B.G.M. Speaks on Texas Textbooks and Revisionist History

If we as a society are ever going to progress, we must address our past.  The State of Texas is taking a huge stepback in terms of progress by trying to eliminate slavery from the teaching of the Civil War. 

Next year, five million public school students in Texas will begin using social studies textbooks that will not mention the Ku Klux Klan(KKK), Jim Crow laws, or slavery as one of the primary factors in the Civil War.  Instead these books will suggest that slavery was a side issue and that the primary factor in the Civil War was the role of states’ rights vs. a centralized government.

However, historians have pointed out that the states rights debate and the issue of slavery are “inseparable.” Therefore, Texas is presenting a revisionist history that undermines the role and impact of slavery in the Civil War. 

If we do not bring attention to how slavery has impacted our country and society we are going to continue to see history and racism repeat itself. One of the examples that we are currently seeing is the Confederate Flag debate.  For some, people associate the Confederate flag with being a symbol of states rights “triumph” over centralized government, but as the Confederate Flag is also a symbol of racism and the enslavement of black people. Those two causes are inseparable, meaning they cannot be separated.

If we teach young children that slavery is a side issue, we are also teaching children that Black people are a side issue. If we teach young children that slavery is not equal in the eyes of history as other issues related to the Civil War, we are undermining the lives of Harriet Tubman and other abolitionists who gave their lives to end slavery and minimizing their contribution to history.

I am challenging everyone to end the revisionist history rhetoric and teaching and start addressing the central issues of racism and bigotry that have been pervasive throughout U.S. History. That starts by acknowledging slavery, racism, and bigotry in history class. Lets talk about these issues publicly and start the education at an early age. That way the next generation can grow and learn from the mistakes of our past and history can stop repeating itself. In 2015, we shouldn’t feel that it still 1955 or 1855. 

B.G.M. on My Independence Day

I have never felt a connection to the 4^th of July. I know that is the day that Americans celebrate the United States independence from England, and its supposed to be a collective celebration of freedom and independence.  However, I have never had a connection to the holiday because, July 4, 1776, those were like me, black, gay, male, we were not free in this country.  We were still enslaved in the United States.  You couldn’t marry or be publicly be in a relationship with someone of the same gender. You couldn’t really be fluid in terms of gender back then. Therefore, it makes sense why the 4^th of July has never really resonated with me.

I am a survivor of many things in my life. I have survived Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma twice. I am a rape survivor. I am a child-abuse survivor. Combine all of this with the daily struggles of being black, gay, and not 100% male conforming, it is a lot! I deal with all of these issues in my own way and in many ways in silence. One of the reasons why I deal with them in silence is because I’m often told to deal with them in silence because the world doesn’t like to hear people talk about the painful difficult aspects of their lives, especially if you have many. I also deal with them in silence because many of these experiences have been belittled and minimized by other people and you get to a point where you do not want your experiences to be minimized so you just remain quiet about it. Well, today I guess I am celebrating an Independence Day by saying to the world through this post that I am a Black Gay Male, Cancer, Rape, Child Abuse survivor who is dealing with all of these issues simultaneously each and everyday and I’m doing my best to handle it in the way that is most comfortable for me to handle it. It may not be the way that you deal with it, but at the same time, you’re not living with it. We as Black people have often been told that we have to love our enemies and understand others, without that same understanding coming our way. We as Gay people have often been told that we have to respect everyone else’s marriages and loves without having that same respect coming our way. We as gender non-conformists, have often been told that we need to not put ourselves out there, that are non-conforming behavior is problematic for other members of the LGBT community, and that are non-conforming is damaging to society. I say, why should any of us understand, respect, or conform to those who are not understanding, respecting, or behaving in a way that is pleasing to us.

I have spent a great deal of my life, silencing myself, understanding others, helping others, and trying to conform to standards that don’t have me in mind or are in my best interests. I know many of you who are reading this have also silenced yourself, given of yourself, minimized yourself, and conformed to standards that do not fit you. Today, I say, celebrate your Independence Day, and be free from all things that are inhibiting your voice, your progress, your growth, and your ability to freely live in all your intersections. Don’t wait because trust me as someone who has had his own family turn away from him, friends who may or may not be there when you need them, no real sense of consistency when it comes to love, you will drive yourself crazy if you keep conforming and waiting for these people. As my best friend has to often remind me, no one owes you closure, and at the same time, no one owes you, YOU. YOU owe yourself to be fully who you are.

So don’t wait for others to grant you independence, claim your own independence in being freely all of who you are and expressing in the ways YOU feel you need to. I’m celebrating my Independence Day by claiming my own freedom in being fully who I am as a survivor of a whole lot of shit and someone who is finding his way the best way he knows how and marching to the beat of his own drum. I invite you to celebrate your own and let what ever flag you carry fly!

B.G.M. Reminds You That We are BLACK, GAY, and PROUD

Over the weekend, across the U.S., several cities celebrated LGBT Pride. In addition to that, they also celebrated the landmark Supreme Court Decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which made marriage equality legal in all 50 states. On Friday and Saturday, I celebrated in Houston because I was happy to see our society move one step closer towards the ultimate goal of equality for everyone.  On Sunday, however, I was reminded by just how far we have to go and how little we have moved as a society. 

On this blog and in my life, I am very unapologetic about being a BLACK GAY MALE. The reason why I have to assert all these identities is because people often feel that one aspect of my identity is negated by the other or that because I embrace one aspect that I forget the other. For example, this weekend while I was celebrating Gay Pride, I was also hurting over the fact that in South Carolina several more churches have been burned to the ground. Some would say that because I am Gay and was celebrating marriage equality, that that makes me anti-black. Some would say that because I embrace Gay Culture that I do so at the expense of my blackness. Some would say that because I don’t produce children that I am not furthering the Black Race. To them I say BULLSHIT, I AM STILL BLACK AND GAY.

I embrace all of myself. I am very proud to be a Black man and I embrace my culture and my history. I also deal with the racism that I encounter within the LGBT community. For example, someone took it upon themselves to create an image of two people standing on an Olympic podium with their rainbow fists in the air similar to Tommie Smith and John Carlos’s symbolic and iconic gesture at the 1968 Olympics.

However, this image is offensive to me as a BLACK man.  The image negates the fact that it was celebrating BLACK achievement in the Olympic Games , BLACK people standing in solidarity with BLACK people, and the blocking out of BLACK people in the LGBT movement. The image could have easily been two BLACK GAY MEN who stood proudly with their BLACK FIST in the air clad in rainbow. Instead someone once again did not take into consideration the historical significance and the contribution of BLACK people to this country and to the LGBT movement.

Also, during this weekend I have seen white men going to twitter and using the hashtag #TakeUsDown to mock White Privilege and to assert that it is fake.

These images reflect how a large part of our society negates the oppression and hatred that Black people experience on the basis of race. It shows how our culture and experiences are not equally treated. It shows how while I may be able to get married today, I could be killed because I am Black. It shows how many people will smile in my face but behind their eyes and within their hearts they do not see me or others like me as being equal to them and want to mock the actual struggle that we face each and every day.

I have seen that the KKK is planning a rally in South Carolina to protest the removal of the Confederate Flag from the State Capital.

The Confederate Flag is NOT a symbol for Southern Pride. It is a symbol and reminder of a time when Black people were enslaved in this country. It is a symbol of a group of people who would like to return to the days of Black enslavement.For those who assert that the Confederate flag is a symbol of anything else, take a good look of who is standing around with you as your supports. The KKK stands for racial oppression and hatred and if you stand with them on this issue, you are also tacitly supporting their bigotry.

All of this happened over the weekend while I was celebrating Gay Pride, and it OFFENDS ME AS A BLACK MAN.

My Blackness and My Gayness are all a part of me. They are both equally important to me. I deal with racism and homophobia equally. They both hurt equally as much when I receive it from white, black, gay, straight, people. I know thousands of people turned their social media profile pics to rainbow to show support for the LGBT community, and I am happy that they did that. However, we need to also remind people that while we are celebrating we still have a long way to go and that there are people who live at the intersections of race, gender, and sexual orientation and that one aspect of their identity does not cancel out the other aspects of who they are.

I am happy that Seek The Poet created the profile pic that I am using now and the profile pic of others who proudly proclaim that they live at the intersections of LGBT and Blackness. We Exist!!! We feel the pride of having marriage equality. We feel the pain of racism and stand with our brothers and sisters in South Carolina and everywhere else. We are BLACK, GAY, AND PROUD…and DON’T YOU FORGET IT!

Dear United States of America: I am tired of dying in order for you to move forward!

Dear United States of America:

I am tired of dying in order for you to move forward!

As a Black gay man, I am tired of having to die in order for you to move forward as a society. I am tired that it took thousands of people who were forced to come to this country, forced to work, and never receive compensation for their hard work to die before you recognized their humanity as Black people. (We still need that compensation!)

I am tired that it took many Black churches, businesses, and schools to be bombed before you recognized that discrimination is a problem in this country. (Even though many of you still don't see it as a problem).

I am tired that it took hundreds of Black men to die in Tuskegee, Alabama while undergoing medical care authorized by the U.S. Government, under the guise of "medical study", with no intention of curing these men when a cure was available before ethical protocols were put in place regarding academic and medical studies.

I am tired that it took nine Black people to die in a church before you realized that the Confederate flag is a symbol of oppression that needs to be taken down from federal property and that those street names and other symbols need to also be eradicated.

I am tired that it took hundreds of LGBTQ people to be arrested and some killed yet we still do not have marriage equality or the right to work in this entire country without the fear of being fired because of who we are.

I am tired of the hundreds of transgender and gender queer people who are killed and do not have their humanity recognized or their cases equally treated by law enforcement and by the legal system.

As a result of these countless and senseless deaths we have had the Civil Rights Movement, the LGBTQ Rights Movement, the Feminist/Womanist Movement.  These deaths have lead to progressive advancements for this country, but yet in spite of all these movements the United States of America collectively still dehumanizes People of Color, LGBTQ people, and women.

I refuse to pledge allegiance to a country that continually fails to advance towards full equality and recognition for all of its people.  The United States of America needs to wake the fuck up and start addressing the collective needs of those who lie at the intersections and those who have endured a history of oppression in this country.

While I am happy about today's SCOTUS decisions regarding the Affordable Care Act and Fair Housing, and I applaud the Supreme Court of the United States for advancing progressively, the rest of our country and society still has a long way to go before I can pledge allegiance.

Overall, I say to you, the United States of America, you have failed me as an American, and I refuse to pledge allegiance to you until you become a country that recognizes me, all who are like me, and all who I care about as humans deserving of equal treatment and freedom from oppression.

Not yours,
The BGM

B.G.M. Mourns the Lives Lost at Emanuel A.M.E. Church

Yesterday, I like many of you, mourned the lives of those who were brutally murdered inside of Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina. I was speechless when I saw the initial coverage. I could not believe that a group of people who were just fellowship with each other were mercessily gunned down by someone. I felt that I was thrown back to living in the 1960s during the Bombingham area of the Civil Rights Movement when churches were bombed by Ku Klux Klan. I was happy to see that the person who is responsible for this heinous crime, Dylann Roof, was caught.

However, this incident once again proves that the lives of Black people are considered equally in this country. Witnesses at the shooting stated that Roof said "you rape our women and you're taking over the country." Roof felt he was entitled to take the lives of Black people, without the consideration that White men have raped Black women and men throughout history and took over this country from Native Americans.

What's even worse is that people are actually in support of Roof. Even to the point of establishing a Facebook group page calling for Justice for Dylann Roof

Dylann Roof does not deserve JUSTICE!!! THE 9 PEOPLE HE MURDERED DESERVE JUSTICE!!

This proves that we are not in a post-racial society. Race is still very important because of the Power and Privileges associated with Race. The fact that 9 Black People can be killed and there is no outrage about this on an equal level to similar incidences such as Sandy Hook, illustrates the inequities in our society. The fact that Roof is not considered to be a thug or equally as negatively portrayed as others who commit heinous crimes shows the devaluation of Black people. 

WAKE UP AMERICA!!! WE LIVE IN A RACIST SOCIETY AND I'M TIRED OF BEING DEVALUED!!!

I mourn today but we must all continue to fight for equality and justice for all people, and the first step is realizing that there is work to be done and we are FAR from POST RACIAL.

AMERICA IS RACIST, AND THE DEVALUATION OF BLACK LIVES NEEDS TO STOP.

B.G.M. Discusses Rachel Dolzeal and the Politics of Quantifying Race

I have kept quiet on the Rachel Dolzeal issue because I wanted to gather my thoughts. Now I am ready to offer my take:

RACHEL DOLZEAL REVEALS THE PROBLEMATIC NATURE OF THE QUANTIFICATION OF RACE.

When I talk about the quantification of race, I'm talking about two central questions:

1.  How Black are you?
2.  How Black enough do you have to be in order to be considered Black?

Now here are some of the problems that I see when it comes to Rachel Dolzeal.

Rachel was born with white privilege. She grew up phenotypically white and maintained the privileges of having white skin and coming from white parents.  She did not experience the racial experience of not having white privilege.  All people of color have that shared universal experience of being considered an "other" purely on the basis of the color of their skin.  Along with the othering comes the discrimination and prejudices associated with having a different skin tone that isn't white.  Rachel Dolzeal NEVER experienced that. She then chose to racially associated herself as Black. Race is not something that you can step into or out of. Just because she teaches courses related to the African American experience doesn't mean that she can authentically speak to the lived experience of being a Black person. She can speak of it from an abstract or hypothetical but not from a concrete experience. Also, I find it extremely problematic that she sued Howard University because she feels that she was discriminated for being White. Which are you Rachel? You can't be Black when its convenient and then retreat back to White privilege. Black people CAN NEVER do that. Therefore, Rachel Dolzeal, YOU ARE NOT BLACK.

Another huge problem that I am seeing is that Rachel's voice is now being considered more so than African American women who have lived the Black experience from birth. Who the fuck is she to tell any Black person what it means to be Black. Also, just because she has done work on behalf of the Black community through her role as President of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP does not make her an authority on the Black experience or make her more Black than others.  I really find it appalling when Black men such as Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Don Cheadle, and others cosign her because of her work. Why are they not elevating the voices of Black women who are doing the same racial justice work AND can speak truth to their own power through their lived experience as a Black person. They and those who point out Dolzeal's racial work as a proxy for the lived experience of Black people are contributing to the minimization of black lives.

Now on the lfip side what this exposes for me are the two central questions that I posed at the beginning:

How Black Are You?
This has been a questions that we as a society have addressed incorrectly in so many ways.  From the onset, it was the One Drop Rule, where if you have one relative from the African Diaspora, you were considered black. Then it was how do you appear? From this, we got the Paper Bag Test, where if your skin was lighter or darker than the color of a brown paper bag you were subject to some form of discrmination. Then it was how do you talk? From this, we got the notion of "Talking White" where if you did not speak in Ebonics, you were considered to be engaging in Whiteness. Then it was what activities you engage in? From this, we got the policing and coding of certain activities as being participating in whiteness and other being coded as engaging in Blackness. We have been policing and quantifying the notion of Race for a long time and we collectively as a society have also bought into that quantification. That buying into that quantification leads to the other question of How Black does anyone have to be in order to be considered Black enough?

Personal Experience
I have personally experienced this throughout my entire life. I have been told that I am not Black enough by White and Black people. According to the One Drop Rule, I would be considered Black because both of my parents are Black. From the Paper Bag Test, I would be considered Black because my skin is darker than a paper bag. From the talking test, I fail and have been accused of Talking White. From the activities test, I have been accused of acting White because I prefer theatre over sports. However, none of these tests can attest to my lived experience as a Black Gay Man. I have been called a Nigger just because of the color of my skin. I have experienced my intelligence being called in to question due to my race. I have to worry about when I walk out my door that I will be considered dangerous simply because I am Black. All of this comes from my authentic lived experience and not from an abstract or cultural association. LIVED EXPERIENCE.

We need to elevate the lived experience of Black people overall, but more importantly of those Black people who are at the intersections, specifically Black Women and Black Transpeople. We need to STOP THE USAGE OF THE WORD TRANSRACIAL. You cannot step into or out of Race. Gender is a different socially constructed construct and therefore should not be conflated with Race. It is a disservice and disrespectful to the transgender community by even suggesting that Rachel Dolzeal is similar to the experience of transpeople. SHE IS NOT. Also, we need to not give this woman any more attention. I am calling on the media to not give her any more airtime. She does not need a reality show. She does not need a platform to spread her lies. Instead, elevate the voices of those who have truly lived the experience of being Black in America. Blackness is not a monolith, but it does come from an authentic lived experience and not from lies.  Stop devaluating the lives of Black people by elevating a fraud.

Blackness is not a monolith, but it does come from an authentic lived experience and not from lies.

Yours always,
The BGM

B.G.M. Discusses My Work on Effemiphobia in the Gay Community

Greetings Everyone!

In addition to my regular job and my community activism, I am a sociologist. My work focuses on the intersections of race, gender, and sexual orientation. During my time at Texas A&M University, I worked on a project called Effemiphobia in the Gay Community.  Effemiphobia is defined as the “fear of effeminacy by gay men towards other gay men”. I don’t like using the fear aspect of the definition. I prefer to focus on it as the treatment of effeminacy by gay men towards other gay men. I illustrated the way that effemiphobia manifests itself within the gay community through online profiles such as Adam 4 Adam, Grindr, and Jackd. When you see statements such as “No Fats, No Fems” or “Straight Acting only” or “Must be Masc or Masculine” these are statements that promote a negative treatment of effeminacy. My argument is that the large-scale usage of these terms demonstrates that the cisgendered gay male community has an issue with effeminacy and it in terms impacts how we interact with each other but also how effeminate individuals see themselves within the gay community. I was going to continue on to the Ph.D. level with my work but I chose not too because I do not like the publish or parish nature of academia and I also don’t like how academia wants to keep research within the Ivory Tower and not bring it out to the community. I am very much a community minded Sociologist and I want my work to be used and discussed within the community so that we are aware of the social constructs and social issues that impact our community and come up with ways to address those issues. I also want my work to reflect the lived experiences of the people who are directly impacted by my work instead of speaking about them simply from a theoretical standpoint.

My work has been featured in the GLADD Media Award winning article, “Why Can’t You Just Butch Up? Gay Men, Effeminacy, and Our War With Ourselves?” Check out the article here. I have presented on this topic at the National LGBTQ Task Force: Creating Change Conference twice and have received high evaluations. I have presented at Rice University, Texas A&M University, the University of Houston, and other institutions of higher education on the topic. I have been profiled for my work by publications and other blogs.

I mention all this to say that I know what I am talking about when it comes to discussing the intersections of sexual orientation, gender presentations, masculinities, and race. However, my work has not been appreciated or widely accepted by members of my own community, specifically the Black Gay/SGL Community. Often, I will see other presentations and discussions facilitated in my own city from people who know that I do this work, and they won’t even ask for my participation or contributions. When I present at colleges, universities, and conferences the attendance is often devoid of my fellow Black Gay/SGL men. I have submitted applications and abstracts in order to present at conferences specifically geared towards Black Gay Men/Same Gender Loving and to date I have not been accepted or invited to speak at any of these conferences.

For me this shows where the support of my work is coming from. It shows who is ready to have these conversations in a deeper way, rather than maintaining it at a general and surface level. I'm not gonna lie that it pisses me off that my work can be supported by others who are not like me but those who are like me don't value my work in a substantive way. I'm pissed about it but make no mistake, I don't NEED your validation. I know my worth and I know the significance of my work. 

I am going to continue to do this work and I thank everyone who has supported my efforts in a substantive way by coming to my presentations, by encouraging my work, and by offering me the space to be able to effectively facilitate these conversations.  However, to those who claim they support me in the background, please read the following message.

When you are ready to have the conversation, I am here. If you would like for me to facilitate a discussion on effemiphobia, or the intersections of race, gender, and sexual orientation, you can email me at bgmseeks@gmail.com.

Yours always,

The B.G.M.