African American

Official 2012 National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Website Launched - African-American HIV/AIDS Resource Center - The Body →

February 7, 2012 is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD). NBHAAD is a national community mobilization initiative designed to encourage HIV prevention, testing and treatment among Blacks and African Americans in the United States. This year’s theme is “I am My Brother’s/Sister’s Keeper: Fight HIV/AIDS.” NBHAAD main objectives are to:

  • Educate and distribute information about HIV/AIDS locally;
  • Promote and provide HIV Testing;
  • Increase HIV/AIDS community mobilization and involvement efforts locally; and
  • Encourage linkage to care and treatment for those newly diagnosed with HIV and promote reengagement to care and treatment services for people living with HIV.

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After 100 Years Of Existence, The NAACP Will Finally Address LGBT Issues / Queerty →

After being slammed for taking a “neutral” stanceon marriage equality, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will hold its first-ever town hall meeting on LGBT issues moderated by out CNN anchor Don Lemon and lesbo-commedienne Wanda Sykes! Sounds fun and informative, but what will they actually discuss?

According to the NAACP, the LGBT forum “will examine the significant contributions of black gay leaders within the Civil Rights movement, the role of black straight allies in addressing homophobia, and how we can collectively overcome LGBT discrimination within the black community.”

To be fair, the NAACP has supported hate crimes legislation, anti-bullying programs in schools, and has opposed laws banning same-sex marriage, like Prop 8. Plus, NAACP chair Julian Bond enthusiastically addressed LGBT and black civil rights in his 2009 Human Rights Campaign speech, so the organization hasn’t been totally silent on LGBT issues. But we’ll be listening for sound bits and conversation points from the discussion.

The panel will also include president of the National Women’s Studies Association Professor Beverly Guy-Sheftall; Noah’s Arc actor Daryl Stephen; and writer, scholar, activist, and former Executive Director of Queers for Economic Justice, Kenyon Farrow.

Umm… we want tickets to this event… like, really badly!

JUNETEENTH WORLD WIDE CELEBRATION →

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

Later attempts to explain this two and a half year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another, is that the news was deliberately withheld by the enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still another, is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. All of which, or neither of these version could be true. Certainly, for some, President Lincoln’s authority over the rebellious states was in question For whatever the reasons, conditions in Texas remained status quo well beyond what was statutory.