Tag: Kheven LaGrone

“Twenty Years of Speaking Truth to Power” is the theme for CCWP’s 20th anniversary gala, on Saturday, Nov. 7, 7 p.m., at the Women’s Building 3543 18th St., San Francisco. For information, call 415-255-7036, ext. 4, and if you’d like to volunteer at the event, visit womenprisoners.org. Featured guests include Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter; Jayda Rasberry, organizer with Dignity and Power Now; Thao Nguyen, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down; and the Heiwa Taiko Drummers.

Sunday, Oct. 12, marks our 19th Annual Maafa Commemoration. This is a time when we gather to remember our African ancestors, especially those who endured the transatlantic slave trade or the Middle Passage, the Black Holocaust. It is a time for Pan Africans to gather and celebrate life and recommit ourselves to the work of liberation: spiritual, psychological, economic and political.

“Afro-Futurism: Envisioning the Year 2070 and Beyond” reflects and builds upon African American history. The art exhibit challenges us to cherish and critique the moment. By placing African Americanism into the year 2070, the artwork and statements visualize a future to look forward to. So how will African Americans/Negroes/Blacks define the world in 2070?

Sobonfu Somé, West African healer, says that when people die and become ancestors, they get smarter and often try to repair any damage they may have made while in this physical form. Ancestors want to be busy making our lives better. She said we can call on them to intercede on our behalf when we are troubled.

“I Am America: Black Genealogy Through the Eye of An Artist” will run from Nov. 5, 2011, through Feb. 2, 2012, at the San Francisco Main Library African American Center. A reception with the genealogists and artists will take place on Sunday, Nov. 20, 1-2 p.m. A program follows from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Latino Hispanic Room.

The fundraiser at the College of Alameda on May 18 was a great success, thanks to Maria Labossiere, Colette Eloi, Carolyn Brandy, Michelle Jacques and the ASCOA representative. The Social Welfare Club raised $170 for Jean Ristil’s organization in Cite Soliel.

More and more, “progressive” San Francisco is proving its reputation for being a cold, hostile city for African Americans – gay or straight. Former Mayor Willie Brown wrote in his autobiography about San Francisco’s City Hall attack on the City’s African American politicians. San Francisco’s African American population – especially middle-class – has dwindled more than any other major city in the country. Now an article about a study by the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) exposes the negative attitude of San Francisco’s gay community towards African American same-gender-loving (SGL) men.

Black August begins with a campaign for the acquittal of Francisco Torres, the only member of the San Francisco 8 still charged. Go to www.freethesf8.org for messages to phone or fax to Attorney General Jerry Brown, urging him to drop the charges. Cisco’s hearing is Aug. 10 if the charges aren’t dropped.

We think the rainbow - the gay symbol - is all about fun and parties, but there is also a dark side that no one likes to talk about, such as abuse or racism within the GLBT community.

Conservative Christian leaders and gay activists have become bedfellows in their criticism of the choice of Rev. Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at Obama's inauguration.

Being homosexual compromises or revokes the entitlement that most white gays and lesbians are born and raised into. Many feel they must make a choice between their full entitlement - by abstaining or by remaining in the closet - and expressing their sexuality.

After Proposition 8 passed, Black gay men holding "No on Proposition 8" signs were verbally assaulted by white gay anti-Prop 8 protesters. They were called "niggers," and "their people" were blamed for its passage.