“The Comeback Kid”: How Your Abuser Wins You Back
So finally, you’ve managed to make your “Great Escape” from your abuser. (Great Escape is the term I’ve coined for my LGBTQ Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse workshops and seminars.) And after he/she fully absorbs that you’ve indeed found or reclaimed your backbone and guts, the counteroffensive begins in earnest with “plastic” pleas that include, “I really didn’t mean it,” [...]
Hot Tea and Ice 4
“It’s Not How You Got Them, It’s How You Keep Them” Guest Writer: LaToya Hankins Greetings and salutations, Hot Tea Sippers. Hopefully, temperatures are warming up in your neck of the woods, and you are getting ready for short sleeves, shorts, and sundresses. Maybe it’s just me, but it’s just something about shedding layers that leads people to consider adding a “plus one” [...]
Reginald A. Flemming: Inventive and Compelling Filmmaker on the Rise, Part Two
Meet Reginald A. Flemming! He’s the emerging writer, director and producer of gay-themed short feature films. His current and popular series, A First Time For Everything (AFTFE), is a provocative and thought-provoking work. I’ve had an extended sit-down with Mr. Flemming, exclusively for the Huffington Post Queer Voices. In Part Two of this series, Reginald discusses what drives him, [...]
Honey, Let Me Tell You Something! 9
“Honey I Should Have Told” Guest Writer: R. L. Norman I remember that day as if it were yesterday. I was stumbling down the street to meet my blind date whom I had met on-line. It was about 9 o'clock p.m. on a Saturday night in the middle of winter. There were about 10 inches of snow on the ground, as [...]
Essex Hemphill: The Force Remains With Us
Today, April 16, is the birthday of Mr. Essex Hemphill--the groundbreaking and iconic openly gay African-American author, poet and performance artist. He would’ve been 59. I was fortunate to call Essex a dear friend. So, in celebration of his extraordinary life and awesome talent, I’m re-running one of my tributes to him. Visit: death-claims-a-phenom-way-too-soon-a-tribute-to-essex-hemphill
Reginald A. Flemming: Inventive and Compelling Filmmaker on the Rise, Part One
Meet Reginald A. Flemming, the emerging writer, director and producer of gay-themed short feature films. His current and popular series, A First Time For Everything (AFTFE), is a provocative and thought-provoking work. Just recently, I interviewed Mr. Flemming exclusively for the Huffington Post Queer Voices. In Part One, he describes his fascinating journey as a filmmaker, his creative process…and [...]
The Myths of IPV/A
As a journalist and public/motivational speaker, one of my signature issues is Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse (IPV/A)--the term used for domestic violence and abuse within the LGBTQ community. Sadly and too often, this demoralizing, heinous and horrific behavior is “swept under the rug”--particularly when it involves gay/SGL (same-gender loving) men. The misguided belief that “Oh, you know…boys will [...]
Khalid El-Bey: Educator, Activist…and the Wearer of the Crown
"Whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go, just remember how far you have come. Remember everything you have faced, all the battles you have won, and all the fears you have overcome.” Unknown Needless to say, this credo, this maxim has much, much more than a ring of truth to it. These words of wisdom and inspiration [...]