WATCH: I AM A MAN - Black Manhood and Sexual Diversity

 Watching this video is like sitting in a Sunday morning church service and having the preacher break down the sexual, social, religious and historical dynamics of Black Manhood right before your very eyes and ears.  You feel as if your spirit has been thoroughly released and fed because this is the sermon that you've always secretly wanted to hear but never heard anybody preach.  Yet, it's not quite a sermon but a conversation; a dialogue with people that you may not always agree with but that you respect.  Within itself, that's rare so we celebrate those times and wish we could've been there as it happened because they dropped some serious knowledge and spoke words that we don't often get to hear.

I AM A MAN: Black Manhood and Sexual Diversity is a 35 minute video filmed during a historic town hall meeting in Harlem.  It covers what journalist, radio host and panelist Esther Armah deftly calls the black man's "legacy of untreated trauma." Five minutes into the video, when you hear her say "when I think about masculinity and manhood, I think it is the combined experiences of all the things we have gone through collectively or as a people that impacts who we are at this present moment ... there's what I call the 'wish list' of what we would like for black manhood and masculinity to be and there is the legacy of untreated trauma that is the direct result of colonialism, and slavery and Jim Crow, and for the absolute fight for our lives and our liberty that we have engaged in for these many, many hundreds of years so that at this present time, masculinity and manhood is a combination of contradictions and emotionalities that need to be interrogated and explored in order for us to do more than have an analytical conversaton about it ... I'd say this is the revolution that needs to be internalized" you KNOW it's going to be RIVETING!

The roundtable discussion appears to be moderated by the Rev. Al Sharpton who is always ON POINT, and certainly keeps it real in the short time that he appears on screen.  Amen!

Rounding out the panel are Cleo Manago, founder of The Black Men's Exchange and Founder/CEO of AMASSI Center for Wellness & Culture, Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, writer and T.V. host for Our World, Dr. R. L' eureax Lewis, writer and activist from the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, and Bishop John Selders of the Amistad Church of Christ. 

From the fact that black homosexuals ARE and ALWAYS HAVE BEEN to the roots of the current horrendous homophobia in Africa, from James Baldwin and Don Lemon's "coming out" to what Tracy Morgan's recent DYSFUNCTIONAL "joke" REALLY MEANT - it's all here. 

YOU NEED TO WATCH IT!

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Greg]

I was there Corey! And unfortunately it was not well attended. Like many Black SGL's in Harlem I was able to walk to the event. But sadly too many bruthas had way too much to do; shopping, dining at New York's new restaurant row on Lenox Avenue, al fresco no less (see and be seen, ya know!), gettin' busy or gettin' it in, strolling ACP Blvd in tanks and muscle tee's.

It was an enormously successful event in that it changed how many young Black sgl men think about themselves, and how they move about the Harlem's of the USA in particular and the USA & the world in general. I think this will start a movement for us. Next week in Brooklyn, Bed-Stuy will have its first Black Pride, WOW!! thats big.

So hopefully this event will engender a sense of entitlement in Black SGL men, so that they now can walk with their heads high, even the flamboyant among us walking like they are on a Parisian catwalk. I met a couple of dudes from Lincoln Nebraska and one dude from the U.K. and they all asked the same thing, "...where is everybody?"

So, even though the attendance had much to be desired, the desired effect did take place and thats how I measured the success of the event. I'm glad I went, I was nourished physically, mentally and spiritually.

[Corey]

WOW, GREG! Thank you for this comment and sharing all the POSITIVITY that you walked away with just by being in the house! But I feel the frustration, too, over the lack of attendance. However, like you say, it wasn't for naught; it was supposed to BE no matter who WASN'T there!

Maybe they should have spread a rumor that Bey was going to drop by - THAT would have brought us out in droves! LOL!

Seriously, maybe those who were ACTUALLY THERE were the ones who were SUPPOSED to be there at that time?!? No matter, I agree that it must have been ENORMOUSLY SUCCESSFUL because the video scores right there on that level!

Thanks again for you uplifting and encouraging comment!

[Paul M Smith]

A very successful beginning!! I applaud this roundtable because it set up a model that is quite compelling. To sit and hear such a collection in men and women, clergy, academicians, community leaders, SGL, straight and every flavor in between take on the sexual, social and religious issues of Black manhood in America is a great start. It sets up a model for this conversation to occur in town halls and neighborhoods all across this country. Strong, clear and sensitive black voices are needed to articulate, process and begin treating, what Esther so adeptly calls, “the untreated trauma” perpetrated against black manhood and masculinity in America.

[Thomas]

The "legacy of untreated trauma", what a brilliant analysis. That pretty much sums up it. I loved the way she talked about the emotional element at the end, that if that is not taken care of, it CAN derail everthing else. I know this to be true, intellectually and emotionally. Black folk is hurtin'.

Thanks for sharing this with us Corey. It was quite a treat!

[Steven Davis]

Thanks for sharing the Manhood/Sexual Diversity stream in your recent post. And love your characterization of the clip as "...the sermon that you've always...wanted to hear...". Great work, keep it up. Visit your site a few times a week, and never disappointed by posts and content. Thanks again.

[Otis]

Thanks for posting Cory. Love the analysis of sexuality as fluid and outside the box of the modern construct of gay, bi, straight, etc. A well-made and insightful video. I’ve heard Cleo speak before, and sometimes thought his opposition to white gay culture and dismissive attitude concerning homophobia detracted from his affirmation of same gender loving identity. But the more I see the level of racism in the larger gay culture, I understand the need to position ourselves within a Black context, a Black community, a Black sgl community…however one defines that. Really impressed by the other panelists. Sharpton always holdin’ it down. Will share on my FB page.

[elg]

"But the more I see the level of racism in the larger gay culture, I understand the need to position ourselves within a Black context, a Black community, a Black sgl community…however one defines that."

I think that we black gay men do ourselves a disservice when we assume that straight black people are our allies and white gay people are our blood enemies. Not that you said that, Otis.

Just last month a black "religious leader" in North Carolina murdered his own 4 year old stepson because he might be gay. See Doug Cooper-Spencer's recent 7-2011 blog entry.

Last year in New York, a black male killed a 17 month old baby boy he was supposedly babysitting for being "girly".

Keith Boykin reported a few years ago on his old blog about a Florida black man who killed his 3 year old son for being too "soft".

Straight black men (with cooperation from straight black women) are killing black children/babies, who they THINK might grow up to be gay.

I realize that white gay racism does exist but it's not life threatening, at least not from where I sit. Black homophobes, on the other hand, are out to destroy us. We black gay men had better figure this out and quickly. And after we figure it out, what are we going to do about it? What do we want to do about it?

[Otis]

@ELG, I was not suggesting that as black gay/sgl men, that we view the white gay community as the enemy due to racism or ignore the homophobia in black communities. We need to represent and bring our total selves to whatever community/communities we dwell in. I've heard those stories of black men killing or abusing boys because they are 'soft'. I think there is a danger in looking at these horrible crimes as a way to broad stroke the black community. Homophobia and hate crimes exist in all races.

What I got from the video was to educate and confront homophobia in the black community and not assume that blending into the larger white gay community will give us protection. True, white gays may not be killing and bashing us, but after Prop 8, they were all too willing to believe the stereotype of blacks being the MOST homophobic.

[elg]

Otis, I KNOW that "homophobia and hate crimes exist in all races."

Do you know of any cases, however, where a white/non-black hispanic or Asian man killed a 17 MONTH OLD BABY boy because he was "girly"?

A white (or black) parent who puts her kid in a "program" to change him from gay to straight is one thing. A "man" who MURDERS a 4 year old because he might be gay is something entirely different. He is a MONSTER. And you know this.

"True, white gays may not be killing and bashing us, but after Prop 8, they were all too willing to believe the stereotype of blacks being the MOST homophobic."

Otis, so you actually think white gays who believe black voters in California caused Prop. 8 to pass are comparable to the black man in NC who MURDERED his own FOUR YEAR OLD stepson because he might be gay? Get real.

The white gays who blame Prop 8 on blacks can, perhaps, be persuaded differently with the facts. On the other hand, the only thing you can do with the black man who MURDERED his 4 year old stepson because he might be gay is lock him up and throw away the key.

I'm not saying that ALL straight black people are VICIOUS homophobes, however, too many of them are. With the economy on the brink and so MANY black people unemployed or unemployable people will be looking for scapegoats for their frustrations. Straight black people already blame us (black gay men) for the HIV/AIDS epidemic raging among black women (they don't care about the even greater HIV/AIDS epidemic raging among black gay men). Who knows where or how that frustration will manifest. Black gay men need to build strategic alliances. Choosing our allies carefully (and without emotion/nostalgia) is key. Our lives could depend on it.

[catholic]

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Thanks!