http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSv5bXC2ANg

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein is HRC’s first of their ‘Business Leaders for Marriage Equality,’ an extension of their ‘Americans for Marriage Equality‘ video project.

HRC also recognized Blankenfein at their New York City gala, which prompted protests by Occupy Wall Street.

Washington state Governor Christine Gregoire has thrown her full support behind a same-sex marriage bill. (photo by Evan Derickson)

Wash. Senate votes on same-sex marriage bill

OLYMPIA — In a 28-21 vote the Washington State Senate passed a bill extending marriage rights to same-sex couples late Wednesday, in what was expected to be the biggest hurdle toward passage for the bill.

Read the Washington Blade’s full report here.

The bill, which is supported by the governor, and is expected to pass easily in the lower house, was thought to face its most difficult prospects in the Washington Senate where it was supported by the slimmest of majorities.

With 49 senators, the bill needed at least 25 votes to pass, which it received. The Blade reported earlier this month that 25 senators had pledged to vote in favor of the bill in the Senate.

“Marriage in Washington State has tremendous momentum behind it and we’re optimistic going into [the] vote,” Human Rights Campaign communications director Michael Cole-Schwartz told the Blade Wednesday.

Anti-gay lawmaker asked to leave restaurant

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee Sen. Stacey Campfield — the sponsor of several anti-gay bills, including the infamous “Don’t Say Gay” bill — has responded with a furious post to his personal blog after being asked to leave a Knoxville restaurant because of his record.

The Nashville Scene website reported that the lawmaker was denied service at the Bistro at the Bijou located on Gay Street by restaurant owner Martha Boggs.

“I didn’t want his hate in my restaurant,” Boggs told Metro Pulse, a Scripps publication. “I told him he wasn’t welcome here. … I feel like he’s gone from being stupid to being dangerous, and I wanted to stand up to him.”

Last week Campfield appeared on the Michelangelo Signorile radio show, and shocked listeners by claiming that HIV is “virtually impossible” to transmit through heterosexual sex.

“My understanding is that it is virtually — not completely, but virtually — impossible to contract AIDS through heterosexual sex… very rarely [transmitted],” Campfield said on Sirius satellite radio. “What’s the average lifespan of a homosexual? It’s very short. Google it yourself.”

Newark mayor slams Gov. Christie

NEWARK — Responding to a call by N.J. Gov. Chris Christie to put same-sex marriage up for a vote in the Garden State, the mayor of the state’s largest city told reporters “we should not be putting civil rights issues to a popular vote subject to the sentiments of the day.”

“No minority should have their rights subject to the passions and sentiments of the majority,” Newark Mayor Corey Booker told reporters at a press conference last week. “This is a fundamental bedrock of what our nation stands for. And I get very concerned that we have created in our state, we refuse to address, call it like it is… that we’ve created a second-class citizenship in our state.”

LGBT group to Colbert: reenter GOP race

WASHINGTON — Catholics for Equality, an organization of pro-gay Catholics, is calling on comedian Stephen Colbert to reenter the GOP primary.

Colbert briefly flirted with the idea of entering the GOP primaries and held a rally in South Carolina in mid-January prior to that state’s primary vote, but was unable to qualify for the ballot. Catholics for Equality is calling on fellow Catholic Stephen Colbert to restart his primary campaign, saying his views reflect the views of most mainstream Catholics.

“Colbert is the only Republican Catholic contender who reflects comprehensive Catholic social justice teaching,” the group said in a press release.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqkva5UAiNk

The Human Rights Campaign released a video today by Minn. Sen. Al Franken calling for marriage rights for same-sex couples.

I laughed when I received a recent email from the Human Rights Campaign’s vice president of membership and development offering a reduced rate “membership,” “if I only came back by midnight tonight.”

She told me that according to their records my membership had lapsed and that to make it easy for everyone to participate they were making a special offer only available today. I could save $15 on my membership as a former member if I would rejoin. Then to strengthen their call for my membership they forwarded an email from HRC President Joe Solmonese “in case I missed it” in which he asks for money. It had no date on it but he wrote that “if I come back before midnight” my ‘gift’ will change the lives of loving families — and I can’t think of a better reason to ‘donate’ than that.” In that one email they called the $20 they wanted from me a gift, a donation and a membership. They also told me this was the last time they would ask.

HRC isn’t the only group that does this, but it’s a mistake. I support HRC and the work it does even if I don’t contribute today. HRC continues to be an important part of the advocacy effort for the LGBT community. But it would be a stronger organization today if they had chosen to become a real and viable membership organization years ago.

The email makes it clear the HRC dichotomy that people have talked about for more than 20 years. HRC is not now and has never been a membership organization. Some see it as a successful advocacy organization (others dispute that) but what no one can deny is that HRC is a successful fundraising machine. But asking for money on the pretext of being a membership organization is false advertising.

In a career spanning both government and the non-profit sector I have had the opportunity to work closely with, be a member of and run a number of membership organizations. Member benefits usually include defined and delineated tangibles at discounted rates, such providing useful research, continuing education opportunities, magazines and journals, online publications and information, discounts on attending meetings, travel, seminars, webinars and intangibles like advocacy work. The email I received from HRC didn’t list one such benefit. A real membership organization doesn’t consider anyone making any type of contribution a member as those kinds of “members” can’t be counted on to continue making random contributions each year. Instead they carefully count and cater to their members and keep track of them with annual dues renewals stressing the current benefits and always looking for ways to make their membership more valuable.

The most successful advocacy membership organization is the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). It has grown exponentially and provides a host of benefits to members for very little money. AARP retains its members because the cost of membership is low and easily offset by the savings they receive from those benefits.

More than 20 years ago, it was suggested to the powers that be at the then-named Human Rights Campaign Fund that they look at turning themselves into a real membership organization and that they set a goal of attracting 1 million members with annual dues between $7 and $25. Benefits of membership could include a glossy magazine. Other benefits could come from vendors such as insurance companies, travel firms, airlines, clothing and food outlets that would provide meaningful discounts.

This very simple concept was based on the assumption that with low dues and valuable benefits you could — over a period of years — attract one million members. These members would come from both the LGBT community and our allies. Considering inflation, a low annual membership rate today of between $15 and $25 the organization could raise between $15 and $25 million, which would cover the basic costs of running the organization. Then additional funds could be raised from both members who had more money and others to cover the costs of additional lobbying, advocacy and anything else that the organization wanted to undertake including building a reserve fund or endowment.

In the long run this would be a way for HRC to become more relevant to many people and a way to institutionalize the organization for years to come. As we have seen from the fights that African Americans and women have waged to attain their human and civil rights, the fight goes on even after legislative success. HRC will continue to be needed to monitor progress and to educate our own community, our allies and the general population.

HRC will have to provide something for the younger generation that is tangible — not just the intangibles of advocacy — if it is to attract life-long members and supporters. There may be other ways but this is one reliable way to build HRC for the future.

Some of the following international LGBT stories are making waves overseas:

• American Airlines — a company with a history of strong support for the LGBT community — has named Tel Aviv the world’s ‘Best Gay City,’ over New York City, Tortono, Sao Paulo, Madrid, London, New Orleans, and Mexico City. The airlines described it as “the gay capital of the Middle East, exotic and welcoming, with a Mediterranean c’est la vie attitude” (ThinkProgress)
• Meanwhile, Stonewall, the British counterpart of the Human Rights Campaign, has named UK’s domestic spy agency MI5 the most gay-friendly employer in the kingdom. Just a few decades ago being found to be gay would have been cause for removal from intelligence jobs in most countries (HuffPo).
• LGBT activists in Malta have launched an educational campaign pushing for tolerance and support in the popular Mediterranean island nation (Times of Malta).
• Paolo Urso, Catholic bishop of the Sicilian city of Ragusa has called for the civil recognition of same-sex couples (ThinkProgress).

Last week LGBT protesters gathered in ‘Red Square’ in Moscow to call for an end to the local bans on “gay propaganda” in Russian municipalities:

The Russian video description can be translated as follows:

“January 20, 2012 in Red Square detained gay activists, Piggy, Stepashka, Phil and Karkusha. Participants of the rally called for an end to bans gay propaganda in Russia and wished good night to the kids at Red Square in Moscow detained activists of Moscow Pride, Nikolai Alekseev, Alexey Kiselev and Cyril Nepomniachtchi, published in an unauthorized rally by the authorities, “Good night, mylyshi!”, Dated the second anniversary of the decision of the Constitutional Court on the constitutionality of the laws of the Ryazan region of Russia to ban propaganda of homosexuality to minors. Activists took to the Red Square at midnight under a chiming clock on the Kremlin’s Spassky Tower, when all the children in Russia need to sleep. They were holding characters in popular children’s TV program “Good night, kids!” Piggy, Stepashka, Fil and Karkushu with bright icons of Moscow Pride. Participants of the rally also carried signs “Give a gay pride parade in Red Square,” “propaganda of homosexuality is not possible. Prohibit the promotion of homophobia and the deputy feeble mind.” Earlier, the Moscow authorities have banned a gay activist shares in Pushkin Square, with reference to the position of the federal law that public events can not be conducted between 23 pm and 7 am. Organisers have promised to appeal the ban by the Constitutional Court of Russia. GayRussia.Ru”

Washington Adventist Hospital (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The president of the Takoma Park, Md., based Washington Adventist Hospital has apologized for what she says was a “miscommunication” that led to a delay by the hospital in allowing a woman to visit her same-sex partner following the partner’s admission to the emergency room.

But hospital president Joyce Newmyer disputes claims by the two women and the Human Rights Campaign that an initial denial of a request to visit the partner was due to discrimination. Instead, she says it was based entirely on a policy of barring anyone from visiting emergency room patients undergoing initial treatment and evaluation.

Newmeyer’s assessment of the matter is at odds with an account by Takoma Park residents Kathryn Wilderotter and Linda Cole, who have been partners for eleven years and were legally married in Canada in 2004.

The Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBT advocacy group, released a statement saying a hospital staff member declined to allow Cole to visit Wilderotter shortly after Wilderotter was taken by ambulance on Nov.13, 2011 to the hospital’s emergency room because Cole “was reportedly not recognized as a family member.”

Wilderotter told the Blade she suffered a seizure while driving her car, resulting in a crash that led to an injury. She said a female staff member sitting at the front desk at the emergency room entrance declined to allow Cole to visit Wilderotter after Cole told the woman she was Wilderotter’s partner and spouse.

According to Wilderotter, Cole called Wilderotter’s sister, Kristin Biggs, who arrived at the hospital about 20 minutes later. When Biggs approached the same emergency room staff member she introduced herself as Wilderotter’s sister, Wilderotter told the Blade.

The female staff member then replied, “Oh, we have family here now. You can go in,” Wilderotter quoted her partner as informing her.

HRC announced in its Jan. 19 statement that Cole and Wilderotter have filed separate complaints of discrimination over the incident with a joint federal commission that regulates hospitals and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“Discrimination during a medical emergency may be one of the worst forms of discrimination LGBT people face,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “Recognizing this problem, federal regulations were put in place to end discrimination in healthcare settings and allow all people to be with their loved ones during their most critical moments.”

Solmonese was referring to the implementation in January 2011 of new federal regulations initiated by the Obama administration that require all hospitals participating in Medicaid and Medicare programs to allow patients to designate the persons they wish to see as visitors. The regulations prohibit discrimination in hospital visitation based on sexual orientation and gender identity among other categories.

Since nearly every U.S. hospital participates in Medicaid or Medicare programs the new regulations are said to apply to nearly all hospitals in the country, including Washington Adventist Hospital.

Meanwhile, HRC said in its statement that Washington Adventist Hospital has not responded to its annual survey of healthcare providers, which it uses to publish the HRC Healthcare Equality Index. The index assesses and discloses the policies and practices of hospitals related to LGBT patients and their families.

Newmyer told the Blade on Monday that she didn’t know why the hospital hasn’t returned the HRC survey in past years but said hospital officials were currently working on it and would be sending it to HRC shortly.

In a phone interview with the Blade on Monday, Wilderotter said a hospital executive called the couple six weeks later to say the incident was caused by a new employee unfamiliar with hospital policies and that the hospital apologized for what happened.

Newmyer posted a statement on the hospital website on Jan. 20 saying she was troubled over news media stories reporting the initial denial of visitation was due to discrimination.

“First, I want to express my deepest apologies to Ms. Wilderotter and Ms. Cole for feeling anything less than valued at our hospital,” she said in the statement. “As a policy and a practice, our hospital does not discriminate against anyone regardless of their race, ethnicity, faith, sexual orientation or ability to pay,” she said.

Newmyer told the Blade on Monday that a hospital investigation into the incident shows that a “perfect storm” of miscommunication and coincidence may have led Cole and Wilderotter to believe they were singled out for discrimination.

According to Newmyer, when Cole arrived at the hospital doctors and emergency room attendants were treating Wilderotter and evaluating her condition. She said the hospital has a policy that prohibits anyone from visiting an emergency room patient at this “critical” stage of treatment.

She could not determine exactly what the hospital staff person told Cole at this time, Newmyer said, but she is certain that the denial of the visit would have been issued to anyone arriving at that time. In what she called an unfortunate coincidence, Newmyer said the attending doctors and staff completed their initial evaluation of Wilderotter and cleared her to receive visitors just as Wilderotter’s sister arrived.

When the sister was allowed to enter the emergency room treatment area, Cole understandably could have concluded that her initial denial was due to discrimination rather than the across-the-board policy of delaying visitation during the early stage of treatment, Newmyer said.

Wilderotter said the emergency room staff member’s comment referring to her sister as “family” and saying the sister could enter the area where she was being treated suggests that the staff member believed the sister rather than Cole should be allowed to enter the treatment area for a visit. Wilderotter said she has also heard from friends and others familiar with Washington Adventist Hospital that family members are sometime allowed in to visit a loved one in the emergency room even during the early stage of treatment by doctors and nurses.

“My sister took Linda by the hand and led her in,” said Wilderotter, who noted that she was comforted to see the two of them arrive at her side. Wilderotter said the staff member at the emergency room entrance didn’t attempt to stop Cole from entering the treatment area with her sister.

Catherine Holroyd, a Hyattsville, Md., resident contacted the Blade on Monday to report that she and her lesbian partner have been treated with respect and were fully recognized as a same-sex couple when the two have been admitted to Washington Adventist Hospital on separate occasions as patients.

“I’m a retired nurse,” Holroyd said. “I can tell you that we’ve been treated well at that hospital and so have other gay couples.”

HRC spokesperson Paul Gueguierre said Cole and Widerotter’s discrimination complaint has merit.

“Linda Cole was denied access to her partner during a time of great need,” he said. “Regardless of whether it was a simple communications problem, this was unfortunately a case of healthcare discrimination,” he said.

“We are encouraged by recent statements by hospital administrators that they do not discriminate and will take steps to prevent this from happening again in the future,” Guequierre said. ”We look forward to their participation in the Healthcare Equality Index. The HEI is designed to prevent cases like this one.”

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Republican hopeful Rick Perry received no sympathy from LGBT advocates on Thursday after he announced that he giving up a presidential campaign renowned for its demonization of gay people.

Trailing in the polls — even in the socially conservative state of South Carolina where the primary will be held Saturday — Perry told supporters in North Charleston, S.C.., he was ending his bid for the White House and throwing his support behind former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

“As I’ve contemplated the future of this campaign, I have to come to the conclusion that there is no viable path forward for me in this 2012 campaign,” Perry said. “Therefore, today, I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Newt Gingrich for president of the United States.”

Perry called Gingrich a “conservative visionary who can transform our country.”

In likely reference to Gingrich’s marital infidelities, Perry said Gingrich is “not perfect,” adding “there is forgiveness for those who seek God, and I believe in power of redemption, for it is a central tenet of my Christian faith.”

But the thrice-married Gingrich came under additional scrutiny following Perry’s exit on Thursday when media outlets published interviews with Marianne Gingrich, his second wife, who said the former House speaker had asked her for an open marriage.

Perry’s exit and new support for Gingrich could give the former House speaker a fighting chance in South Carolina, where the candidate has been encroaching on Romney in the polls.

The three-term Texas bows out of the presidential race after heavily courting the evangelical vote and espousing anti-gay positions throughout his presidential campaign.

The unofficial kick-off of his campaign took place in August at controversial day of prayer called “The Response” that was attended by an estimated 30,000 people. The event was reportedly financed by the anti-gay American Family Association.

Upon officially entering the presidential race, Perry signed a pledge from the National Organization for Marriage committing himself to back a U.S. constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court. During in a speech New Hampshire, he praised efforts to repeal the same-sex marriage law in the state.

But Perry began pulling out the stops with anti-gay campaign tactics when fell from his status as front-runner to the bottom of the pack after poor debate performances and a series of gaffes — most notably when he forgot during a debate the third in a group of departments that he would eliminate as president.

In a Iowa TV ad called “Strong,” which was widely circulated on the Internet, in which Perry says, “There’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.”

Perry also criticized President Obama’s decision to require his administration to have more active engagement against anti-gay human rights abuses, saying the act was an example of ”an administration at war with people of faith in this country.” The candidate also riled LGBT advocates when he said during a CNN interview he would “absolutely” reinstate “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” if elected president.

During an event in Deborah, Iowa, an 14-year-old bisexual woman challenged Perry over his views on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” but was dismissed by the candidate.

“This is about my faith, and I happen to think that, you know, there are a whole hosts of sins — homosexuality being one of them,” Perry said.

LGBT advocates said Perry inability to rise in the polls after he made anti-gay campaign tactics part of his campaign is evidence they don’t appeal to voters.

Michael Cole-Schwartz, a Human Rights Campaign spokesperson, was among those chiding Perry for his approach to LGBT issues over the course of his campaign.

“Governor Perry distinguished himself by trying to use LGBT issues as a campaign weapon and it didn’t work,” Cole-Schwartz said. “It’s just another sign that going anti-gay doesn’t pay dividends, even in conservative-leaning primaries.”

R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of the National Log Cabin Republicans, said the 2012 election is about “liberty and prosperity” and Perry didn’t have the capacity to unite conservatives and win the general election.

“Tactical blunders such as his ‘Strong’ video exposed a disconnect with the general electorate and the average Republican voter,” Cooper said. “Our nation was built upon individual liberty and individual responsibility, and open service by gay and lesbian servicemembers is directly in line with the vision of our Founding Fathers.”

Jerame Davis, executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, said Perry had “embarassed” himself throughout his campaign and his exit from the race was in line with that behavior.

“As the final act of idiocy in his quixotic bid for the GOP nomination, Perry chose to endorse Newt Gingrich — a thrice married serial philanderer who demanded an open marriage with one of his previous wives,” Davis said. “It just goes to show how closely he holds his much touted ‘family values.’ Then again, maybe he just forgot who else was in the race. Oops!”

An LGBT advocate who asked not to be identified is urging two national gay rights groups and human rights organization TransAfrica to call on the United Negro College Fund to cancel an invitation to the Ugandan ambassador to the U.S. to appear as the keynote speaker at a Jan. 16 Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in Greenbelt, Md.

“I am writing to you to share my shock, sadness and disappointment that the featured keynote speaker for the United Negro College Fund Jan. 16, 2012 event celebrating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is H.E. Perezi K. Kamunanwire, Ambassador to the United States from Uganda,” the activist said in an email to the Blade.

The D.C.-area activist noted that with legislation pending in Uganda calling for the death penalty for persons found “guilty” of committing consensual homosexual sex acts among adults that it is “most inappropriate” for an African-American organization to invite an official representative of Uganda to speak at a King Day event.

The activist stated in the email that the activist has urged the Human Rights Campaign and the National Black Justice Coalition, two LGBT organizations; and TransAfrica, a human rights organization that promotes equality and freedom in African countries, to speak out against the United Negro College Fund’s decision to invite the Ugandan ambassador to speak at the King event.

Joye Griffin, a spokesperson for the United Negro College Fund, said in a statement that the organization has a strong policy opposing discrimination based on sexual orientation. She said UNCF also opposes “abuses and violations of human rights whenever they occur.” Griffin said UNCF invited the Ugandan ambassador to speak at the King Day event based on his career as a distinguished educator and scholar who has taught at U.S. universities and directed black studies programs.

Representatives of the other three groups couldn’t be immediately reached to obtain their response to the activist’s concern.

U.S. and international LGBT rights organizations have called on the Uganda Parliament to withdraw from consideration what activists have described as the “kill the gays” bill.

George Hamilton stars as Georges in the Kennedy Center's production of ‘La Cage aux Folles.’ (Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy Kennedy Center)

Hamilton stars in ‘La Cage’

Tony Award-winning musical, “La Cage Aux Folles” opens at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. starring George Hamilton and Christopher Sieber.

“La Cage” tells the story of the gay owner of a nightclub in Saint-Tropez, his partner and what happens when their son brings his fiancée’s conservative parents home to meet them.

Tickets range from $65 to $130 and can be purchased online at kennedy-center.org.

HRC plans women’s party

Human Rights Campaign and Lure present D.C.’s Her HRC DJ Throwndown on Sunday at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) from 6 to 11 p.m. featuring DJs Vanniety Kills, MIM, Ladyface and Rosie.

There will be a VIP reception from 6 to 6:45 p.m. when the doors open for general attendance. The reception will include refreshments and a special guest. The DJs start spinning at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $40 for VIP admission and $10 for general admission. Tickets include an annual HRC membership. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit hrc.org/herhrc.

Lesbian hip-hop party planned

She Scenes Entertainment, a group that plans lesbian events for women, is celebrating its third anniversary with a party and concert on Jan. 21 at Argana (2147 P St., N.W.) from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. with live performances by Lower Case Letters, Dark Side Creative and openly gay rapper DDM.

The party will also serve as a launch for a new LGBT clothing line, “C.O.C.K.Y.” and to promote the efforts of She Scenes’ monthly Charity Brunch series, which has raised funds for six local non-profits so far.

Tickets are $10 in advanced and can be purchased online atconcertedition.eventbrite.com. There are also a limited number of VIP packages.

For more information on She Scenes, visit sweetscenesent.com.

Late last year, Gay Black Men News folded. It was a unique online eZine because it brought a perspective of the news as it related specifically to gay men of African descent. And its circulation was global.

“We are blessed with a large following of avant garde, artistic people. While most of our site visitors are in the USA, we have a good following around the globe. This we believe is largely due to our global prospective and the fact that the global people of color community are a priority with us,” said Ralph Emerson, publisher and founder of GBMNews.

Emerson operated the publication out of his own pocket. And while clearly the cost of operation was prohibitive causing the eZine to cease publication, another reason, according to Emerson, is the lack of support from the LGBTQ communities of African descent.

“Our folk don’t rally around and support their own. When GBMNews started everyone rushed to it, but with the advent of Facebook the attention had shifted,” Emerson told Out in Jersey reporter Antoine Craigwell.

“We didn’t have a groundswell of support for the site and for the newspapers as I thought it should have had from the community. As a community, we don’t seem to work together and support each other as a collective, and as a result, it collapses,” Emerson stated.

Emerson’s statement that LGBTQ people of African descent don’t support their own shouldn’t be dismissed as anger and bitterness for having to close shop. Rather, his statement speaks volumes about our black LGBTQ community’s history of not financially supporting projects that benefit us.

Issues of race, gender expression and sexual orientation invite a particular type of news reporting. One of the biggest losses, with now no nationally recognized black LGBTQ print or online eZine, will be the unreported and underreported news of our lives. GBMNews did local, national and international coverage of us.

A lack of financial support from the black LGBTQ community has contributed substantially to all the print and online black LGBTQ publications folding. I’ve had the pleasure of writing for these magazines but sadly my tenure with these ’zines was short-lived.

In 2007, GBMNews was founded as an all-volunteer contribution site devoted to the LGBTQ community of color by Ralph Emerson. In 2009, Emerson launched GBMMagazines and in 2010, he launched RadioGBM, a groundbreaking Internet radio station with exceptional coverage of the music industry and emerging artists. I joined GBMNews in December 2009 when Emerson wrote, “I noticed your article submissions and I’m contacting in hopes that you will become a regular GBMNews contributor. I am certain our site visitors would enjoy your journalistic dispatches, your opinions, analysis, and distinctive observations.”

But on Nov. 28 GBMNews, GBMMagazines, and RadioGBM shut their doors for good. “I’m going to take a few months off to think about my next direction. I’ve toyed for years with starting an arts business,” Emerson stated.

In 2000, Arise was founded by Glenn Alexander and the Rev. MacArthur H. Flournoy, associate director of the Religion and Faith Program at the Human Rights Campaign. The publication’s readership was the same-gender-loving community of people of African descent. Its mission was “to challenge the mind, encourage the spirit, and affirm the value of all sexually diverse people of African descent.”

In November 2003, the paper celebrated its third anniversary and had become a national icon for the African-American LGBTQ community. Sadly, a month later, Arise folded.

In the 1990s, Venus Magazine was founded by Charlene Cothran, a publication that for 13 years targeted the black LGBTQ community. As a staple in the African-American community, Venus Magazine was the first and only queer magazine owned and operated by a black lesbian that spoke to and about the unique intersections of being black and LGBTQ in both the African-American and white queer communities.

Cothran sent shock waves throughout African-American LGBT communities when she wrote an article entitled, “REDEEMED! 10 ways to get out of ‘The Life’ if you want out!” In it, she wrote that she’s now not only “saved,” having turned her life over to Jesus, but “straight” as well.

And as a fledgling magazine with the threat of folding always hanging over its head, Cothran opted to take financial support in 2007 from black churches funded by white right-wing Christian organizations that emphasize “reparative therapies.” In fact, she opted to be her own magazine’s “ex-gay” poster girl, rather than let the magazine fold.

Those of us who read GBMNews will feel its absence, and remember why it’s not here with us.