LGBTQ

New Jersey Supreme Court To Allow Same-Sex Marriages

The state’s highest court level ruled unanimously Friday to uphold a lower-court order that gay weddings must start Monday and to deny a delay that was sought by Gov. Chris Christie’s administration.

Published

11 years ago

October 19, 2013

Unheard Voices Staff

Photo by Uriel Mont: https://www.pexels.com/photo/loving-black-gays-caressing-near-illuminated-trees-6315088/

New Jersey same-sex marriages now allowed thanks to supreme court.

In a special ceremony, Mayor Cory A. Booker will marry seven gay, lesbian and straight Newark couples on Monday, October 21st at 12:01 am in City Hall.

The state’s highest court level ruled unanimously Friday to uphold a lower-court order that same-sex marriages must start Monday and to deny a delay that was sought by Gov. Chris Christie’s administration.

A judge on a lower court ruled last month that New Jersey must recognize same-sex marriages and set Monday as the date to allow gay weddings. Christie, a Republican who is considered a possible 2016 presidential candidate, appealed the decision and asked for the start date to be put on hold while the state appeals.

But the show will go on and same-sex couples will begin getting married on Monday, 12:01 on the dot.

Since taking office in 2006, Mayor Booker has refused all requests to officiate New Jersey marriages because gay and lesbian couples have been denied that equal right.

The couples will be married individually in the first floor rotunda of City Hall. The event will begin at 11:45 p.m. as couples begin entering the rotunda from the second floor. Ceremonies will begin promptly at 12:01 a.m. The ceremonies will be followed by cake and refreshments.

----------------------------------------------------------
Connect with Unheard Voices on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube

Download the app on Google Play or ITunes.
----------------------------------------------------------
Unheard Voices Magazine is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

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.”

Table of Contents

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.

Table of Contents

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.

Table of Contents

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.