (according to him) separate sequences of events. We'd definitely like you to weigh in and share your own thoughts and experiences with the two conflicting identities of race and sexuality.


From CNN.com:

When Proposition 8 passed in California, white gays were quick to blame the black community despite blacks making up less than 10 percent of total voters and whites being close to 60 percent. At protest rallies that followed, some gay blacks reported they were even hit with racial epithets by angry white participants. Not to split hairs, but for most blacks, the n-word trumps the f-word.

So while the white mouthpiece of the gay community shakes an angry finger at intolerance and bigotry in their blogs and on television, blacks and other minorities see the dirty laundry. They see the hypocrisy of publicly rallying in the name of unity but then privately living in segregated pockets. And then there is the history.

The 40th anniversary of Stonewall dominated Gay Pride celebrations around the country, and while that is certainly a significant moment that should be recognized, 40 years is nothing compared with the 400 blood-soaked years black people have been through in this country. There are stories some blacks lived through, stories others were told by their parents and stories that never had a chance to be told.

While those who were at Stonewall talk about the fear of being arrested by police, 40 years ago, blacks talked about the fear of dying at the hands of police and not having their bodies found or murder investigated. The 13th Amendment was signed in 1865, and it wasn't until 1948 that President Harry S Truman desegregated the military. That's more than an 80-year gap.

Check out the full opinion after the jump and don't forget to weigh in here!