Last month R20 reported the all-male Morehouse College will soon offer its first Black LGBT-themed course. This is a major development because only a handful of historically black colleges offer LGBT-themed courses and/or recognize LGBT student groups.
Morehouse College and its gay/straight alliance SafeSpace will screen the new documentary drama Friend of Essex. The screening is on January 31 at the Bank of America Auditorium. RSVP here.
Watch the trailer to the new film AFTER THE JUMP ...
The film was written and directed by 23-year-old Amir Dixon, a friend of R20 and the creator of the web-based talk series BrotherHood TV. The documentary is described as "a mix of one-on-one interviews, group interviews, narrative pieces and poetry" inspired by Essex Hemphill’s writing and the 1989 film Tongues Untied by Marlon Riggs. Dixon says his film was necessary because Black gay men "need to know and share our history."
"I looked back on my childhood and realized my parents could teach me about being a Black Man in America, but could not teach me about being a Black Gay Man and all it came with. When I got my heart broken, when I dealt with homophobia, when I struggled with the intersections of my identity they didn’t know where to begin. So I turned to my elders, my ancestors and called on them through their work and their words. Essex Hemphill’s work laid the foundation for my film. His work around race, religion, activism and community was where I started. I wanted to capture the stories of other young black gay men and get their thoughts and stories on camera."
Watch the trailer to the new film AFTER THE JUMP ...
The survey course "The History and Culture of Black LGBT" will be offered by the sociology department and has been cross listed by the African American studies department. The course will be taught by Yale University's Dr. Jafari S. Allen.
The screening of the new docudrama and addition of a Black LGBT course is quite an accomplishment on the same campus that has seen numerous well-publicized cases of homophobia, harassment and anti-gay violence in recent years.
The 143-year-old college is one of the nation's most prestigious historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). The college boasts famous alumni and "Morehouse men" such as civil rights icons Dr, Martin Luther King Jr and Julian Bond, filmmaker Spike Lee and actor Samuel L. Jackson.
The college history is steeped in religion and tradition but it has boasted a thriving yet mostly closeted black gay subculture. The campus has been the site of several well-publicized acts of homophobia, harassment and anti-gay violence. In November 2002, one "Morehouse man" nearly killed another student with a baseball bat because he believed the boy was gay and made a pass at him. In May 2010, three gay students were carjacked, kidnapped, robbed at gunpoint and called "faggots."
Morehouse President Dr. Robert M. Franklin vowed to address homophobia on campus when he took office in 2009.
You May Have Missed:
Morehouse to Offer its First Black LGBT History Course
WATCH: Web Show "Brotherhood TV"
Spelman Hosts First LGBT Summit for HBCU
Los Angeles Times Examines Homophobia at Morehouse
Morehouse Fires Employee Over Anti Gay Email Rant
Pictures From Black Gay Wedding Spurs Hateful E-Campaign
Judge Reduces Morehouse Sentence
Morehouse Bans Students From Wearing Women's Clothing
HRC Reaches Out to HBCU LGBT Students with Website
Will the film be shown at any film festivals?
Posted by: FB | 09 January 2013 at 14:04
looks good. i am in atl and want to check it out.
Posted by: ATL Kid | 09 January 2013 at 14:27
All I wanna know is, where can I get the DVD?
Posted by: Mark | 10 January 2013 at 01:16
It does look interesting. I just hope that it is a positive and affirming film. I am so tired of all the depression and negativity surrounding gay men of color. It seems we do not exist in the media unless we are in drag, becoming the latest HIV statistic or committing a crime. I hope there is room for all of us in all our incarnations...good and bad....in light and in darkness.
Posted by: Urbangruv | 10 January 2013 at 22:09
This looks great, everyone in Atl should be RSVPing to this, You dont have to be a student to attend. Wish I was down there!
Posted by: Procrastination_Xtravaganza | 22 January 2013 at 22:38