LGBTQ

Political contributor Ed Buck sentenced to 30 years in prison for overdose deaths of two gay Black men

Political donor Ed Buck, 67, was found guilty last year of giving the men drugs during sexual encounters, leading to them to overdose in his apartment in West Hollywood, California.

Published

3 years ago

April 14, 2022

Unheard Voices Staff

Democratic contributor Ed Buck was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison Thursday after being convicted on charges related to the overdose deaths of two Black men in his home.

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Ed Buck sentenced

Buck, 67, was found guilty last year of giving the men drugs during sexual encounters, leading to them to overdose in his apartment in West Hollywood, California.

Prosecutors had sought a life sentence for Buck, saying he preyed on the vulnerable — often young gay Black men — for his sexual fetish.

Buck’s defense attorneys sought a decade behind bars, saying he was sexually abused as a child and health problems led to his drug addiction.

Victims

In July 2017, Gemelle Moore, 26, was found dead of an overdose in Buck’s apartment.

Buck had flown Moore from Texas that morning for drug use and by sunset he was dead.

Though the circumstances of Moore’s death was peculiar, Buck was only questioned by authorities and not arrested.

While his was being investigated for Moore’s murder, Buck was busy luring in more vulnerable young gay Black men. This time it was Timothy Dean.

Buck texted Dean to express his annoyance over the Moore investigation.

About 18 months after Moore’s death, authorities were back at Buck’s apartment on Jan. 7, 2019, to investigate Dean’s death.

Even after Dean’s death, Buck was still not arrested. And he continued to prey on more young gay Black men. His next victim was Dane Brown and he would survive to tell his story.

Brown was homeless and later moved into Buck’s apartment, where he was injected with meth almost daily and often several times a day.

He was hospitalized on September 4, 2019, after Buck shot him up three times with back-to-back doses. He had five times the meth in his system than Moore and Dean had when they died, prosecutors said.

Brown returned less than a week later and felt himself overdosing after Buck injected him three times with meth. Like other victims who testified against Buck at trial last summer, Brown was nearly immobilized. He said Buck wouldn’t help him.

Brown managed to get out of the apartment and made it to a nearby gas station, where he called for help and was taken to a hospital. His traumatic account of being revived twice finally led to Buck’s arrest.

Ed Buck exploited young gay Black men

Prosecutors said Buck “exploited the wealth and power balance” between himself and these men. They said he specifically targeted young gay Black homeless men in order to exploit them sexually.

In court filings, prosecutors said Buck “spent thousands of dollars on drugs and party and play sessions that destroyed lives and bred insidious addictions.”

“Buck used his money and privilege to exploit the wealth and power imbalances between himself and his victims, who were unhoused, destitute, and/or struggling with addiction,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea Norell said in a court filing.

Buck was a notable political donor who had given more than $53,000 to Democratic candidates and to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee since 2008, according to federal records. Several Democrats returned Buck’s campaign donations after he was charged.

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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.