Thursday evening brought thunderstorms to Dallas knocking out power in places and thoroughly disrupting my internet access. My internet did not return until 10:00 pm tonight. It is still raining but it should end by morning. I was going to post this last night but the rain got in the way. Last night was the kickoff date of the HomoRevolution Tour 2007 in San Diego and tonight they are in Los Angeles. They will soon be in Texas landing in Dallas on the 8th. Aaron Monty interviewed Deadlee for LA's Frontiers GLBT maagazine.
My friend in LA dtlajaime sent me word of the interview by email so I thought I would link you to it from here. Once again, Deadlee is open and forthright in his views as he aims to cause an uprising of awareness for gay hip-hop artists with the HomoRevolution Tour. Joining Deadlee on the tour the multiracial lineup includes an interesting array of artists: Johnny Dangerous, Tori Fixx, U.K. hip-hop artist Mz Fontaine, QBoy, L.A.’s Salvimex, Bigg Nugg (the first serious “bear” rapper), JFP, and transgendered artist Foxxjazell. I am looking forward to their stop in Dallas, though not an aficionado of the genre, I admire and respect each of these artists for their willingness to represent our community openly and without reservation. If you are in one of the cities on the tour, I would urge you to come out and support these artists with your attendance at the concerts.
In other news this week there were at least 15 arrests of Equality Riders and students this week in the state of Kentucky where the riders stopped at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and The University of the Cumberlands. The Riders staged a sit in at the office of the President of the Seminary where 12 Riders were arrested. The founder of the Equality Ride, Jake Reitan was arrested at The University of the Cumberlands along with two students. This is the university that last year expelled a student after the student revealed he was gay.
Meanwhile the West bus was at Pepperdine University in California where the administration finally agreed to meet with the unauthorized student group GLEE (Gays, Lesbians and Everybody Else). "On the west bus, we are fortunate to have had opportunities to begin this dialogue, especially knowing that our brothers and sisters on the east bus and the students they come to help are still working to simply be recognized as beings that are due this conversation," says Haven Herrin, West Bus Co-Director. For more information on the Equality Ride see their website.
GLEE.com has made an offer to Soulforce of up to $25,000 in contributions by offering $5.00 for each new registration at their site using the following link. This offer is not just limited to members of the Soulforce email list. If you forward the above link to your friends and they register at GLEE, Soulforce will receive $5 from GLEE for each of them as well. This is a good way to support the Equality Ride at no cost to you and an opportunity to network with others in the GLBT community. Once again here is that link.
Other people making themselves heard for our community this week John Amaechi, Esera Tualo, and Billy Bean were profiled in a revealing interview at Radar Online entitled Playing For The OtherTeam. They give the low down on the pro-sports closet and talk candidly about what needs to happen so that an active player can feel comfortable coming out. It is worth the read so be sure to check it out.
I read a story over at OutSports.com about Joey Fisher, the goalie for the University of Georgia hockey team who came out to his team mates before the season started and was welcomed with open arms. You can read the whole story here. Joey knew he was Gay from middle school on, but had not come out to his team mates who kept trying to set him up on dates with girls. He decided to forgo the subterfuge and came out instead. Although the campus climate has improved somewhat for LGBT college athletes in recent years, many still are reluctant to come out for fear of being rejected by their teams. A forum on the issue, sponsored by HRC and Nike and featuring Joey Fisher, an openly gay goalie on the University of Georgia's hockey club team, with a panel of out former pro athletes, was scheduled to be held today in Atlanta on the eve of the NCAA Final Four.We need more college and pro athletes willing to stand up and be counted for our community.
When more athletes on the major college level come out and get drafted for the pro teams for their ability and not their sexuality, it will signal a new day for pro sports. Already most pros polled (72%) said they would not have a problem with a gay player in the locker room. The problem is the management who is afraid of losing the almighty advertising dollars available if an athlete reveals he (or she) is Gay. I think that trend is reversing as advertisers are beginning to feature out athletes as witnessed by John Amaechi's new contract with Head Blade, Inc. More companies are starting to realize there is no stigma attached to an advertisement which features a Gay athlete. I hope the owners and management get the message soon.
That about wraps up all that I wanted to talk about for the last two days so I will close with a goodly dose of eye candy to make up for the rain out of yesterdays post. Until next time as always, Enjoy!
All photos processed with Picasa2
In other news this week there were at least 15 arrests of Equality Riders and students this week in the state of Kentucky where the riders stopped at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and The University of the Cumberlands. The Riders staged a sit in at the office of the President of the Seminary where 12 Riders were arrested. The founder of the Equality Ride, Jake Reitan was arrested at The University of the Cumberlands along with two students. This is the university that last year expelled a student after the student revealed he was gay.
Meanwhile the West bus was at Pepperdine University in California where the administration finally agreed to meet with the unauthorized student group GLEE (Gays, Lesbians and Everybody Else). "On the west bus, we are fortunate to have had opportunities to begin this dialogue, especially knowing that our brothers and sisters on the east bus and the students they come to help are still working to simply be recognized as beings that are due this conversation," says Haven Herrin, West Bus Co-Director. For more information on the Equality Ride see their website.
GLEE.com has made an offer to Soulforce of up to $25,000 in contributions by offering $5.00 for each new registration at their site using the following link. This offer is not just limited to members of the Soulforce email list. If you forward the above link to your friends and they register at GLEE, Soulforce will receive $5 from GLEE for each of them as well.
GLEE is set to be the LGBT (and friends) social and professional networking site. It was created by Community Connect, Inc., who have established such online successes as BlackPlanet and AsianAvenue.
Remember, Soulforce receives $5 simply for you registering through the above link. Once registered you will have you own webpage at GLEE. You can then share information about yourself (as much or as little as you want) including pictures, your interests, what line of work you are in, etc. Your friends and fellow GLEE members can then leave comments for you on your page.
Another big reason to join GLEE is to help Soulforce get a presence on GLEE's social networking site. We have created a Soulforce Group there that you can join after registering. This could be a great way to introduce new LGBT people and allies to the work of Soulforce.
Other people making themselves heard for our community this week John Amaechi, Esera Tualo, and Billy Bean were profiled in a revealing interview at Radar Online entitled Playing For The OtherTeam. They give the low down on the pro-sports closet and talk candidly about what needs to happen so that an active player can feel comfortable coming out. It is worth the read so be sure to check it out.
I read a story over at OutSports.com about Joey Fisher, the goalie for the University of Georgia hockey team who came out to his team mates before the season started and was welcomed with open arms. You can read the whole story here. Joey knew he was Gay from middle school on, but had not come out to his team mates who kept trying to set him up on dates with girls. He decided to forgo the subterfuge and came out instead. Although the campus climate has improved somewhat for LGBT college athletes in recent years, many still are reluctant to come out for fear of being rejected by their teams. A forum on the issue, sponsored by HRC and Nike and featuring Joey Fisher, an openly gay goalie on the University of Georgia's hockey club team, with a panel of out former pro athletes, was scheduled to be held today in Atlanta on the eve of the NCAA Final Four.We need more college and pro athletes willing to stand up and be counted for our community.
When more athletes on the major college level come out and get drafted for the pro teams for their ability and not their sexuality, it will signal a new day for pro sports. Already most pros polled (72%) said they would not have a problem with a gay player in the locker room. The problem is the management who is afraid of losing the almighty advertising dollars available if an athlete reveals he (or she) is Gay. I think that trend is reversing as advertisers are beginning to feature out athletes as witnessed by John Amaechi's new contract with Head Blade, Inc. More companies are starting to realize there is no stigma attached to an advertisement which features a Gay athlete. I hope the owners and management get the message soon.
That about wraps up all that I wanted to talk about for the last two days so I will close with a goodly dose of eye candy to make up for the rain out of yesterdays post. Until next time as always, Enjoy!
All photos processed with Picasa2
