Celebrating Life, Stopping The BS (Bullying and Suicides) Today & Friday In NYC

In response to the tragic suicide of gay activist Joseph Jefferson over the weekend, and the recent, disturbing rash of other LGBT youth taking their lives around the country, there will be rallies and community events in NYC today and tomorrow. The first of these, a NO BS (Bullying and Suicide) rally, will begin at 5 PM today in Greenwich Village's Washington Square Park. Organized by Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD), and co-sponsored by a host of LGBT organizations, such as Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) and the Ali Forney Center, this rally will include appearances by LGBT community leaders and local elected officials. The one-hour rally is expected to draw a large turnout, in hopes of raising public awareness about the growing problem of bullying, homophobia, and suicide which are plaguing the LGBT community today.



Following the Washington Square rally, tomorrow evening will see the Celebrate Life/Stop The Madness event at the LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th Street, at 6 PM in the Kaplan 101 Auditorium. This event, honoring the lives of Jefferson and others who have recently died by suicide, seeks to remind us that there is hope and healing for our community, even in the face of tragedy and hatred. Celebrate Life/Stop The Madness is being put together by James Saunders, Laurence Pinckney, and Gay Men of African Descent. Featuring an all-star entertainment lineup, including Buttafly Soul, Tyra Allure, Jesse O, Renair Amin, Lester Greene, and many more, this event is not to be missed. There will be raffles and refreshments, and you can make a donation towards Joseph Jefferson's funeral. Grief couseling will also be available. There is lots of community support for this tribute to LGBT life, from (to name just a few) such luminaries as DJ Baker, DJ Fred Pierce, Ricky Day, Lee Soulja, Herndon Davis, GBM News, Rod 2.0, and of course, yours truly.

Both events can be reached via MTA New York City Transit.
For today's Rally in Washington Square Park, take an A, B, C, D, E, F, or M train to west 4th Street. Tomorrow, a 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, or L train to 14th Street will get you to the LGBT Center for Stop The Madness. I hope to see you at both these important functions!

WATCH: Nathan Interviews Rodney Chester On GBM TV

Noah's Arc TV and movie star Rodney Chester talks with me about narrating Nefertiti Strong's For Faith, For Love, Forever, and how the Noah's Arc movie has helped to shape the dialogue on gay marriage. It's a GBM TV exclusive, and you'll only see it on the Nathan James Show!

Tenth Suspect Arrested In Brutal Bronx Torture Of Gay Men

Sources within the NYPD today revealed a tenth man has been taken into custody in connection with the horrific torture and beating of three gay men in The Bronx last week. Jose Dominguez, 22, has been charged with a raft of felonies, all as hate crimes, including asssault, aggravated assault, and unlawful imprisonment. Dominguez allegedly took part with at least nine other members of the Latin King Goonies, a local street gang, in the forcible sodomy and torture of two 17-year-old and one 30-year-old-man. All three victims were gay. The atrocity, which garnered national headlines, has highlighted a recent spike in anti-gay assaults in the New York City area, including an attack on a gay patron inside the faned Stonewall Inn, birthplace of the LGBT righs movement. A source close to the investigation tells me that Dominguez' arrest is the latest, but likely not the last, as the ongoing investigation continues.

The brutal ordeal began for the three victims on the evening of October 3, when gang leaders heard rumors that one of the victims was gay. Over the course of a three hour period, the other two victims were found, and all three were stripped, beaten, forced to drink several cans of an alcohol-energy drink known as Four Loko, "confess" to being gay, and sodomized with a plunger handle and miniature baseball bat. The suspects, ranging in age from 16 to 23, and all were rounded up by the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force over the past week.

If convicted, all the suspects, including three teens charged as adults, could face more than 25 years behind bars each. The tenth suspect, Dominguez, was arrested earlier today, and will be arraigned at Bronx Supreme Court.

WATCH: Flash Mob "Die-IN" Against Homophobia At Grand Central Terminal

This past Friday evening, at the height of rush hour in the largest railroad station in the United States, I joined LGBT radio host DJ Baker and Cybersex: The Play creator Jason Duvall Hunter, in a civil-disobedience protest against gay-bashings, killings, and the deadly effects of socialized homophobia.



The protest was attended by approximately 200 demonstrators, who fell to the floor of the station's Main Concourse on a signal given just after 6 PM. The names of those who have been gay-bashed to death, or driven to suicide this year were read out, while we repeated the first names of the victims. In light of the upswing in local gay-bashing attacks here in NYC, including an utterly horrific atrocity in The Bronx last week, the need for such extreme expressions of outrage are readily apparent. I will continue to make such public statements until the day arrives when all of us in the LGBT community can live without fear.

Revival Of "The Colored Museum" Is Theatrical Tour-de-Force

A revival of George C. Wolfe's satirical stage play, The Colored Museum, began a three-night engagement yesterday at the South Oxford Space in Downtown Brooklyn.






Directed by Bill Johnson, a founder of the American Theatre Of Harlem and the Act Now Foundation, which produced this play. First produced in 1986, The Colored Museum is a darkly comedic look at Black life, with references to the ideas and issues that have grown up with the Black community, and how the world at large impacts its mores and contemporary culture. With a "nothing-is-sacred" approach, Johnson and his ensemble cast deliver an often hysterically funny performance, but not without a message about what's really happening with people of color. In a series of skits, a wide range of themes are explored, from "good hair", to the need to "put away" your blackness to succeed in a world demanding homogeneity.




In The Gospel According To Miss Roj, FranCisco Vegas brings the house down with his gender-non-conforming momologue which cracks wise at the often hypocritical demands of Black life, and his mannerisms and ad-libs make it an unforgettable scene. In Symbiosis, Michael Joseph Stith and Rafael Moreno look at how people of color must become smiling, corporate robots without cultural identity in order to succeed. Sharply done, it asks pointedly whether we can ever truly divorce ourselves from our personal histories. Hair Piece, delightfully acted by Angelique Chapman, Nihara Nichelle, and Jasmine Taylor, is a tongue-in-cheek look at the hair issue which bedevils so many women of color. Rounding out this excellent cast are Bea Jaye, Soyini Crenshaw, and Melissa Gibbs.



It's not easy to produce a revival that captures the essence and flair of the original play on which it is based, but Johnson and his cast pull it off beautifully. Before a standing-room crowd, their performances were polished and lively, and the little touches, like Vegas' visual gags between scenes, added just the right amount of joie de vivre that gave the show its playful, lighthearted tone. It's readily apparent that Johnson is able to renovate a 25-year-old play, making it accessible and relevant to 21st-century audiences. I award the show four stars, as much for the caliber of its production as for the work of its cast. The Colored Museum will run two more nights, tonight and tomorrow, at the South Oxford Space, 138 South Oxford Street in Brooklyn. Tickets for this 90-minute show are $15, and the theater can be reached by taking a 2,3,4,5,B,D,N,Q, or R train to Atlantic Avenue. Performances begin at 8 PM, with the doors open at 7:15. Go spend an evening in the Museum, and you'll find it worth the trip.


Pics from last night's performance:

You Are Loved Vigil: My Name Is NOT Nathan James Today

My name is not Nathan James today. It’s Tyler Clementi. It’s Asher Brown. It’s Billy Lucas. It’s Raymond Chase. It’s Seth Walsh. It’s Justin Aaberg. My name today is the name of every lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender person who has ever been ridiculed, harassed, beaten, told God hates them, ostracized, and driven to such despair they sought only the merciful relief from their torment by ending their own lives. My name today is the name of our LGBT youth, who suffer every day the apathy of a society which gives people permission to hate, permission to bully, and permission to inflict pain. When I hear that Tyler Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge, I want to say to the world, “Tyler did not jump.” He was pushed.




Tyler was pushed off that bridge by two people who thought it would be funny to publicly humiliate this gifted young man by splattering his sexual intimacies all over the Internet. They thought it would be funny to torment Tyler by making a vile mockery out of his sexual orientation. Tyler’s abusers were aided and abetted by society, which too often still considers the LGBT community to be deserving of all the hate it receives and all the pain it suffers. But, you know something? When I talk about society, I’m also saying, “that’s us.” We are still a part of the society that ridicules us, still part of the society that legislates against us, still a part of the society that says we are not normal. Because we are still part of this society, when our LGBT youth are pushed to the point of suicide, we don’t have to stand idly by and watch it happen. We can push back.





We can push back by voting for candidates who will enact anti-bullying measures with teeth. We can push back by working to make sure our schools and universities make it clear to everyone that bullying is unacceptable, period. We can push back by supporting all of our LGBT youth, and letting them know there is help, support, guidance, and love. We can push back by making a stand, today, that every life is precious, and that no gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person should die because they just couldn’t take it any more. No, my name today is the name of everyone here. My name today is the name of every gay person who died by their own hand when the cruelty of those around them became too much to bear. My name is your name, and together, we will make sure no one ever forgets or ridicules our name again. God rest the souls of our departed friends, and God grant us the courage to do what we must to make sure our youth get the love and support they need.