About.com's Ramone Johnson interviewed Gay Rapper Deadlee and posted it on their website here. It is a good interview if not overly long but Deadlee definitely makes his point about hip hop and the homophobia in the genre. When asked if Homo Hop and mainstream Hip Hop could ever share one love, he replied "I wish this whole gay hip-hop thing didn't have a label. We had to do it to make a distinction that there are gay hip-hoppers out there, but hopefully [gay hip-hop] will just blend in. I don't want to be in just a 'gay hip-hop' section. That's kind of wack, I think. I want to be in the hip-hop section.I'm going to be, like, the gay rapper, regardless. Just like Eminem is the white rapper. [That label] has come off him, but it might take a while to take the 'gay' off."
As part of the HomoRevolution Tour 2007, Deadlee is out loud and in front of a rising tide of hip hip artists that are Gay and not afraid to say it. This tour is important in a lot of ways other than just musically. One of my readers, dtlajaime sent me a copy of a letter to Deadlee that illustrates how important it is for people in the public eye to be out and vocal about it. Here is the letter:
my mom when i was 11. she told me that it was a sin and that she
wanted to do nothing with me. she said to think of her as dead as
she would 2 me. For years (till now) i tryd killing my self. i hated
my self i would have given anythin just to hear from her words "te
amo" i love you. she never cared tho. My dad was ok with me. till
DAVID came along my first and only love i had. we had sex and my dad
found out, he wanted to kill me but he didn't act on it. i live with
my dad sence but it is like i don't. we moved he didn't let me talk
to anyone exept girls. i was always locked in my room i never wanted
to see him. I hated life i hated my self and i hated being gay. the
other day i was watching music videos on LOGO and Good Soldier came
on. i cryd thro the whole video, it remineded me of my self. i love
your work! you are a big role model in my life. i can not thank you
enof. THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME!!! you helped me in so many ways.
Thank you!
And here is dtlajaimes comment that was posted with the letter:
"the role of Artists is to continually raise society's consciousness by helping folks over come their fears and come to understand them selves by respecting others. Deadlee's music reintroduces a HOPE component to the lives of a whole coming generation of young queers out there in Mid America !!!"
It is vitally important for those of us who are older to light the way for those coming after us. Our history is not always recorded so we must do what people have done for centuries, pass our history along by word of mouth. Thankfully today we have artists like Deadlee and QBoy that are unafraid to record their living history for today's young people and future generations of queers everywhere. For more on the HomoRevolution Tour 2007 see the official website.
As long as we are talking about important tours, Soulforce Equality Ride 2007 has been besieged with harassment and arrests. In Provo a LDS Rider and his mother were arrested for trying to deliver a list of concerns about discrimination towards GLBT students to the administration of BYU. The list was presented with a white lily symbolizing the LDS youth who have committed suicide because they could not reconcile their LDS faith and sexual orientation. There were over 50 pages of concerns. Concurrently with this attempt Equality Riders and community members walked around the perimeter of the BYU campus to reenact the "Walls of Jericho" march by the Israelites so many years ago in hopes that the walls of discrimination would come tumbling down.
Meanwhile in Clinton, MS the Equality Ride Bus was stopped three times by police vehicles within less than ten minutes. Their driver was subjected to threatening demands to "get out of town." The following letter was sent to the Attorney General for the State of Mississippi:
March 23, 2007
Attorney General Jim Hood
MS Attorney General's Office
Carroll Gartin Justice Building
450 High Street
Jackson, MS 39201
Sent Via: Facsimile
Re: "Get out of town"
Dear Attorney General Hood,
We write today out of deep concern for the actions of the Clinton Mississippi Police Department. We are the Co-Directors of the Soulforce Equality Ride, a bus tour of college students who are crossing the country to advocate for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality. As a group we are committed to and trained in the principles of nonviolence, and have a history of peaceful dialogue and respectful interaction with college students and administrations across the country. Soulforce has an outstanding relationship with many police departments and honors the hard work that law enforcement officials put into their lives everyday.
Last night, while in the town of Clinton, Mississippi, we experienced a distressing form of police intimidation. After a day of dialogue at nearby Mississippi College, we parked our bus in downtown Clinton. We were waiting for the return of some of the members of our tour from area coffee shops. While waiting, a police vehicle approached the bus with its lights flashing, signaling us to move. Our bus driver immediately turned down the nearest road and into a church parking lot to await the Equality Riders. The same officer once again followed us into the parking lot, with his lights on and asked our driver to speak with him. The officer was quite aggressive in demanding that we "go on and get out of town." Our driver explained that we were still waiting on the remainder of our group, but was still forced to move the bus. At that time, we drove and parked the bus in a lot that was previously designated by the city of Clinton. For the third time, a police vehicle approached us with flashing lights. The officer who approached us was extremely indignant and asked us "what is your problem? We have already given you breaks today." Our driver explained that we were in the space the City provided for us. In response, the officer asserted that our driver would be arrested if he were to take us anywhere else and not leave the city of Clinton immediately. Soon after, a community member arrived with the rest of the Equality Riders and we left promptly. We are prepared to provide sworn affidavits from ten people who can attest to the above series of events.
This behavior on the part of a Clinton police officer is unacceptable and we consider it a violation of our civil rights. Law abiding citizens should be allowed to safely assemble in any town in America. Such actions on the part of a law enforcement agent serve to make gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people feel unsafe in the city of Clinton. The role of a police officer is to protect members of the public, not threaten or intimidate them.
These concerns are augmented by the fact that several days prior to our arrival in Clinton, we received a document from the Clinton Police Department that set restrictions on our First Amendment right to assemble. After being contacted by the American Civil Liberties Union, the city rescinded the unconstitutional restrictions and shamefully applauded Soulforce for "playing the game well."
We are planning on returning to the city of Clinton today for a preplanned community picnic and we will not tolerate a repeat of this sort of behavior from the Clinton Police Department. If threatened with arrest for lawful assembly today members of the Soulforce Equality Ride are prepared and willing to submit to such an arrest. Any arrests for lawful assembly would be challenged by us in court and followed up with a lawsuit on our behalf against the city of Clinton for violation of our civil rights.
We hope that you will take swift action by informing the city of Clinton that such behavior by the Clinton Police is unlawful and will not be tolerated in the State of Mississippi.
Jarrett Lucas & Katie Higgins
It is a real shame that people are so afraid of these non-violent groups of students and community members that they must resort to harassment and terror techniques. I applaud the courage and dignity that all of those involved in Equality Ride 2007 have shown in the conduct of this tour. We will keep you posted on events as they develop.Slowly but surely we GLBT people are educating the world in tolerance and acceptance. Whether it be musically as in the HomoRevolution Tour, by discussion and non-violent demonstration like Equality Ride 2007, or just by living out and proud in your neighborhood. People are coming to understand that they need not fear us, just accept us and broaden their understanding of human nature no matter what its form.
The Fantasy portion of tonight's post is definitely NSFW, so if you are reading this at work scroll no further until you get home. Until next time as always, EnJoy!
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