In many cases, these are half-hearted attempts more interested in making participants feel good than producing substantive change.

That is why I’m happy to learn of some recent examples of serious commitment to black males.

Greg Mathis is one such leader. Best known for his television show Judge Mathis, he is a former inmate who graduated law school and became the youngest person to sit on Michigan’s 36th District Superior Court.

Mathis is doing his part to break the cycle of black male incarceration via his Prisoner Education, Empowerment, and Respect Program. He visits correctional facilities and shares his story as proof of the power of education to change your life circumstances.

The judge is also involved with mentoring programs for non-violent offenders and the Second Chance Through Expungement (STEP) program that works to expunge criminal records if offenders don’t commit crimes for five years.

Another illustration of stepping up to the challenge is the Great Gathering, an event organized by African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AME Zion), Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) and African Methodist Episcopal (AME) churches. From March 1-3, the denominations met in Columbia, South Carolina and emerged with the Male Investment Program (MIP).

The MIP will target black males between the ages of 5 and 25 and promote education, health, spirituality, and financial literacy. A major component of the program will be using churches to provide workshops and mentoring opportunities on Saturdays. The Male Enhancement Program will debut in Washington, DC in May 2010 and eventually be implemented in thirteen cities.

This is the kind of outreach I have been waiting for churches to offer. Ethnic groups have been conducting “Saturday school” for years.

Considering that the black church is uniquely positioned to take a leadership role due to its influence, independence, and resources, I believe their involvement is critical to the success of any efforts to uplift black males.

But the Associated Press has published an article about the other side of the spectrum — people who are coming out in their 60s, 70s, and 80s.

It is a testament to the success of the gay rights movement that these individuals are finally comfortable enough to become their true selves, in many times after having spent decades in heterosexual marriages.

A quote from 83 year old Carl Martin says it best: “I would describe these as the happiest years of my life. I’m free to be who I am. I was not free to be who I was before.”

Aging LGBTs face challenges ranging from social isolation and homophobia in elderly care facilities to ensuring that their estates are handled in accordance with their wishes.

I will be writing more about this in the future, as I believe these issues will come to the forefront as baby boomers approach retirement.

Kudos to the AP for shining some light on a population that is often ignored.

First, there was Roy Ashburn, the California state senator whose March 3 arrest on a DUI after leaving a gay club eventually led to the March 8 admission that he is gay.

The same day, The Advocate published an interview with actor Sean Hayes where he came out more than a decade after rising to fame playing the flamboyant Jack on Will And Grace.

Their statements were not well-received by many in the community.

For all intents and purposes, Ashburn’s story could have been ripped from Kirby Dick’s documentary Outrage, which focused on closeted conservative politicians. Ashburn spent his political career voting against every bill that would have improved gay rights and organized events for the homophobic Traditional Values Coalition.

Meanwhile, Hayes spent years refusing to reveal his orientation, even though his characterization of a gay man was just a little bit too realistic to be just acting.

It is easy for people to say they should have come out years ago, but coming out is a decision that we all deal with differently.

While I feel it would be great for everyone to be out, the reality is that economic security, relationships, and personal safety can be jeopardized by coming out. Our desire for role models usually does not outweigh those individual concerns in the eyes of the closeted person, who, after all, is the one who has to deal with the aftermath of coming out.

My problem with Ashburn and Hayes revolves around hypocrisy and hubris.
Despite the obvious contradiction between his personal life and his voting record, Ashburn’s closet was protected by media and politicians like openly gay West Sacramento mayor Christopher Calbadon, who later claimed to out Ashburn on a Facebook posting.

It is one thing to be closeted and minding your own business, but something else when you go out of your way to make life worse for LGBTs. I feel no sympathy for Ashburn, but wish him luck in finding a new career since his political life is over now that his constituents realize his entire persona was built on a lie.

Hayes declared that “I feel like I’ve contributed monumentally to the success of the gay movement in America,” a problematic statement on many levels.

First, while Will and Grace was one of the first programs to center on gay characters, his character was hardly ground-breaking, offering many of the same stereotypes seen in films for decades.

Secondly, I would argue that advances that gays have made are the result of activism and not a prime time show.

Finally, how can you claim credit for something you denied for years? I know entertainers are egotistical by nature, but even I thought this was too much!

Ashburn and Hayes may be family, but I consider them crazy relatives best avoided unless an emergency arises.

Per the Electronic Urban Report, his memorial services are scheduled for the following time:

Viewing: Thursday, March 11 and Friday, March 12

Location: Swanson’s Funeral Home
Northwest Chapel
14751 W. McNichols Rd.
Detroit Michigan, 48235
Phone: (313) 272-9000

The funeral will be March 13 at 11:00 A.M. at:

Greater Grace Temple
23500 W. 7 Mile Rd
Detroit, MI 48219

In tribute, here are two songs from his underrated and hard-to-find solo album Truly Bad, released in 1983. Rest in peace, Mr. Banks!

She’s So Good To Me

Zap

Do you expect to find this in the library?

What is going on in San Diego?

Incidents at the University of California San Diego campus provide the latest example that America has not entered the post-racial era many claimed was ushered in by President Obama’s election.

On February 15, the middle of Black History Month, students held the Compton Cookout party off campus. Invitations, sent via Facebook and copied to many sites, echoed similarly-themed “ghetto parties” held at other colleges, with guidelines attendees were expected to follow:

For guys: I expect all males to be rockin Jersey’s, stuntin’ up in ya White T (XXXL smallest size acceptable), anything FUBU, Ecko, Rockawear, High/low top Jordans or Dunks, Chains, Jorts, stunner shades, 59 50 hats, Tats, etc.

For girls: For those of you who are unfamiliar with ghetto chicks-Ghetto chicks usually have gold teeth, start fights and drama, and wear cheap clothes – they consider Baby Phat to be high class and expensive couture. They also have short, nappy hair, and usually wear cheap weave, usually in bad colors, such as purple or bright red. They look and act similar to Shenaynay, and speak very loudly, while rolling their neck, and waving their finger in your face. Ghetto chicks have a very limited vocabulary, and attempt to make up for it, by forming new words, such as “constipulated”, or simply cursing persistently, or using other types of vulgarities, and making noises, such as “hmmg!”, or smacking their lips, and making other angry noises,grunts, and faces. The objective is for all you lovely ladies to look, act, and essentially take on these “respectable” qualities throughout the day.

Needless to say, many people, including the black students who comprise 2 percent of the school’s enrollment, were offended. Despite this being a private function, university officials had to answer for the Cookout.

A campus television show responded by making fun of the situation. While no clips have surfaced, protestors were allegedly called “ungrateful, ghetto and dumb niggers.” The students who made the comments are affiliated with The Koala, a campus “humor magazine” with a history of being racist, although the editors call it an edgy celebration of freedom of speech.

Then the tension was raised to another level when a noose was found in a school library.

And now a KKK hood has been discovered atop a campus statue. The local district attorney and FBI have been consulted as the perpetrator may be charged with a hate crime. (If you have any information, please send it to detective@ucsd.edu).

It would be easy to lay the blame for these events on white racists. But at least two of the events were perpetrated by people of color, proving that ignorance comes in all shades.

Jiggaboo Jones, a black comic, has taken credit for the Compton Cookout, claiming he organized it to help promote an upcoming DVD. Furthermore, in an interview with the right wing World Net Daily that could have been a deleted scene from Bamboozled, Jones said he’s been throwing these parties since 2005 and usually calls them Nigger Nights, but changed it in this case to avoid controversy.

A student, whose hasn’t been publicly identified but claims to be a minority, accepted responsibility for the noose. She gave an incredulous explanation of playing with a rope with a friend when she “innocently marveled at his ability to tie a noose” and subsequently carried the noose with her to the library, where she hung it by her desk and forgot to take it when she left. She has been suspended.

When a person thinks a noose is something to play with, it is time to give serious thought to how the history of racism is communicated to youth.

I think focusing only on positive moments — Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the success of the Montgomery bus boycott – and minimizing Emmitt Till, COINTELPRO, the Scottsboro 9, Birth Of A Nation, and other examples of the brutality black people have faced can induce historical amnesia to the point that young people don’t understand why the Compton Cookout may not have been a good idea.

On their first album, vocals were handled by Deborah Jordan. She has gone on to establish her own career, so Lady Alma Horton was brought in to lay down the leads. Alma’s voice has powered many dancefloor anthems since her involvement with Sylk 130 in the mid 90s.

Five years is a long time to be anticipating a new record (the collapse of the broken beat scene and the dual impacts of the recession and unauthorized downloading on independent labels were major factors), but I think you will agree that this was worth the wait. Lyrically and rhythmically, Two is a conceptual masterpiece.

Sample the tracks below and support great music!

Representative Nancy Elliott, a Republican, saw this as an opportunity to go into a lengthy description of anal sex as a way of explaining why she supports the bill.

You’ll have to watch the video to get her statement in its entirety, but I think several things deserve mentioning:

(a) Heterosexuals engage in anal intercourse. Sex acts are not limited by one’s orientation.

(b) Marriages are comprised of more than sex.

(c) Lesbians are omitted from her tirade. Don’t they have sex too?

(d) How many heterosexual people describe their sexual encounters as a “one-flesh union”?

This is another attempt to deny gay people’s humanity by reducing them to nothing more than sexual behavior and proves once more that homophobes are COMPLETELY OBSESSED with gay men having sex. I believe they think about it more than I do!

View the clip, then give her a piece of your mind at (603)424-4566 or via email at nancy_elliott@elliott-controls.com.

Morales teamed with Sergio Munzibai to form one of the preeminent remix teams of the 1980s. The M&M Mixes presents alternate versions of disco classics that Morales made for his personal enjoyment. These sessions were previously unreleased.

Some of the artists included are Universal Robot Band, Inner Life, Instant Funk, and Logg (i.e., Leroy Burgess). Morales pulls off the difficult feat of improving on established gems.

Here are two brief interviews with Morales to whet your apetitite.

You can buy the album by clicking on the link.

CBS aired The Homosexuals on March 7, 1967. Hosted by Mike Wallace, it was the first major television special dedicated to homosexuality.

Considered a pioneering broadcast at the time (homosexuality was still classified as a mental illness in 1967), viewing it today is a bittersweet experience.

While it illustrates how much progress has been made in the last four decades, it’s also disheartening to realize that the prejudiced attitudes voiced in the broadcast are held by many people today.

Whether it be the idea that gays are unstable, spiritually flawed, or incapable of maintaining relationships, it shows that there is still a long way to go in the struggle for equality.

I also noticed that there is no mention of lesbians in the broadcast, which is not surprising considering that most “discussion” about homosexuality is driven by fear of gay men more than gay women.

Thank goodness for Gore Vidal, who provides a stirring defense of homosexuality as normal.

Watch it below:

President Obama and Hilary Clinton both spoke against the bill at the National Prayer Breakfast, but a gay Ugandan offered his opinion at a competing event, the American Prayer Hour. View the clip below.