Rod 2.0:Beta

Bernice King Takes Over SCLC, Will She Renounce Anti-Gay Bigotry?

In August, Rod 2.0 reported the Rev. Bernice King, the youngest daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr and a well-fundamentalist minister and anti-gay activist, was being considered to lead the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization founded by her father more than five decades ago. On Friday King was named the first woman to lead the SCLC in its 52 year history.

King is a minister at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia, headed by obsessively homophobic Bishop Eddie Long. The two organized a 2004 march against same-sex marriage in Atlanta that attracted thousands. Writing at The Daily Voice, Earl Ofari Hutchinson says Bernice King must renounce her anti-gay bigotry and lead the SCLC in a new direction.

That bigotry was on shameful and insulting display in December 2004 when she and thousands of marchers stood at the gravesite of her father, Martin Luther King, Jr., and denounced gay marriage. The implication was that King might well have stood with her and them in their protest against gay rights. Nothing could be further from the truth. King's fight against bigotry and discrimination, all bigotry and discrimination, was relentless and uncompromising. If anything that day, King would have been across the street from his gravesite with the hundred or so other counter-demonstrators. They loudly shouted that what Bernice and the marchers were doing at her father's gravesite and in his name, was a travesty and a disgrace. King sullied her father's name to show her enmity to gay marriage. She also sullied her mother's too. A few years before Bernice's gravesite antic, Coretta Scott King issued a public statement forcefully denouncing anti-gay bigotry and made it perfectly clear that her husband would be a champion of gay rights if he were alive. 

On its website SCLC clearly says "its mission is to challenge all people of good will, of every persuasion, who believe in the principles espoused by Martin Luther King, Jr. to join us." Presumably that's the mission of its new president. She can prove it is by publicly renouncing her anti-gay bigotry.

The SCLC recently made headlines when its national leadership attempted to oust the Rev. Eric Lee, president of the Los Angeles chapter, over his support of same-sex marriage and efforts to fight Prop 8. Thankfully that motion didn't prevail.

Despite its much-storied history, the SCLC is barely a blip on the current civil rights radar. If Bernice King does not renounce her bigotry and move the SCLC into a progressive direction, the organization will become even more irrelevant.

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Will Anti-Gay Rev. Bernice King Become SCLC's Next President?

Morehouse Bans Students From Wearing Women's Clothing

The all-male Morehouse College, one of the nation's most prestigious historically black colleges has banned the wearing of women's clothing, makeup, high heels and purses. The new policy is part of a larger dress code launched this week that administrators call its "Appropriate Attire Policy". The code was reportedly endorsed by the campus' sole gay student group, administrators tell CNN.

The policy also bans wearing hats in buildings, pajamas in public, do-rags, sagging pants, sunglasses in class and walking barefoot on campus. However, it is the ban on cross-dressing that has brought national attention to the small historically African-American college. The dress-wearing ban is aimed at a small part of the private college's 2,700-member student body, said Dr. William Bynum, vice president for Student Services.

"We are talking about five students who are living a gay lifestyle that is leading them to dress a way we do not expect in Morehouse men," he said. Before the school released the policy, Bynum said, he met with Morehouse Safe Space, the campus' gay organization. "We talked about it and then they took a vote," he said. "Of the 27 people in the room, only three were against it."

Last week on Facebook, one Morehouse student posted an update that said school security "escorted" a gay student from the cafeteria who was wearing Uggs. While that might be a fashion crime in itself, the boots are made for men and women.

The celebrated "Morehouse Man" has included several generations of black leaders, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Julian Bond and Spike Lee. The 141-year-old Atlanta college has a past steeped in religion, tradition and masculinity and has struggled to address homosexuality. The College has had always a thriving yet mostly closeted black gay subculture. Morehouse has seen several well-publicized cases of homophobia, harassment and anti-gay violence in recent years. Only weeks ago, a staffer was fired for their part in an anti-gay chain email. Previous administrations have been accused of not taking the cases seriously.

More on Morehouse:
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

Soulja Boy Arrested After Fleeing Police at ... "Video Shoot"?

Annoying "rapper" DeAndre Cortez Way aka Soulja Boy Tell 'Em models his new pineapple twists in this mugshot for the Henry County Sheriff's Department. The 19-year-old Atlanta rap phenom was charged with obstruction after fleeing from police who were called to an apparently abandoned home in suburban Atlanta. S Beezy claims this was "video shoot". The darkness, lack of any video equipment and dozens of fleeing teens made Henry County police believe otherwise, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

SB was released after posting $500 bond. This weekend he performs at the Sprite Step Off at Morehouse College ... where he should be very popular among the all-male student body.

Georgia Teen Leaves School After Being Told to Dress More "Manly"

Jonathan Escobar, a brand new student at North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia, was assured by school administrators that wearing womens' clothes to classes would "not" be a problem. Then came an ultimatum, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The 16-year-old says an assistant principal at North Cobb High School told him last week he needed to dress more "manly" for school, or consider being home-schooled. He had only been a student at the school for three days. 'I told myself I can't accept this,' said Escobar, who wore a pink wig to school last Wednesday. Escobar said the assistant principal told him his style of dress had caused a fight between students at the school.

On his second day at school, Escobar says he was pulled out of class to speak with a police officer who says he was concerned about the student's safety. Escobar replies: "They should've told the students to back off. They should have never given me the option of homeschooling or changing who I am."

After four days, Escobar withdrew from classes.

WSB has removed clips from YouTube. Watch their report here.

HOT: Trey Songz Strips and Demonstrates His Oral Techniques

Trey Songz performs for the crowd at Clark Atlanta University: Singing a few songs, tearing off his tank top and demonstrating his much publicized oral and aural techniques, AFTER THE JUMP.

UPDATE: Arrest in the Fatal Beating of "Housewives" Ex-Fiancé

An arrest has been made in the fatal beating of Ashley “A.J.” Jewell, the former fiancé of Kandi Buruss, the newest member of The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Frederick Richardson has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after last night's fight at The Body Tap, the popular strip club in Northwest Atlanta that was co-owned by Jewell. Richardson was an employee at the club, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution. A motive has not been established. Atlanta-based celebrity blogger Sandra Rose reports Jewell was in negotiations to buy the club when he was killed.

Burruss has been flooded with support  on her social networking pages at Twitter and MySpace. The award-winning singer and songwriter thanked fans and asked for prayers for Jewell’s six children. Kandi adds that her eyes are "swollen" after crying and needs some rest before her uncle’s funeral on Saturday.

Will the violence ever end?

AJ Jewell, ATL Housewives Kandi Burruss Ex-Fiancé, Killed in Fight

UPDATE: An arrest has been made.

The former fiancé of Kandi Burruss, the newest cast member of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, has been killed during a fight at an Atlanta strip club, according to WSB-TV and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

A.J. Jewell appeared regularly on the show. Authorities say he received traumatic head injuries during the Friday night  fight at The Body Tap Club in Northwest Atlanta. Police tell WSB and the AJC they have "developed a person of interest." An arrest was made on Saturday. 

Atlanta-based celebrity blogger Gyant was among the first to report the tragic news overnight on Twitter.  Burrus is an award-winning singer-songwriter and was a member of the popular and now-disbanded R&B group Xscape. Kandi is also very popular in Atlanta's black gay community and recently posed for photographer Adam Bouska's striking "No H8" campaign. More information as it develops ...

Thanks @ChrisMacDen @Daviesgravey @BorderlineGenius @HypnotiqOne

UPDATE: Morehouse Fires Employee Over Anti Gay Email Rant

That was fast. Morehouse College has fired one woman and reprimanded another for using work email accounts to forward a mean-spirited, homophobic e-blast mocking a black gay wedding ceremony, reports the Journal Constitution.

The fired woman worked as an administrative assistant in the president’s office, according to reports. After receiving an e-mail forward that included wedding photos of a gay couple, she forwarded the e-mail to others and made comments that were considered discriminatory. In a statement released Thursday, Dr. Robert M. Franklin, Morehouse’s president, announced that “the college has disciplined the persons involved in the incident, and one of the implicated employees is no longer with the college.”

“The views expressed in the e-mail entitled, ‘The WTD of the Week,' (September 28, 2009) were the personal views of one individual and do not reflect the values or policies of Morehouse College,” he said in the statement. “The College has taken great strides toward building a diverse and tolerant community.”

The all-male Morehouse is one of the nation's premier historically black colleges. The College has seen several well-publicized cases of homophobia, harassment and anti-gay violence in recent years. Previous administrations have been accused of not taking the cases seriously. Bravo to Dr. Franklin and the College.

You take care now, Sandra Bradley.

Thanks @JAVIERABROWN

Pictures From Black Gay Wedding Spurs Hateful Internet Campaign

UPDATE: Morehouse employee Sandra Bradley was fired.

Vicious homophobia rears its ugly head once again at Morehouse College, one of the nation's premier historically black colleges. Two staff members forwarded pictures of the extravagant wedding ceremony of popular Minneapolis hairstylist Michael Cole Smith and husband Jamil Smith Cole. One employee added an anti-gay rant and works worked in the office of President Robert Franklin, reports Southern Voice.

"I can’t believe this wedding. It’s 2 men. They don’t smile in a lot of pictures and they look like a few brothers I’ve seen in the streets looking STRAGHT. Black women can’t get a break, either our men want another man, a white woman (or other nationality that’s light with straight hair), they are locked up in jail or have a 'use to be' fatal disease. I’m beginning to believe Eve was a black woman and we Black women are paying for all the world’s sins through her actions (eating the apple)," Sandra Bradley wrote.

Vanessa Crites, who does not work at Morehouse, received the email from her partner, who works for Fulton County, and said she was shocked by the comments. I almost started to cry. I almost could not believe what I was looking at, and I thought that Dr. Franklin needed to know," Crites said. "I think she covered all biases, she’s discriminating against gay black men, she’s discriminating against white women, she’s discriminating against people with HIV."

Morehouse's president promises an investigation.

Morehouse employee Sandra Bradley was fired.

The all men's Morehouse College is the alma mater of Dr. Martin Luther King and has seen numerous well-publicized cases of homophobia, including harassment of gay students and accusations of anti-gay hiring bias at the College of Medicine. 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.

Michael Cole Smith and Jamil Smith Cole married Sept. 13 in Minneapolis. The pictures were uploaded to a Facebook photo gallery, where someone apparently downloaded them and started the homophobic e-blast. The page is now locked.

To add insult to injury: The pictures have been posted to many black gossip blogs where hateful anti-gay commentary is standard operating procedure. At ghetto-obsessed and fact-challenged Bossip, there are almost 500 comments at the post charmingly entitled "What the Hell is Wrong with These Pictures". The majority are negative. One woman compares gay men to "rapists and serial killers". But quite a few comments were supportive and many criticized Bossip for "spreading hate." One commenter threatened to report the blog to GLAAD: "Stop the homophobia, there are people who are killed because they’re gay!"

The real tragedy: The same week our community condemns the savage beating of a young black boy on YouTube, a similar virtual ferocity is unleashed across the internets to attack a black gay couple. Gang bangers, criminals and babies' daddies who skip child support payments are idolized by our thug-obsessed, hyper-masculine urban culture. Two black gay men in love, who own a successful business and contribute to the economy? Not so much.

UPDATE: Excellent commentary at Kevin E. Taylor's Facebook.

HBCUs and Homophobia on ROD 2.0:
Principal "Appropriate" to "Out" Students
Principal Outs Students at HBCU Prep
Principal Outs Students at HBCU Prep
Homophobia at Hampton?
Judge Reduces Morehouse Sentence
LA Times on Homophobia at Morehouse

Blind Item: Casting Calls

Blind Item: This nerdy rap and hip-hop superstar is "bored with straight porn" so he is casting his own live XXX shows. The fashionable rapper has paid to watch couples and threesomes in New York City and Atlanta. No frontin' and NO cameras. He just wants to watch straight, gay, bi and trans sex scenes that drop it like it's hot. "Excuse me miss" or "Excuse me sir" is how it begins. The rapper's bodyguards approach strippers and gym boyz shaking their money makers at gay clubs in New York City and Atlanta. ("I'm open-minded," the rapper has said publicly. "I've been to gay clubs.") The rapper is usually outside in the Rolls and security  sends the boys' photos to the rapper's one-of-a-kind iPhone.

"My friends call me _ _", the rapper says, giving his well known initials.