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Jackson Lee, NBJC, NAACP, Cong. Black Caucus Demand Investigation into Murder of August Provost

In an historic and perhaps unprecedented show of solidarity, the nation's leading black civil rights organizations join with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) to demand a congressional investigation into the death of Navy Seaman August Provost III, the black gay sailor found brutally murdered at Camp Pendleton

The 29-year-old sailor from Houston—who was represented by Jackson Lee in Congress—was found brutally murdered on June 30 in a guard shack on base. Provost was shot three times, apparently gagged and bound, and his body burned. The seaman told his family he was harassed and ostracized at Pendleton for at least a year because he was gay and black. The Navy maintains there is "no evidence" to suggest this was a hate crime and insists it was "random act" of violence. Jackson-Lee—who has a 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign—made the initial calls on Tuesday. Now the congresswoman, other members and organizations are demanding a full investigation by the Department of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy

The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), the national black LGBT advocacy organization, coordinated with the Black Leadership Forum, an alliance of over thirty national black civil rights and social service organizations, to denounce the incident. The member organizations include the NAACP—which has recently came out against California's Proposition 8—the Congressional Black Caucus, National Urban League, 100 Black Men,  and other leading groups. In denouncing the Provost murder and the slow response by Pentagon brass,  the groups said they "are joining forces to stand for equality and against discrimination and hatred toward ALL African-Americans."

The statement reads in part: "We are deeply troubled by the continuing pattern of incidents across the country—hate crimes, police misconduct, and racial intimidation—that are all-too-often tolerated and ignored by law enforcement officials and courts. Moreover, despite significant progress in the treatment of LGBT people, the targeting of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals remain a persistent and widespread problem in the US." The entire statement can be read here. 

The joint statement and call to action comes on the same day sources tell Rod 2.0 the Secretary of the Navy has dispatched 20 investigators to Pendleton. One "person of interest" remains in custody at nearby Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Two others are being sought. No formal charges are filed yet, and, there are unconfirmed reports the military is investigating a white supremacist angle.

Thanks JASPER, JASON BARTLETT and R

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Jackson-Lee to Call for Congressional Investigation into Death of August Provost

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) will demand a congressional inquiry into the death of Navy Seaman August Provost III, a black gay sailor from Houston, reports KHOU-TV.

The 29-year-old sailor was found brutally murdered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton on June 30. Provost was shot three times and his body burned. Family members of August Provost say he had ongoing problems with fellow servicemen, and they suspect he was killed because he was gay. The Navy says there is "no evidence" to suggest that this was a hate crime.

Eight days after the death of Seaman Provost, authorities still have a "person of interest" in custody. No charges have been filed and no motive announced.

The announcement by Jackson-Lee—who has a 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign—comes at the same time other members of the Congress are pressing for action. Sources tell Rod 2.0 the Congressional Black Caucus, National Black Justice Coalition, NAACP, and the Black Leadership Forum are making a joint statement demanding a full investigation by the Department of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy. Rep. Bob Filner (D) of suburban San Diego, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, says his panel will investigate, too. Filner wants also wants DoD and the Marine Corps to investigate whether the killing of the sailor was a hate crime.

Meanwhile, funeral arrangements have been finalized for the Houston native who was brutally killed at Camp Pendleton. The viewing for August Provost will be Friday, July 10 at 10 am. at Wright Grove Baptist Church in Houston. Provost will be buried at Veterans Memorial Cemetery. A candlelight vigil will also take place on Friday at 7:30 pm outside Camp Pendelton.

Solis Criticizes Defacing of Gay Pride Posters at Labor Dept.

Last week, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis issued a stern departmental warning letter after office posters celebrating LGBT Pride Month "hanging in 35 department elevators since June 22 [were] either defaced or removed," the New York Times reports. Solis, who helped found the House’s LGBT Caucus, writes she was "particularly pleased to have the opportunity to be the first Secretary in the department’s history to publicly recognize Pride Month."

"It appears, however, that some members of the Labor Department team have a different view, as it has come to my attention that most of the posters have been continually defaced or removed. On several occasions, even the poster frames have been torn completely off the elevator walls. [...] I do not believe these actions represent the majority of our employees, so I refuse to let this situation define us. But I do want to make myself absolutely clear: Respect for others is non-negotiable at the U.S. Department of Labor."

The Secretary adds the gay Pride posters will be "immediately" replaced if they are damaged or removed.

While in Congress representing California's 32nd District (East Los Angeles), Hilda Solis had 100% rating by the Human Rights Campaign on LGBT issues.

(via Think Progress)

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White House Reception Recognizes LGBT Pride and Stonewall 40th

Forty years after the Stonewall riots sparked the gay rights movement, President Barack Obama hosts an historic reception for LGBT activists and their families to honor LGBT Pride and the 40th Stonewall anniversary. The speech, carried live on CNN and other networks, marks the first time a sitting president has given a live televised speech on LGBT issues.

The President, who has been criticized by many LGBT rights advocates for inaction on his many campaign promises, says his Administration has made some progress on behalf of gay Americans and will do more. Full remarks AFTER THE JUMP:

"I know that many in this room don't believe that progress has come fast enough, and I understand that," Mr. Obama said at a reception for LGBT Pride Month at the White House. "It's not for me to tell you to be patient anymore than it was for others to counsel patience to African-Americans who were petitioning for equal rights a half-century ago."

"But I say this: We have made progress," the president continued. "And we will make more. And I want you to know that I expect and hope to be judged not by words, not by promises I've made, but by the promises that my administration keeps."

Obama spoke about the "movement" created some 40 years ago: "The riots at Stonewall gave way to protests, and protests gave way to a movement, and the movement gave way to a transformation that continues to this day. It continues when a partner fights for her right to sit at the hospital bedside of a woman she loves; it continues when a teenager is called a name for being different and says, 'So what if I am?'; it continues in your work and in your activism, in your fight to freely live your lives to the fullest."

The list of attendees was forwarded by the White House Press Office to Rod 2.0. (Full list AFTER THE JUMP.) Invited guests included openly gay Administration officials such as Export-Import Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg, Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry and Asst. Labor Secretary Mary Beth Maxwell. Leading LGBT advocates such as Human Rights Campaign's Joe Solmonese, and Jarrett Barrios, the new president of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

There were a number of prominent black and Latino LGBTs that should be familiar to Rod 2.0 readers: Phil Wilson, Black AIDS Institute; HRC's Donna Payne; Andre Leon Talley; Connecticut State Rep. Jason Bartlett; Denise Simmons, Mayor of Cambridge, MA;  Cornelius Baker, National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition; San Diego City Commissioner Stampp Corbin; actor Wilson Cruz; Bishop Yvette Flunder, City of Refuge United Church of Christ;  Earl Fowlkes, International Federation of Black Prides; Lupe Valdez, Dallas County Sheriff; and black Chicago lesbian leaders Mary Morten and Vernita Gray, interviewed in my Advocate cover story on Obama and Hillary Clinton.

An historic occasion and we should be mindful of the progress being made and how much further we have to go. It was also a pleasure to hear Obama allude to the black Civil Rights Movement. The occasion would have been more meaningful if there were more substantive policy initiatives to announce. The guest list was pleasantly diverse ... but very Stonewall 1.5. Online LGBT activists are leading the fight for equality and none were represented. Very out of character with the Facebook, YouTube and BlackBerry-driven White House.

WHEN YOU JUMP, Obama's full remarks and the guest list.

LGBT Legal and Advocacy Groups Condemn DOJ's DOMA Brief

A coalition of LGBT civil rights and advocacy groups issue a joint statement blasting the Obama Administration's highly offensive motion to dismiss a challenge to the Defense Of Marriage Act.

We are very surprised and deeply disappointed in the manner in which the Obama administration has defended the so-called Defense of Marriage Act against Smelt v. United States, a lawsuit brought in federal court in California by a married same-sex couple asking the federal government to treat them equally with respect to federal protections and benefits. The administration is using many of the same flawed legal arguments that the Bush administration used. These arguments rightly have been rejected by several state supreme courts as legally unsound and obviously discriminatory.

We disagree with many of the administration's arguments, for example that DOMA is a valid exercise of Congress's power, is consistent with Equal Protection or Due Process principles, and does not impinge upon rights that are recognized as fundamental. We are also extremely disturbed by a new and nonsensical argument the administration has advanced suggesting that the federal government needs to be "neutral" with regard to its treatment of married same-sex couples in order to ensure that federal tax money collected from across the country not be used to assist same-sex couples duly married by their home states.

There is nothing "neutral" about the federal government's discriminatory denial of fair treatment to married same-sex couples: DOMA wrongly bars the federal government from providing any of the over one thousand federal protections to the many thousands of couples who marry in six states. This notion of "neutrality" ignores the fact that while married same-sex couples pay their full share of income and social security taxes, they are prevented by DOMA from receiving the corresponding same benefits that married heterosexual taxpayers receive. It is the married same-sex couples, not heterosexuals in other parts of the country, who are financially and personally damaged in significant ways by DOMA. For the Obama administration to suggest otherwise simply departs from both mathematical and legal reality.

When President Obama was courting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender voters, he said that he believed that DOMA should be repealed. We ask him to live up to his emphatic campaign promises, to stop making false and damaging legal arguments, and immediately to introduce a bill to repeal DOMA and ensure that every married couple in America has the same access to federal protections.

Signed: American Civil Liberties Union
Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders
Human Rights Campaign
Lambda Legal
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce

The Department of Justice brief in Smelt v United States argues, among many other things, that DOMA saves taxpayers money, same-sex marriages could be compared to incest, gays have less of a right to privacy, and, most incredibly, states that  "DOMA does not discriminate against homosexuals in the provision of federal benefits." (Aravosis at Americablog has an excellent analysis.)  Chris at Law Dork writes, "Even if one accepts that DOJ should have filed a brief opposing this case (and the facts do suggest some legitimate questions about standing), the gratuitous language used throughout the filing goes much further than was necessary to make its case."

Frontiers editor Karen Ocamb asked Jon Davidson, Legal Director at Lambda Legal, to comment on the Smelt brief and the options available to DOJ. Davidson's response, sent via email, is reprinted in full:

"Whether or not the administration felt a need to defend, there are many ways one can defend. The administration could have rested on the first two arguments raised in their papers (jurisdiction and standing) that these plaintiffs were not entitled to sue without arguing at this point that DOMA is constitutional. Doing that would not have waived those arguments. What they need to be asked is why they gratuitously went out of their way to make the outrageous arguments they unnecessarily included such as that DOMA does not discriminate based on sexual orientation or that the right at issue is not marriage but an unestablished right to 'same-sex marriage' or that DOMA is somehow justified in order to protect taxpayers who don't want their tax dollars used to support lesbian and gay couples (while it's apparently fine to make lesbians and gay men pay the same taxes but be denied the benefits provided heterosexual couples). Their public statements about the filing try to sidestep these points. They absolutely knew they did not need to make these additional arguments, especially at this time and consciously decided to do so. I am seething mad."

Where Does the New Army Secretary Stand on "Don't Ask"?

This afternoon President Obama named Rep. John McHugh (R-NY) as his Secretary of the Army. McHugh is the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee and his district includes the Ft. Drum Army Base.

McHugh will be responsible for addressing the Army's failed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy but his congressional record provides few clues on his position. McHugh's record on gay and lesbian rights is relatively poor, Law Dork reports. "In the 110th Congress, McHugh was not a co-sponsor of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would have repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. In fact, McHugh on received an unimpressive 15% on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard for the 110th. He was, however, one of 35 Republicans to vote 'yes' on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act." The congressman also voted twice for the proposed constitutional ban on marriage equality, and once against gay adoptions in Washington D.C.

At today's White House press briefing, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs assured The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld that McHugh agrees with the president that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ... should be "changed."

ELEVELD: On the nomination of Representative McHugh, last year, during the "don't ask, don't tell" hearings, he expressed a deep desire to move forward with a review of the policy and he said, "I would hope and encourage both the Department of Defense and the various services to reconsider the reluctance they have displayed to this point." Was a review of the policy something that the president took into consideration with this nomination and will Congressman McHugh be encouraged to move forward with talks inside the department?

GIBBS: I think it's obvious from those statements and other statements that Congressman McHugh has made that he and the president are in agreement on changing the policy they both don't think is working for this country right now. And it's a priority of the president's and I think for any number of reasons we have a nominee that we hope will be confirmed quickly and will have—ah, based on his background and experience—will help to improve the lives of the Army.

 

AFTER THE JUMP, watch Obama introduce the new army secretary, and, via Think Progress, watch the White House press briefing q&a. Not sure what to make of this. On the downside, the administration continues to appoint Republicans to lead the military and that reinforces the discredited notion the GOP is (allegedly) better on national security. On the upside, in terms of DADT, maybe it will help to have conservatives leading the "change" on the policy. This could be a shrewd plan to blunt Republican opposition to the "change."

AP Reports on Marriage Equality Debate in D.C.'s Black Community

Very interesting. The Associated Press takes up the thorny issue of blacks and same-sex marriage in our nation's capitol, framing the recent city council vote to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages as a "signal the gay rights movement is making inroads among groups traditionally opposed to it."

"Washington became the first place in the U.S. with a large percentage of black residents to take up the issue. As more than 100 mostly black protesters gathered outside city hall, council member Marion Barry, a longtime supporter of gay rights, rejected the measure and sided with ministers who he said "stand on the moral compass of God." Despite Barry and Jackson's claims, there's evidence the city isn't as split on gay marriage as some suggest. Of the 12 council members who voted in favor of gay-marriage, six are black."

The money quote is from Donna Payne at the Human Rights Campaign on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on blacks gays in the black church. "A black preacher once told her she would be accepted into his church under one condition—that she didn't tell anyone she was a lesbian. Payne said keeping quiet wasn't possible. 'That's the conundrum in the African-American community,'  Payne said. 'They don't want to talk about it, but they know you're there.' "

Payne is spot-on. There are precious few black gayborhoods in the country and the majority of black LGBTs live in the larger black community. On the other hand Washington D.C. has one of the largest black LGBT communities in the country—many of whom live in NE and SE, many others in suburban Maryland. Will the District's many black gay men and lesbians stand up and be counted while Marion Barry and Harry Jackson insist there are few "out" black gays in their city? We shall see...

Gay Marriage in DC Moves Debate [AP]

Some Background...
Anti-Gay Black Pastors Threaten to Unseat Council [R20]
D.C. Council Votes to Recognize Other States' SSMs [R20]
Marion Barry Reneges on Marriage Equality [R20]
Mayor Fenty Defends Council's Gay Marriage Vote [R20]
DC Mayor Fenty to Meet with Activists on Anti-Gay Violence [R20]
DC Police Say Fatal Attack Robbery, Not Hate Crime [R20]
Report: Fenty Pledges to Sign a Gay Marriage Bill [R20]
Marion Barry Supports Gay Marriage [R20]
Fenty Staff Blamed For Objections to DP Bill [R20]
Fenty Admin. Objects to Domestic Partnership Bill [R20]

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Anti-Gay Artur Davis, Only Black Congressman to Vote Against Hate Crimes, Explains His Vote

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act—which extends federal hate crime protections to gays and lesbians—by a vote of 249-175. The Congressional Black Caucus overwhelmingly supported the legislation. There are 42 members of the CBC. Illinois Sen. Roland Burris, of course, did not vote on the House bill. Eleanor Holmes Norton and Donna Christian-Christensen are non-voting delegates. G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina and Al Green of Texas missed the roll call but previously voted for Hate Crimes and ENDA and have solid pro-gay records (PDF). Of the 37 members who could vote on the bill, 36 supported it.

The only "no" vote came from the predictably anti-gay Artur Davis, the conservative Democrat from Birmingham who boasts an abysmal  45 percent score (PDF) by the Human Rights Campaign. Davis joined the entire Alabama congressional delegation—"including two other purported 'Democrats'" reports Birmingham Blues—to oppose the gay-inclusive legislation.

Two years ago, I voted for federal hate crimes legislation. Since casting that vote, a number of my constituents have made it very clear to me that they disagreed with this vote, and I have tried to weigh their arguments carefully. Some of the objections have been based on distortions of what this bill actually does. Other objections have reflected nothing more than animosity toward some of the groups who would be covered.

Some of my constituents ask why our federal laws should pick out some Americans for more protections than others. Some wonder why, in a culture that rejects violence against any human being, we should say that an attack on a black, or a woman, or a gay individual should be punished more severely than an attack on someone who happens to be a senior citizen, or a soldier, or a teacher. Others ask why some motives based on certain ideas should be punished by our criminal laws more aggressively than others.

The biggest difference between 2007 and now: Davis is running for governor.  If elected the state's first black chief executive, Time magazine writes in a glowing profile this week, his "election would deliver another blow to what remains of the G.O.P.'s racially divisive Southern Strategy." Oh and refusing to acknowledge anti-gay violence and harassment is a quick and cheap way to beef up his conservative credentials in the overwhelmingly red state.

Davis was also the only black congressman to oppose the historic ENDA vote in 2007. (Clarke and Towns voted "no" because it did not include transgender protections.) At the time, Davis employed similarly fuzzy logic and Keith Boykin noted the irony: "White racists in Alabama opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 using almost the same identical argument he uses to justify his opposition to this legislation. In 1964, they said the civil rights law would unfairly impede on the rights of individual employers to make their own decisions."

It's great that we have a congressman who has a shot at being Alabama's first black governor. But there is absolutely nothing progressive about him, or his candidacy, if Davis refuses to recognize discrimination and bias attacks against another minority. It's a shame and a disgrace that Davis parrots the exact same bigoted and myopic arguments once used by racist Alabamans such as Gov. George Wallace. Davis, of all people, should know better. Shame on you, congressman.

News: Census, West Virginia, Chris Brown, Kanye West Fragrance

New York City Mayor Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn write to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke "asking the Census Bureau count legally married same-sex couples as 'married' in the 2010 census. As it stands, the bureau plans to count these couples as 'unmarried partners,' since federal law does not recognize same-sex marriages."

· Kanye West, Rihanna and Common to release fragrance lines launched by Parlux via Iconic Fragrances LLC., whose principal investor is rap icon Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter.

· Staten Island pastor charged with stealing money for Botox.

· Poll: 41 percent of New York voters supporters gay marriage.

· Legislation that would have banned discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment and housing dies in West Virginia House. "Supporters say state and national attention to gay marriage—including last week's Iowa Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage—overshadowed the discrimination issue in West Virginia. When the Iowa court issued its ruling, House Minority Leader Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, gave a floor speech urging a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman. That was a few days after House Republicans unsuccessfully tried to force a floor vote on a resolution against gay marriage."

· HRC President Joe Solmonese on CNN to debate anti-gay, Republican Iowa Congressman Steve King on the recent marriage victories in Iowa and Vermont.

· King: Marriage ruling could prompt run for governor.

· Chris Brown depressed and turning to alcohol? "The 19-year-old singer—who has pleaded not guilty to felony assault and making criminal threats in relation to his alleged attack on Rihanna—is believed to be struggling to cope with the fallout from his court case. A source reveals: 'Chris is a mess. He lost a lot of weight, about 15 lbs. I do know that Chris is also in a depression and is drinking a lot. He almost got his butt kicked about a week ago.' While Chris is becoming increasingly reclusive, Rihanna, 21, is determined to put the incident behind her and move on with her life. Although the pair briefly reunited after the incident, they are now said to be spending time apart to contemplate the future of their relationship."

Wanda Sykes Gets Late Night Talk Show, Reports Ignore Her Sexuality

Excellent news. Openly black gay actress and comedian Wanda Sykes breaks the late night glass ceiling and will get her own talk show, Reuters reports.

"The hourlong show, slated to premiere in the fall, will succeed the recently canceled sketch comedy show "MadTV." It will be topical, featuring a panel of recurring guests sparring over issues concerning politics as well as pop culture. Sykes will appear in field segments as well.

The article adds: "Sykes' deal brings a rare female presence to late-night television, which is dominated by white male hosts. It follows TBS' announcement of a new late-night talk show hosted by Mexican-American actor/comedian George Lopez."

In addition to being one of the very few women or blacks to host a late-night show, Sykes becomes one of the very few openly black gays or lesbians with their own television show.  Sykes came out last November after the passage of California's Proposition 8, saying " I’m proud to be a woman, I’m proud to be a black woman and I’m proud to be gay." Reuters does not mention Sykes' coming out. The Associated Press provides a photo of Sykes at a Human Rights Campaign benefit and also does not mention her coming out. It's progress ... but at a price.

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