Lesbians of color take centerstage in 'Pariah'

I do a lot of talking about the need to focus on issues and interests of the lgbtq community of color.

Now, I want to back up all of my talk by focusing on an outstanding movie, Pariah:

A world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, the contemporary drama Pariah is the feature-length expansion of writer/director Dee Rees’ award-winning 2007 short film Pariah. Spike Lee is among the feature’s executive producers. At Sundance, cinematographer Bradford Young was honored with the [U.S. Dramatic Competition] Excellence in Cinematography Award.

Adepero Oduye, who had earlier starred in the short film, portrays Alike (pronounced ah-lee-kay), a 17-year-old African-American woman who lives with her parents Audrey and Arthur (Kim Wayans and Charles Parnell) and younger sister Sharonda (Sahra Mellesse) in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. She has a flair for poetry, and is a good student at her local high school.

Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. With the sometimes boisterous support of her best friend, out lesbian Laura (Pernell Walker), Alike is especially eager to find a girlfriend. At home, her parents’ marriage is strained and there is further tension in the household whenever Alike’s development becomes a topic of discussion. Pressed by her mother into making the acquaintance of a colleague’s daughter, Bina (Aasha Davis), Alike finds Bina to be unexpectedly refreshing to socialize with.

Wondering how much she can confide in her family, Alike strives to get through adolescence with grace, humor, and tenacity – sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, but always moving forward.

For more information to Pariah's main webpage as well as its digital toolkit

'NOM's people are obsessing over gay sex (again)' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Audio: NOM's Jennifer Roback Morse calls gay sex 'completely shameless activity' - AND we are here again.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble hawking anti-LGBT calendar by self-proclaimed ‘sissy’ - This here is a CONSUMMATE disgrace. An excerpt from this "self-proclaimed sissy" calendar:

The “truth” is that AIDS is an “elective” disease.
It STOPS the day guys quit sticking it to each other.
And for the tragedy of women and children infected…
THAT stops the day their gay husbands and fathers stop cheating on them.
Anyone need MORE education, science or funding to understand THAT?

Rural North Carolina LGBT Rights Group Met by Homophobic Christian Protesters at First Meeting: VIDEO - Please don't give me an crap about "it's to be expected in North Carolina." You defeat ignorance by taking it head on in places where it thrives. These folks should be supported and commended.

Gingrich Intends to Pack Courts with Judges from Regent and Liberty University, Federalist Society - The idea of Mat Staver or Matt Barber as federal judges should scare the hell out of anyone.


It's Official: Gay Is the New Black - I'm not hot on the title but I love this piece written by a black woman, by the way. An excerpt reads:

The civil rights issue of our time is gay marriage, and the key players in our country's most significant civil rights movement are on the wrong side of it. The black church has taken on a new role: oppressor.

One News Now's hypocritical stance on the persecution of Christians and gays

Today, the American Family Association's One News Now is singing the praises of Congress:

The U.S. House has passed a resolution that calls on the government of Turkey to end repression of the remnants of ancient Christian and pre-Christian civilizations and return the property taken from them.

House Resolution 306, spearheaded by Representative Ed Royce (R-California) and Howard Berman (D-California), was recently passed by a huge majority, calling on the State Department to raise the issue. Aram Hamparian of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) tells OneNewsNow the persecution has been going on for many centuries.

. . . The more serious persecution occurred early last century.

"They were largely seized during the period of the Armenian genocide, which started in 1915, which was an effort to wipe out the entire Christian population of the Ottoman Empire. And it very nearly succeeded in doing that," the ANCA executive director laments. "Armenians and Syrians, Greeks, Pontians and others represented over two million of the citizens of the Ottoman Empire, and today they represent less than one percent."

About a million and a half people were killed, and now only a handful of churches exist, compared to thousands that were in Turkey prior to the alleged genocide. Turkey denies the latter and has lashed out at the House for passing the resolution.

Speaking out against persecution and genocide are good things for any person or any nation to do.

However, One News Now isn't exactly consistent with this stance. Earlier this month, the publication featured an article raising holy hell when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke out against anti-gay persecution which is presently taking place in foreign countries:

The Obama administration has announced it will begin considering how countries treat homosexual citizens when determining allocations of foreign aid. The Associated Press reports it is the first U.S. government strategy that deals with "human rights abuses against gays and lesbians abroad." Speaking in Geneva, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said "Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights." Sitting among her audience were representatives from several nations where homosexuality is considered immoral.

The announced policy, according to Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel Action, "displays the arrogance of the Obama administration."

It is "frankly offensive," says the attorney, that President Obama "feels compelled to export American culture's decline in morality, and export that immorality to other nations that are trying to adhere to traditional principles relative to human sexuality."

Barber also notes that the administration is apparently ignoring the fact that foreign nations -- like the United States -- are sovereign countries. He adds that the U.S. is "using essentially blackmail and the purse strings" of the nation to force countries to change their moral principles.

Someone should ask One News Now - and the author of both articles, Charlie Butts - just what is the difference between anti-Christian and anti-gay persecution.

I'm pretty sure that in the eyes of God, there is no difference.