AfroLez®femcentric Perspectives Blog

John L. Jackson reflects upon teaching Spike Lee at UPenn

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

John L. Jackson Jr. is an associate professor of communication and anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. His books include Racial Paranoia: The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness (2008), Real Black: Adventures in Racial Sincerity (2005), and Harlemworld: Doing Race and Class in Contemporary Black America (2001). He will be writing about racial [...]

Civil Rights Groups United to Stop Enactment of Proposition 8

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

Civil Rights Groups Petition California Supreme Court to Stop Enactment of Proposition 8 LOS ANGELES (Nov. 14, 2008) – Civil rights groups today filed a petition with the California Supreme Court to stop the enactment of Proposition 8 because it would mandate discrimination against a minority group and did not follow the process required for [...]

Wanda Sykes Officially Comes Out As A Proud Black Gay Woman

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

I have always been a fan of comedienne, voice and TV actress, and author Wanda Sykes. For those of you who don’t know who Wanda Skyes is, she is well known for her “take no prisoner” observations on current events. She has received multiple prime time Emmy-awards and has been called “one of the [...]

Challenging Racism in White Gay Communities While Challenging Homophobia in Black Communities

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

Addressing Multiple Oppressions Simultaneously I can’t believe that in response to the despicable racism of the mainstream White LGBT community that (some) Black queer folks are trying to say that marriage “isn’t our issue”… Sun Dawtah’s response (please read below) addresses this insanity… I get that Black folk only make up 6.7% of California’s population; and as [...]

Celebrating Obama While Mourning Proposition 8

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

Celebrating Obama While Mourning Proposition 8… I still find myself pinching myself to see if this is in fact real. I haven’t felt this way since I was an international observer for the elections in 94 (exactly 30 years after my mother, Gwendolyn Robinson/Zoharah Simmons, at the age of 19, went to Missisissppi in 1964 where [...]

Booth & Tucker LLP Host Philadelphia Fundraiser for Kevin Powell for Congress

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

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Black Men Respond to R. Kelly’s Not Guilty Verdict

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

*Statement of Black Men Against the Exploitation of Black Women* Six years have gone by since we first heard the allegations that R. Kelly had filmed himself having sex with an underage girl. During that time we have seen the videotape being hawked on street corners in Black communities, as if the dehumanization of one [...]

Women for Kevin Powell for Congress

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

Women for Kevin Powell for Congress I am very proud to be a signatory to this statement, which supports my comrade in the movements to end violence against women and girls; and friend, social change agent Kevin Powell for his run, as a Democrat, for a seat in the United States Congress in the 10th Congressional [...]

Passion Life Magazine | AfroLez Productions

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

Aishah Shahidah Simmons, Independent Documentary Filmmaker interviewed by Sonya Shields “Aishah Shahidah Simmons and I met over ten years ago in Washington, DC when she was dating an old friend. We spent a Saturday night with friends dancing at the Hung Jury and talking about our future goals. I remember thinking that she was intensely passionate [...]

Detroit Women of Color International Film Festival

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Oya Amakisi 313.544.8493 http://dwcfilmfest.tripod.com amakisi @ gmail.com Second Annual Detroit Women of Color International Film Festival After an exceptionally successful debut film festival in 2007, Amakisi Unlimited, LLC, will present the Detroit Women of Color International Film Festival for its sophomore run at the Charles Wright Museum of African American History (315 East Warren Ave., Detroit Michigan, [...]