Brother-to-Brother,

SafeSpace

Morehouse College and its gay/straight alliance SafeSpace will screen the new documentary drama Friend of Essex. The screening is on January 31 at the Bank of America Auditorium. RSVP here.

Watch the trailer to the new film AFTER THE JUMP …

The film was written and directed by 23-year-old Amir Dixon, a friend of R20 and the creator of the web-based talk series BrotherHood TV. The documentary is described as “a mix of one-on-one interviews, group interviews, narrative pieces and poetry” inspired by Essex Hemphill’s writing and the 1989 film Tongues Untied by Marlon Riggs. Dixon says his film was necessary because Black gay men “need to know and share our history.”

“I looked back on my childhood and realized my parents could teach me about being a Black Man in America, but could not teach me about being a Black Gay Man and all it came with. When I got my heart broken, when I dealt with homophobia, when I struggled with the intersections of my identity they didn’t know where to begin. So I turned to my elders, my ancestors and called on them through their work and their words. Essex Hemphill’s work laid the foundation for my film. His work around race, religion, activism and community was where I started. I wanted to capture the stories of other young black gay men and get their thoughts and stories on camera.”

Watch the trailer to the new film AFTER THE JUMP …

The survey course “The History and Culture of Black LGBT“  will be offered by the sociology department and has been cross listed by the African American studies department. The course will be taught by Yale University’s Dr. Jafari S. Allen.

The screening of the new docudrama and addition of a Black LGBT course is quite an accomplishment on the same campus that has seen numerous well-publicized cases of homophobia, harassment and anti-gay violence in recent years.

The 143-year-old college is one of the nation’s most prestigious historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). The college boasts famous alumni and “Morehouse men” such as civil rights icons Dr, Martin Luther King Jr and Julian Bond, filmmaker Spike Lee and actor Samuel L. Jackson.

The college history is steeped in religion and tradition but it has boasted a thriving yet mostly closeted black gay subculture. The campus has been the site of several well-publicized acts of  homophobia, harassment and anti-gay violence. In November 2002, one “Morehouse man” nearly killed another student with a baseball bat because he believed the boy was gay and made a pass at him. In May 2010, three gay students were carjacked, kidnapped, robbed at gunpoint and called “faggots.”

Morehouse President Dr. Robert M. Franklin vowed to address homophobia on campus when he took office in 2009.

For access to the original article, please visit: http://rodonline.typepad.com/rodonline/2013/01/video-morehouse-to-screen-black-gay-docudrama-friend-of-essex.html.

Morehouse College, the all-male African American college in Atlanta, Georgia, will offer its first LGBTQ course this Spring, Lambda Literary reports:

“A Genealogy of Black LGBT Culture and Politics.” … It will be taught via video conference by Yale University professor and previous Lambda Literary Award finalist Dr. Jafari Sinclaire Allen.

Writes Morehouse student Marcus Lee in the HuffPost:

In 2002, a Morehouse student by the name of Gregory Love was beaten with a baseball bat after being perceived as gay by another student. Seven years later, Morehouse announced the installation of a dress code policy which, in part, outlawed “clothing associated with women’s garb” — effectively pairing gender nonconformity with unpreparedness or a lack of professionalism. Both of these incidents demonstrated the need for serious and scholarly discussion of diversity in gender and sexual expression within the Morehouse community; and, until recently, this discussion had been prompted and completely lead by students on campus. Today, Morehouse SafeSpace — the gay-straight alliance/student advocacy organization on campus — is proud to announce that Morehouse has reached a milestone: in the 2013 spring semester, Morehouse’s sociology department will be offering a course about the Black LGBTQ community. Dr. Jafari Allen, a Morehouse alumnus and professor at Yale University, will be teaching “A Genealogy of Black LGBT Culture and Politics” via video conference to Morehouse students. The course came to fruition after a series of conversations Dr. Allen and I had about black queer scholarship. It became clear that there was a void at Morehouse and he volunteered to help fill it….What does this mean to me? It means relief; it means stepping away from a culture of silence and stoicism, and toward one of candor and understanding.

In related news, filmmaker Amir Dixon writes Towleroad and tells us that he’ll be screening “Friend of Essex”, a docudrama about the lives of young black gay men, at Morehouse on January 31. The film explores the intersections of race, identity and sexuality. More info here.

Watch the trailer for “Friend of Essex” (screencapped above), AFTER THE JUMP…

To access the article, please visit: http://www.towleroad.com/2013/01/morehouse.html#ixzz2HQX4Aez4.

The premiere will be held in the Bank of America Auditorium with a directorial commentary and discussion of the movie’s themes with the writer and director, Amir Dixon, at the end. Click here to view the media kit for this event, and register for the event here.

View the trailer below:

See you in 2013!

Morehouse College has conservative, Christian origins and has been known for its lack of inclusivity for its gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, and queer-identifying (GBTQ) community. However, SafeSpace, the gay-straight alliance and student advocacy organization, along with the collaborative help of the Office of Housing and Residential Life (OHRL), has been progressively and aggressively making strategic moves that have been effectively influencing the culture of the college. The purpose of this session will be to teach and inform participants on how to navigate throughout one’s college to create intentional programming that will foster a revolutionary and liberating movement. The idea is that we want Resident Advisor’s to reach another level in terms of advocacy; we want to shift their paradigms to see their work and leadership as more than just programming but as movements that can positively affect the campus environment and create sustainable, dynamic, and safe communities.

More than fifty people gathered at The Evolution Project Atlanta for the release of Guy Anthony’s debut project,“(Pos)+itively Beautiful,”a book of affirmation, advice and advocacy about HIV/AIDS. Ravishing smiles in addition to much laughter and anticipation filled the room, as time would pass for the opening moment of the event on Tuesday, December 11.

Upon the click of play, a voice calmly uttered,  “I was 19 and he was 34. We met online and we instantly vibed. He invited me over to chill. He said I was sexy, but I didn’t think so.  I didn’t consent to sex, so he took it from me and gave me something I’d never be able to live without. Will you still love me, now that you know my truth?”

This is the personal account and testimony of the author Guy Anthony.  He along with his two co-authors, Brandon Kennedy and Christopher Morris powerfully expressed their personal narratives with a sincere message about living with HIV, their struggles and growth as black gay men. The work of these young men foreshadows the legacy of greats as Isaac Julien, Essex Hemphill, Bell Hooks, Marlon Troy Riggs and Joseph Bean, black gay men whose work creatively chronicled the existence and day-to-day experiences of black gay men living with HIV/AIDS back in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

“(Pos)+itively Beautiful,” which launched officially in digital form Wednesday, December 12, profiles the lives of all three gentlemen, Guy Anthony, Kennedy, and Morris living with HIV. The book explicitly speaks power to truth and serves the purpose of debunking the silence, neutralizing stigmas and raising awareness about HIV/AIDS.

According to the Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center, young people ages 13-24 represent 40 percent of all new HIV infections each year and 60 percent of that number are African Americans. In addition, sexual violence and non-consensual sex, though vastly underrepresented, is directly linked to the transmission of HIV as well. Most shockingly is the daunting fact that many young black gay men are ignorant as it concerns statistics and do not know that they are at risk. Consequently, burdens of shame and guilt cloud their lives, their self worth, and their confidence diminishes forcing them to live in silence.

In the foreward of “(Pos)+itively Beautiful,” Craig Washington, an activist, community organizer, and Prevention Programs Manager at AID Atlanta eloquently pens:

“If we do not tell our own stories then either our stories die alone with us or others determine the story about us.  In being silent about our realities, our lives are rendered smaller, muted, and isolated, leaving the space and time we occupy unmarked, left without our true imprint. By choosing not to speak we choose to give in to fear and give up authority over our own lives. This shadowed life is like a virtual death that precedes the physical one. And when we die, our legacies are stillborn. We thus condemn our progeny, “the children” who come after us, to the same suffocating stigma that we allowed to go unchallenged. This constitutes a third death having left no true account of who we were leaving others to rewrite us […]

I have been HIV+ for 27 years and I recognize the significance of this effort. To have several narrators share their stories and show their faces changes the way we see black gay men respond to the epidemic. Black gay men need to witness each other in visible active roles throughout our response to AIDS and the injustices it illuminates. With (Pos)+itively Beautiful, Guy Anthony has made an unprecedented mark for his generation and all people living with HIV/AIDS.”

Washington was lauded by thunderous handclaps and many powerful remarks after reciting this. His fearlessness and courageous spirits filled the room and touched the hearts of many. This is often the result of testimony—its truth, honesty, and integrity is our hope for the future and it dispels the stereotype of HIV-positive identifying people being sick and diseased.

“These stories of black, queer-identifying persons have come together to create a myriad of authentic personal expression, affirmation, and love,” said Kenneth Pass, an Undergraduate Research Fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health. “I’m truly inspired by this!”

Guy Anthony believes that his visibility will help other HIV-positive young men recognize their own beauty and self-worth. This is his ultimate goal!

“Last night was surreal. I’m still in awe that so many even showed up and I’m honored they care enough about what I stand for to show me support,” Guy Anthony said as he thanked those who attended.

“It was an informative, honest and ass-splittingly real event and I couldn’t be more proud of my community for showing up and showing out. This book is a labor of love for me as it has forced me to live in my truth.  I hope I’ve created something that’ll be remembered as this generation’s “In The Life” by Joseph Beam.”

To learn more about the project and Guy Anthony, please checkout and purchase (Pos)+itively Beautiful, go here.

To purchase the book and support the movement of self-authenticity and self-affirmation, please visit: http://www.pozbeautiful.com/