LGBTQ

CNN Anchor Don Lemon says being Black and gay is worst thing a person can be

Popular CNN Anchor Don Lemon, who not long ago told the world he was gay, recently stated being a black gay male is the worst thing to be in the African-American community.

Published

13 years ago

February 8, 2012

Unheard Voices Staff

This is very interesting. Popular CNN Anchor Don Lemon, who not long ago told the world he was gay, recently stated being a black gay male is the worst thing to be in the African American community. He expressed there’s a lack of acceptance of the LGBT community by black Americans.

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Don Lemon on being Black and gay

The Root reports that this statement has angered many African American women as well as those that do not believe that homophobia is more prevalent with the African American community.

During a media blitz for his book Transparent, gay CNN anchor Don Lemon candidly opened up about the homophobia he has experienced in the black community.

“It’s quite different for an African-American male,” he told the New York Times in May 2011. “It’s about the worst thing you can be in black culture.”

It wasn’t the first time that African Americans had been accused of not supporting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. But his comment inspired a swift deluge of criticism from black women, black LGBT folks and LGBT allies. In The Root, contributor Michael Arceneaux contested Lemon’s allegation. The backlash against Lemon challenged the perception that African Americans are more homophobic than any other group.

Culture

BLK Dating App celebrates Pride Month 2024 with new campaign “It’s Giving Space: Celebrating Queer Event Curators and Entrepreneurs”

BLK’s 2024 Pride Month campaign represents a pivotal initiative that celebrates and amplifies the influence of key figures within the Black LGBTQ+ community.

Published

5 months ago

June 14, 2024

Unheard Voices Staff

Photo Credit: BLK Dating App

BLK Dating App, the world’s largest dating and lifestyle app for the Black community, is celebrating Pride Month 2024 with its new campaign, “It’s Giving Space: Celebrating Queer Event Curators.”

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BLK Dating App Pride Month 2024 campaign

The campaign, created in partnership with author, podcast host, and BLK Advocacy Council member, Sesali Bowen, focuses on Black event curators in cities across the country.

By integrating engaging content, social media, in-real-life (IRL) events, with this initiative, BLK strives to inspire and honor the authentic, diverse expressions of being Black, Proud, and Queer.

Featured collective

The initiative spotlights the compelling stories of three LGBTQ+ party collectives:

Party Noire (Chicago): Celebrates Black femmes, Queer Women of Color, and Black womanhood through events and community activities.
Global Warming (Brooklyn): Focuses on uplifting Black and Brown queer and trans folks, providing safe and joyful spaces.
Lesbians in Houston (Houston): Creates safe spaces for queer women in a conservative state, hosting vibrant nightlife events.

The campaign will not only highlight their contributions but also address the cultural challenges that contribute to the underrepresentation of Black queer spaces.

For more information, visit www.theplugbyblk.com.

Check out the trailer below:

Entrepreneur Spotlight

Creating a safe space for Black LGBTQ+ joy

BLACK JOY DISCO wants to celebrate Black LGBTQ+ culture in Washington, DC with performances, art, and custom mocktails, but financial challenges have prompted organizer and DC creative Lee Levingston Perine to start a GoFundMe to help fund the affirming space.

Published

6 months ago

May 12, 2024

Unheard Voices Staff

Photo: GoFundMe

“I seek to raise $5,000 by Friday, May 17, 2024, to cover essential expenses for this significant community event,” Perine wrote.

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About BLACK JOY DISCO

BLACK JOY DISCO is an Afrofuturist, zero-proof micro-festival celebrating Black LGBTQ+ joy and culture through music, movement, and media.

The event is set to take place Saturday, May 18, 2024 at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

The lineup includes performances by local luminaries like Riley Knoxx, Pussy Noir, King Molasses, and The Experience Band & Show, a pop-up shop, custom mocktails, and a dance party with Baronhawk Poitier and live drumming by Asha “BOOMCLAK” Santee.

They are also creating a “Liberation Lounge, ” a sanctuary that imagines a collective future where Black LGBTQ+ folx can thrive. The multimedia installation affirms and uplifts Black cultural practices of joy, activism, and wellness through projection, soundscapes, and art making, including the Chocolate City Wishing Tree.

GoFundMe

Donations are expected to help ensure this celebration of Black LGBTQ+ joy can move forward as planned.

To read more and donate to their cause, visit the GoFundMe.

Visit BLACK JOY DISCO’s website.

Culture

Billy Porter to play James Baldwin in biopic

Billy Porter is set to play novelist and civil rights activist James Baldwin in an upcoming biopic produced by Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group Motion Pictures.

Published

2 years ago

April 12, 2023

Unheard Voices Staff

Billy Porter (Photo Credit:Steam Pipe Trunk Distribution Venue https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Billy_Porter.png)/James Baldwin (Photo Credit: Allan Warren | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_Baldwin_35AllanWarren_Allan_Warren.jpg)

Billy Porter is set to play writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin in an upcoming biopic produced by Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group Motion Pictures.

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Billy Porter will play in James Baldwin biopic

Porter and Dan McCabe will write the script for the biopic based on David Leeming’s 1994 book James Baldwin: A Biography.

The deep look into Baldwin’s life and struggles represents the culmination of a long-held creative ambition for the Emmy-, Tony- and Grammy Award-winning performer.

“As a Black queer man on this planet with relative consciousness, I find myself, like James Baldwin said, ‘in a rage all the time.’ I am because James was. I stand on James Baldwin’s shoulders, and I intend to expand his legacy for generations to come,” Porter said in a statement.

About James Baldwin

Born in Harlem in 1924, Baldwin was a gay African American writer and civil rights activist who spent much of his life outside the U.S., writing largely about Black identity, activism, sexuality and race relations.

James Baldwin (Photo by Allan Warren, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_Baldwin_35AllanWarren_Allan_Warren.jpg)

Baldwin is best-known for the iconic books, Go Tell It on the Mountain, Notes of a Native Son, Another Country and The Fire Next Time, which have all been turned into or inspired by movies, including If Beale Street Could Talk and I Am Not Your Negro documentary.

Production

Porter’s Incognegro Productions will co-produce the James Baldwin biopic along with Allen Media Group.

“Billy Porter and Dan McCabe’s talent and commitment to amplifying James Baldwin’s legacy and contributions are invaluable and unmatched for this unique and epic story,” said Allen, chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group, in a statement reports The Hollywood Reporter.