Election Day 2010

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: 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.

Update: Rally Against Hate In College Point

On Saturday, October 17, outraged members of the LGBT community gathered in College Point, Queens, to march and rally in protest against the brutal beating of gay resident Jack Price. Price, 49, was allegedly beaten into a coma by two local homophobes, Daniel Rodriguez and Daniel Aleman in an unprovoked attack which was captured by surveillance video. The suspects claimed Price "provoked" them by writing his phone number on the wall of a local deli. Price was taken to New York Hospital Queens where it was revealed he sustained multiple broken ribs, the collapse of both lungs, a lacerated spleen, and othewr injuries sufficiently severe that he had to be placed in a medically-induced coma to reduce the swelling of his battered organs.



Determined that this attack against Price and, in fact, the entire LGBT community, not go unanswered, local activists and community groups--myself included--took to the streets, in order to make it clear that homophobic violence will not be tolerated. Organized by LGBT community groups such as Make The Road NY and Queens Community House, the March brought several elected officials, including mayoral candidate Bill Thompson, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and Queens Borough President Helen Marshall out to speak. These officials were joined by Rally organizer and City Council nominee Daniel Dromm, LGBT community activist and organizer Brendan Fay, and Generation Q head Marissa Ragonese. Hundreds of gays, lesbians, and their alllies accompanied them on a march up College Point Blvd, past the 18th Avenue scene of the crime, and on to the Poppenhusen Playground parking lot, where the Rally was held.



Although Mayor Bloomberg did not attend the March or Rally, he issued a statement condemning the thuggish attack, and there was plenty of media coverage throughout the afternoon. I spoke alongside many others from city government, LGBT organoizations, and public agencies who will not stand for acts of hateful violence in our streets. We as human beings, New Yorkers and members of the LGBT community have the absolute right to walk our streets free from fear that we will be set upon and attacked because of who or what we are.



It will always be incumbent upon us to make ourselves seen and heard whenever any member of our community suffers this kind of tragic violence. There have been far too many (once is too many) beatings and killings of gays and lesbians in NYC and around the world this past year. Whenever bigotry rears its ugly head and strikes out at us, we must be ready to answer in numbers and with a strong message that homophobia is "socially unacceptable".