Breaking News: We don't want Isaiah off Grey's Anatomy

We have said it before. Alas, the powers that be seem to have spoken.

No shame in his game: Quentin Harris

Photo by Joe Opperdisiano

Last time we wrote about Quentin Harris we were wondering if his Japanese-only import "No Politics" would be ever released in the United States. Hm... We're still waiting.

Still the man has been busy. Late last year, Quentin launched the hugely successful NRK records Coast2Coast series (Kerri Chandler, Ron Trent and Ame have followed) while, closer to home, he recently became the resident DJ at kissmyblackass, a monthly house music dance club party. That's in between all the touring he has been doing in Europe and the United States.

The man, who has remixed hits by Shakira, India Arie, Patti Labelle, Sting, Alicia Keys, Usher, Jill Scott, Mariah Carey, Leela James, Floetry and Femi Kuti has recently had a couple of his own cuts burn down the dancefloors throughout the world: "Hate Won't Change Me" featuring Byron Stingly and, more recently, "What it Feels Like" featuring the amazing Joi Cardwell (you can listen to both on the "audio console" at Quentin's official website).

In the meantime I have to admit that even I was a little shocked by how prominent Quentin has been on a different endeavor [Warning: NSFW].

Not that there aren't other out DJ's out there (Junior Vazquez, Frankie Knuckles, Tom Stephan a/k/a Superchumbo and Danny Tenaglia, among others) but spinning records as a gay DJ is something and actually putting your sexuality front and center as an integral part of an HIV prevention campaign targeting gay men of color is quite another (oh, and did I mention that it's all about gay men of color who are active in the leather and s&m communities?).

As the site says Safer+Saner "provides safer sex outreach targeting the leather and kink communities" and was founded in 2005 by Blackkat, Mr. American Leatherman 2005. Since its foundation, Safer+Saner has organized a few events and Quentin has gladly provided his, ehem, DJ services.

It's refreshing to see one of the most promising DJ's out there be so engaged in the community. But, still, I wanted to ask Quentin whether it was OK to write about it on this blog. His response?

"You can blog about whatever dude i have no shame!...LOL."

So for having no shame in his game, Quentin Harris becomes my second hero of the week! And, mind you, I don't necessarily take bestowing "hero" status lightly.

Links:

• Quentin Harris official website here
• Quentin Harris MySpace page here
• Safer+Saner here [Warning: NSFW]

Albany black and Latino gay pride banner vandalized

From Albany, New York, comes word that a banner announcing a June 2nd Black & Latino Gay Pride celebration was slashed earlier in the week by vandals. Capital News 9 has the story (as well as video if you go to their webpage).

The annual event is put together by Albany's LGBT people of color organization In Our Own Voices.

Cocodorm goes after black gay and lesbian bloggers

It's been a year almost to the day that I posted some comments regarding black and Latino gay porn in the wake of a scandal in Chicago involving porn producer Phillip Bleicher and his well-known (in certain circles) Cocodorm a/k/a FlavaWorks a/k/a Thugboy a/k/a PapiCock a/k/a Cocoboyz productions.

At issue: Did Cocodorm instruct performers not to wear condoms during live sex sessions broadcast online to paying subscribers? Did performers sign a contract that was reported to the Chicago Health Department as being akin to "illegal servitude?" And did Bleicher and some partners also bilk public funding through a purported nonprofit youth service agency he set up for expenditures including liposuction surgery and trips to Brazil?

Bernard Tarver over at Bejata has the published findings of the Chicago Health Department investigation and - no surprise - it's a damning report.

Thing is that since the scandal broke Bleicher left Chicago and settled in Florida. But - what do you know? - the past can sometimes catch up to you.

Now, a few bloggers have kept up with the story, including Bernard, Jasmyne Cannick, Darian Aaron and C. Baptiste-Williams. Incredibly, Cocodorm is now targeting them with cease and desist threats as Bernard chronicles over on his blog.

Not the right move at all. Let's hope that Bleicher gets what is coming to him. Support bloggers that are reporting on the issue and stop supporting sites that exploit young gay men.

Other responses:

• Flava Works has gone too far (Keith Boykin)
  
• Cocodorm gets caught in the porn act (Greasyguide)

Recommended: A Conversation With My Brothers

For those who might be checking this blog from time to time or people who might stumble upon it during these days, I recommend that you keep an eye on Bernard Tarver's blog Bejata over the next few days for what promises to be a thought-provoking series of posts on black gay men at midlife.

These entries provide a unique look at middle-age gay black men talking about their own lives (as opposed to others such as health service providers or researchers talking about the 'reality' of gay black men's lives) as well as opportunities for reflection (I certainly saw some echoes of the Latino gay male experience in the United States among some of these comments).

• Part 1: Intro: A Conversation With My Brothers (March 25, 2007)
• Part 2: The Search for a Community (March 26, 2007)
• Part 3: Friendship, love and intimacy (March 27, 2007)
• Part 4: The End of Our Youth (March 28, 2007)
• Part 5: The Second Act (March 29, 2007)
• Part 6: Love and the Older Man (March 30, 2007)
• Part 7: Redefining Community (March 31, 2007)
  
• Part 8: Looking Back, Moving Forward (April 1, 2007)
• Part 9: We'll All Be Old Someday (April 2, 2007)
• Part 10: The Need for a Plan (April 3, 2007)
  
• Part 11: Golden Men (April 4, 2007)
• Part 12: Conclusion: A conversation with my younger brothers (April 5, 2007)
• Coda: Where do we go from here? (April 7, 2007)
  

But wait! There's more! The Republic of T. ponders...

• Intimacy (April 7, 2007)
• The End of Youth and the Second Act (April 7, 2007)

Enjoy.

Gay City News on the death of Michael Sandy

On the latest issue of Gay City News:

"Several dozen activists, most of them leaders in the black gay community, turned out Monday on the steps of City Hall for a press conference that was intended as a show of community solidarity and brotherhood in the face of the latest in a long line of vicious attacks on gay men of African descent in New York City..." (to read more click on "A Focus on Community, Change, Non-Violence and Love" by Gay City News Editor Paul Schindler).

"There are no flowers at the site where Michael J. Sandy was murdered. There is no handwritten sign expressing love for him or sorrow at his death, no teddy bear, no candles, none of the elements that are usually part of the impromptu memorials that mark the sites of homicides or traffic accidents..." (to read more click on "Grappling to Respond to Murder" by Gay City News Associate Editor Duncan Osborne).

Sad News: Michael Sandy has died, rally at NY City Hall on Monday

Michael Sandy, a gay black man who was hit by a car in Brooklyn on Sunday night as he sought to escape an ambush by young men who had lured him to a deserted parking lot by promising sex through a gay chat room, has died after bspending a week in a coma according to ABC news (via Keith Boykin).

Three suspects, who range in age from 16 to 20 have been arraigned on hate crime charges and it's expected that police will "upgrade" the charges now that Mr. Sandy has died (a fourth man is still under investigation). All suspects are white and it has been reported that they had previously used gay chat rooms to lure potential robbery victims in the past.

Boykin's site reports that a rally sponsored by People of Color in Crisis, the New York State Black Gay Network, the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project and the National Black Justice Coalition will be held on the steps of the New York City Council on Monday at 5pm to demand an end to hate crimes in the city and to hold city leaders accountable.

Please join us.

Queer Kid of Color

Are you a Queer Kid of Color? Well, lucky you! A brand new website has just popped up for you guys and gals! And you'll find interesting essays on everything from "The Anatomy of a Homo-Thug" to "The Down Low, Expired." If you click on the link above, you will find thoughtful commentary that doesn't speak down to you and is not built around the victimization frameline that so many HIV prevention websites that target queer youth of color employ (as a matter of fact it seems to be independent of any of the HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention organizations in the city which, in some ways, can be a good thing). Updated every Sunday, check it out sometime!

My New York: I am gay (and this is where I stay)

So walking down the still muggy subway platform station as I made my way to work yesterday morning, I just had to stop and take the picture above: "I AM GAY, and this is where I stay."

Well, ok!

Of course I got a little bit closer and was surprised to see that the subway poster was actually part of a campaign funded by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) called "The Campaign for Black Gay Men's Lives" and developed under contracy by Better World Advertising to "respond differently to HIV."

Now, this is old news, apparently, as I see that the campaing launch actually took place back in April. Perhaps it took a few months for the posters to make it to Queens subway stations? In any case, it's refreshing to see a campaign targetting African-American communities in New York City that proactively affirms the value of black gay men's lives in this city.

Three years ago, we did a series of similar ads in Spanish-language newspapers in New York City with not nearly as much money and without access to an advertising firm. In the ads, we featured Latino gays and lesbians from all walks of life talking about their identity, their nationality and their connection to Latino communities throughout New York City (the first such ads to run in the country, I believe).

Perhaps in the future we can also get the same level of support for a wider campaign.

All in all, the ad left me feeling optimistic, for the first time in ages, that HIV prevention among people of color communities in the city might be entering a new, more effective stage. And that would be great news for all.