Raising Cain...

Marco McMillian's Life And Death A Test For Civil Rights In The Mississippi Delta

Very interesting indepth article by Janell Ross (formerly a reporter at the Tennessean) on the death of Marco McMillian:

Before his mysterious death in late February, Marco McMillian had hoped to lead this community, running for mayor with a reform-minded agenda. McMillian, 33, was black, and the first openly gay person to vie for public office in Mississippi.

The nation’s first black president may have put gay rights squarely in the center of righteous and patriotic American struggles for equality during his second inaugural speech in January. And the Supreme Court is currently considering two of the most important gay rights cases in U.S. history. But the way McMillian’s life is understood, and his death investigated, is also a barometer of sorts on the state of American equality.

“There is some complicated, heartbreaking, truly tragic and important stuff going on in Clarksdale,” said Omowale Akintunde, a University of Nebraska professor and Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker. Akintunde came to town in early March to chronicle what he says is a story that America needs to see.

“What it tells us are some ugly truths about remaining bigotry and bias," he said, "even among those who have themselves been terrorized, exploited, excluded and demeaned.”

Read the full article at www.huffingtonpost.com

Related articles

Autopsy Findings Still Pending in Marco McMillian Murder

Was Marco McMillian Killed in Mississippi Because He Was Black or Gay?

Miss. town stunned by killing of gay mayor candidate

Gay, Black Mayoral Candidate Marco McMillian Found Dead

Has the Deep South changed? Clarksdale, Mississippi is burning

"Right to Bully Bill" in Tennessee links...

Thanks to an email from the Tennessee Equality Project, I finally found some links to language of the "right to bully" bill now being considered in the Tennessee legislature:

Bill information on HB 1153 (a page at the TN General Assembly website)

HB 1153 (pdf)

SB0760 (TN senate version of HB 1153)

 

I have been relying on TNEP for news on LGBTQ issues in Tennessee...and there are many. I find this state to be pretty homophobic (as well as Islamophobic and xenophobic), and racial injustice is pervasive...lots of reasons to "Raise Cain" in Tennessee.

The Tennessee Equality Project works to promote equality throughout Tennessee and to serve as advocates of change by:

• fighting any legislation in the State of Tennessee that would endanger the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens
  
  
• actively pursuing measures that would provide protection for the GLBT community at both the state and local levels
  
  
• educating citizens on the importance of lobbying their elected officials
  
  
• providing the resources and training to assist through statewide initiatives

 

TNEP is organizing action against the "Right to Bully" Bill as well as last year's "Don't Say Gay" Bill. Here is the "take action" section from the TNEP email today, in case you are interested:

Take action today to promote safety in Tennessee Schools:

1. Send a message opposing the License to Bully bill to the House and Senate Education Committees.
2. Send another message to lawmakers to vote against the Don't Say Gay bill in the House Subcommittee on Education.
3. Become a sustaining donor to the Tennessee Equality Project by participating in the 12+12+12 campaign. Donate at least $12 for 12 months in 2012 to promote safe schools and promote equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their families in Tennessee.

 

Gretchen Whitmer: Proposed "Right to Bully" GLBT Youth Provision Could Make Tennessee a "Laughingstock"

Judging by the number of returns on a Google search for this "right to bully" bill, I'd say Tennessee's laughingstock is already up over this. The new bill would amend existing anti-bullying law to give bullies a "loophole" if they bullied LGBTQ students on religious grounds. If I can ever find the actual text of the amendment, I'll come back and add a link for it.

Here are some other links, including one for taking action via change.org...

Back in November, Michigan Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D) made national headlines for delivering an impassioned speech condemning legislation that required schools to adopt anti-bullying policies that exempted students who bullied based on “sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction.” As a result of Whitmer’s very public opposition, the Michigan legislature eventually stripped the so-called “license to bully” provision from the final bill and now the state leader is hoping to duplicate that success in Tennessee, where lawmakers are considering a very similar clause.

via www.alternet.org

 

 

Tennessee Anti-bullying Law: Stop All Bullying (petition at change.org)

Christian activist questions scope of anti-bullying law (Chattanooga Times-Freepress, 1/4/2012)

Proposed bill in Tennessee would essentially legalize anti-LGBTQ bullying (feministing.com, 1/5/12)

Tennessee Anti-bullying Law Could Allow Students to Speak Out Against Gays for Religious Reasons (Huffington Post, 1/4/12)

 

‘Pariah’ Director Dee Rees and Kim Wayans pitch for greater diversity in storytelling

Jorge Rivas at Colorlines has a great video interview of Dee Rees, director of "Pariah" and actress Kim Wayans. The video brings out many aspects of racial injustice in the entertainment industry. I really resonated with both Dees and Wayans when they spoke about their desire for gretaer diversity in stories and storytelling. Here's an excerpt from the short article, and the video on YouTube:

It’s no secret that films that tell stories about people of color have a hard time getting made. Seasoned Oscar-nominated directors like John Singleton, Spike Lee and Gregory Nava have a hard enough time finding investors to back their films, so when Dee Rees decided she wanted to tell a coming of age story about a young, black lesbian, she couldn’t go the traditional route and went as far selling her Brooklyn apartment to raise funds.

“We knew that if we could just get the film done, that regardless of sexuality, race and identity, people would be able to see themselves in different parts of the story,” Rees told Colorlines.com last month, as she awaited the release of her feature directorial debut “Pariah.”

“We’d go to pitch meetings and the moment we said ‘black, lesbian, coming of age,’ they would turn around, validate our parking and hand us a bottle of water.”

via colorlines.com

 

Keli Goff: Why We Shouldn't Blame the Bullies for the Recent String of LGBT Suicides

Keli Goff's article at Huffington Post begins with a story of her mother's encounter with a bully many years ago, then connects bullying past and present:

Most of us would like to believe that the kind of prejudice my mom faced is a thing of the past. The thinking goes, "Sure prejudice exists but it's more subtle" or as an older family friend once said, "People no longer spit in your face but in your food."

But in recent days we've all been reminded that this is not true and that the kind of prejudice and open hostility my mom faced fifty years ago is still alive and well in America's schools.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Bishop Gene Robinson Speaks: From Tolerance to Empathy

The idea of moving from a position of tolerance toward one of empathy is an important notion for all human relating. Lauren Reichelt at Tikkun Daily Blog interviews Bishop Gene Robinson for his thoughts on this idea. Read the whole article here.

"I think first, we have to talk about tolerance not being enough. I have a friend who says the only thing you really have to tolerate is hemorrhoids.

And that kind of says it. You tolerate something that is unpleasant, unwanted but you have to learn to put up with. So when we talk about greater tolerance, whether it be around racial lines, or gender lines or sexual orientation lines, you know, its not much of a step forward. I mean, tolerance beats violence and negativity by miles! But tolerance is not the end that we’re seeking. I believe that we need to celebrate the diversity of races and gender and sexual orientation, and so I will never settle for tolerance only because I think that is far short of what we can do and far short of what is needed."

via www.tikkun.org

Beyond Pale, Male and Stale -- In These Times

To reach out to and sustain relationships with so-called “minority users,” progressive media makers need to move beyond their core white audiences (pale), reach out to women and queer communities (male), and stop being so serious all the time (that is, wonkish, humorless, and stale).

These are not matters of political correctness—they are matters of political clout, democratic representation, and sustainability.

via www.inthesetimes.com

Great article by Jessica Clark and Tracy Van Slyke about "why 'legacy' progressive media must reinvent themselves to remain relevant." The article is an excerpt of Beyond the Echo Chamber: Reshaping Politics Through Networked Progressive Media (2010, New Press), written by a former executive editor and publisher of In These Times.