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Mark Anthony Neal on Black Masculinity and Leroy of "Fame"

NPR's Michele Norris hosted a fascinating discussion on Black men and "hyper-masculinity" on Thursday with Duke University s Professor of African & African American Studies Mark Anthony Neal. Listen to it HERE.

Neal is the author of the newly-released Looking for Leroy: Illegible Black Masculinities, which analyzes how high profile Black men such as Jay-Z and Barack Obama frame our perceptions of Black masculinity in America. The "Leroy" in the title refers to the character "Leroy Johnson" played by actor Gene Anthony Ray in the iconic 1980s film and television series Fame. Looking for Leroy: Illegible Black Masculinities was released in late April.

[I] watch[ed] Fame on television as a high school student in the Bronx and [became] fascinated by this character. The cornrows, the way his body moved, the way he dressed, the way that he dealt with the black world, the way he dealt with the white world - particularly in the arts school that he went to, and I was just fascinated by this character.

But as of 15 and 16 year old, I also thought this was a character that was gay, and we hadn't seen an out gay character on television in the early 1980s, and nothing about the show even suggested that he was an out gay character, but there was just some way that I read the character that struck me as interesting.

The passage on "basketballs vs violins" and hip-hop is particularly insightful.

The example I always use is if we see a black man with a basketball, we don't even have to process that. We've seen it so many times in our lives, we know exactly what that means. If we were to see a black man with a violin, that gives us reason to pause, right? We have all of these questions that are now attached, you know, how did he get the violin? Does he know how to play the violin? How can he afford the violin? I mean we can go on and on.

Hip-hop becomes a very interesting space in this conversation because it [has] monetized the image of black masculinity, and made several of these figures incredibly wealthy - the Jay-Zs and the Snoop Doggs and the Will Smiths But it's also a space that limits our understanding of the range of possibilities of what black masculinity can look like.

It's a terrific interview and definitely worth the time to listen.

Among other credits, Ray also danced in The Weather Girls' music video for "It's Raining Men". The song and video have became in gay and Black gay pop culture. Ray later struggled with addictions and homelessness and died from HIV/AIDS-related complications in 2003. He was only 41-years-old.

On a personal note: Professor Neal is spot-on with his take of Leroy. I was a pre-teen and teenager during the television run of Fame in the 1980s. Leroy was fearless, fascinating and all kinds of sexy. It was one of the very few television shows that I watched during those years.

VIDEO: Alabama Teen Accused of Terrorist Plot to Kill Black Students

PHOTO: AP

Just another day in "post-racial" America ....

A 17-year-old self-described "white supremacist" has been accused of planning to use homemade explosives in a terrorist attack on Black students at an Alabama high school. Only one white student was targeted on the hit list ... and that was because he was believed to be gay.

Authorities believe that Derek Shrout was inspired by the horrific Connecticut school massacre to begin building homemade explosives, reports ABC News.

Shrout was arrested Friday after a teacher at Russell County High School found what appears to be the teen's journal and contacted authorities. Police said the journal contained plans to kill six students and one teacher with homemade grenades. Six of the seven individuals were black. In the journal, police say that Shrout thought the white male on his list was gay. "That's the reason the white male was on the list. It screams hate crime," Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor said.

Investigators say Shrout started writing in his journal just three days after a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14.

The journal was covered with "‘white power’, the F-word, and Nazi symbols,” a teacher told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. A search of Shrout’s home found dozens of small cans "all with holes drilled and containing pellets."

Shrout faces one charge of attempted assault. He was released Monday afternoon on a $75,000 bond. Watch WTVM's report AFTER THE JUMP ...

GERMANY: Landmark Court Ruling Prohibits Racial Profiling by Police

Very good news to report from German. An appeals court has ruled that "skin color alone is insufficient grounds for a police spot check," reports Der Spiegel.

The case was brought by a 26-year-old Black university student who was born in Germany and is a German citizen. The ruling was made October 29 by the Higher Administrative Court for the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Koblenz.

The [two-year-old] case centered on an incident in December 2010, when police asked a dark-skinned student for his identification on a train ride between Kassel and Frankfurt. When the 26-year-old refused, a conflict with officers ensued and he was subsequently held at a police station. The young man, ultimately showed his ID, but also told officers that he felt their methods were reminiscent of those of the Nazi SS. Police charged the student with slander, but a court later dropped the case. pinions about this topic.

The man then sued the police for discrimination. During the court proceedings, the officers involved admitted that during controls of train passengers, skin color is a criteria police take into consideration, particularly if a person is suspected of being in the country illegally. In a decision that outraged human rights activists, the Koblenz administrative court ruled in the officers' favor this March, saying that under German law, on certain train routes known to be used by illegal immigrants, federal police are permitted to conduct controls on people who appear to be foreigners—even without suspicion of wrongdoing.

Der Spiegel has also published an interview with the plaintiff. The man says that he has been repeatedly harassed by police on this train line.

"In the two years prior, they had selected me about 10 times for a random check of my identification. It's a pretty rotten feeling. I was born and raised here. I am German. According to the anti-discrimination law in the constitution, skin color is not grounds for a spot check."

There is a relatively small number of Afro-Germans—up to 817,150—believed to live in the nation. The largest concentrations of Afrodeutsche are in Berlin and Hamburg.

But the ruling will likely have an even larger impact on the millions of neuen Deutschen—the New Germans—who are immigrants and children of immigrants. Many of these are overwhelmingly Turkish-German.  "There are 16 million residents who are either immigrants or their children," reports Der Spiegel in "We New Germans." "Representing almost 20 percent of Germany's population of 82 million. Among those living in the country under the age of 25, one-quarter have foreign roots."

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VIDEO: Kai Wright Discusses Trayvon Marton on MSNBC

Writer, columnist and Colorlines.com Editorial Director Kai Wright appeared on MSNBC's Up with Chris Hayes in a fascinating segment on the demonization and character assassination of Trayvon Martin.

"A large piece of it is that it's [somehow] the victim's responsibility .... to make sure that people don't respond to you in a fearful manner," noted Wright.

Watch the segment AFTER THE JUMP ...

VIDEO: LGBT Celebration at Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial

Black LGBT activists and leaders from across the country were in Washington DC for an historic reception and dedication of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial. National Black Justice Coalition Executive Director Sharon Lettman-Hicks said Black LGBTs must press for equality. "We must be proud enough to claim that we are a part of the civil rights movement. And dare anyone to challenge us on that."

"Gay activists who participated on the historic March on Washington were also recognized at the event. The evening concluded with a push to honor Dr. King’s trusted openly gay advisor Bayard Rustin with a postage stamp," notes NoMoreDownLow.

"Everyone remembers Dr. Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech from 1963. So few people know that [openly gay] Bayard Rustin was responsible for organizing the march," adds North Carolina-based activist Mandy Carter.

There has been a renewed focus on MLK's strategist as the nation prepared to dedicate the King Memorial. The Washington Post recently published an excellent profile of Rustin that stressed that most civil rights leaders and historians have ignored Rustin's legacy because of his sexuality.

Watch NoMoreDownLowTV's report AFTER THE JUMP ...

Newark Pastors Discuss "DADT" and Gays in the Black Church

The Star/Ledger informally surveys a number of Newark pastors on LGBT rights and the Black church. The consensus: There are many gay members of Black churches .... they're just "not open" and don't push for any recognition. The well-known practice is often described as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

"You have gay people in leadership positions already, just not openly," said the Rev. Reginald T. Jackson, pastor of St. Matthew AME Church in Orange and executive director of the 600-member Black Ministers’ Council of New Jersey.

Not openly: That seems to be the way most church leaders like it, based on conversations with New Jersey pastors.

A random sampling of black ministers in the Newark area found many are aware of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered men and women in their congregations, singing in the choir or working in a church office. And they are willing to welcome them with open arms. The Rev. Ronald Slaughter of St. James AME in Newark estimates 60 to 70 percent of all churches have homosexuals in their congregations. "They (the congregations) may not know it, but they can’t be judge or jury at the door," he said.

The actual number is probably much higher than 70 percent, especially among the more conservative churches and denominations.

Several pastors claim the church is becoming more supportive and younger members accept supportive of gay rights and same-sex marriage.

But support gay marriage from the pulpit? Don’t even think of it. Some pastors object on the basis of scripture, others just don’t see it as the church’s mission to take a political stand on gay rights of any kind.

The Rev. M. William Howard of Bethany Baptist in Newark said he speaks against homophobia from the pulpit, but "my ministry is not defined by advocacy of gay people." He doesn’t believe the church should be called upon to overtly endorse or criticize topics such as gay marriage. "Church — not just the black church — is still wrestling with how it addresses sexuality."

The black church is still generally criticized for its slow reaction to the AIDS/HIV epidemic. Many pastors admit as much. "We had our heads in the sand," says Howard. Now, he points with pride to Bethany educational programs and the church website, which heralded World AIDS Day this month. ...

The Rev. Jethro James of Paradise Baptist in Newark is adamant in his disapproval of gay marriage. "Marriage is between a man and a woman, and that can’t be legislated," he said. James, who is also president of the Newark North Jersey Committee of Black Churchmen, said that for gay advocates to insist on changing the church is to persecute the church for its beliefs. James said there are several gay people and one transgendered person in his congregation. "They come to worship. And ask forgiveness. Sinners welcome. Come join us."

Sinners welcome ... just be quiet and keep dropping cash in the collection plate. Unfortunately this denial and hypocrisy remains the modus operandi in too many churches in our community.

Emory Professor, African-American Studies Scholar Rudolph Byrd Dies

Openly gay Emory professor and noted renown African-American studies scholar Rudolph Byrd has died, reports the GAVoice and the  AP.  The scholar reportedly died of Friday from multiple myeloma, "a cancer of the plasma cells."

Byrd is a founding co-chair of the Alice Walker Literary Society and helped bring the Pulitzer Prize winning author's literary archive to Emory's library. He also founded the university's James Weldon Johnson Institute, a residency program that brings together scholars to study the modern civil rights era. Earlier this year he published a new critical edition of Jean Toomer's "Cane," with Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution adds:

Mr. Byrd founded an institute at Emory named after the author and NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson and was chair of the department of African-American studies. He also founded Emory's Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program, which provides financial support for undergraduates. [...]

Lately, Mr. Byrd had been connecting issues of race and sexuality, collaborating with scholars on topics involving gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, said Mr. Earl Lewis, the Emory provost. Mr. Byrd planned to deliver a series of lectures at Harvard titled "Other Voices Within the Veil: The Emergence of the Black Queer Subject in 20th Century African-American Literature and Culture." Mr. Gates said the lectures will still be delivered -- by former Spelman College president Johnnetta Cole.

The news has saddened many of Byrd's colleagues in academia. John Keene, an associate professor of English and African American Studies at Northwestern University, knew Byrd very well and tells Rod 2.0, "Rudolph Byrd was an incredible person, one of my intellectual mentors, generous, kind [and] wonderful. He also was an important mentor to many scholars and writers," Keene adds. "And his courage as an out, Black gay scholar should not be underestimated."

Rudolph Byrd's impact was far-reaching and inter-generational. New York City-based poet and performance artist Yolo Akili tells Rod 2.0, "The first time I met Dr. Byrd I was working for Men Stopping Violence. ... I was so struck by his spiritual presence, I assumed he had to be royalty of some kind. Like the kind of man who led prayers and believed in a power within himself. I always found myself holding my head up a little higher after our encounters," says Akili. "His work on gender and sexuality helped many heal and empowered even more. He will be missed."

A memorial and burial details will be announced within the next few days, reports the GAVoice.

Rudolph Byrd was only 58-years-old.

"Pariah" Director Talks to "Black Enterprise" About Coming Out

R20 readers may recall our January 2011 report about Pariah, the coming-of-age drama about a Black lesbian teen in New York City. Pariah was originally created as a short film by writer/director Dee Rees. The project was developed into a feature film and made its debut at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

BlackEnterprise.com interviewed filmmaker Dee Rees last week for National Coming Out Day. Rees discussed the film and how the character's "coming out" process encouraged her own journey.

When she began writing the script six years ago, Rees was going through her own coming-out process. "As I was coming into my sexuality, I started to become comfortable with who I was. But I didn’t know how to express that," says the 34-year-old filmmaker. "Some of the awe and anxiety the lead character feels were things I experienced when I was coming out, coming into this world."

A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Rees was amazed to see teenage girls totally out and proud when she came to New York. "Even if I had figured out my sexuality at that age, I don’t know that I would have had the courage to be that person, and that is how the idea for the film came about," she says. ...

Rees admits the principal conflicts in the film are similar to her own. "Parental conflict is something I really went through," she says. "When I came out, my parents weren’t accepting ... For a few months, they sent emails, cards, letters and Bible verses to make me change," she says. She cut off communication, alienating herself, but eventually started talking to them again. "Things are better now."

Pariah is about 17-year-old "butch" lesbian Alike discovering her sexual identity with which contrasts with the feminine, obedient Christian girl desired by her family. One of the standout characters was Kim Wayans  as the disapproving, gay-bashing "Christian" mother.

Focus acquired the film for "less than $1 million" last January, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The studio has a good track record of financing critically- and commercially-successful independent LGBT features, such as Brokeback Mountain, Milk, and The Kids Are All Right, currently nominated for four Academy Awards.

Black Enterprise, Ebony, Essence and Jet have profiled LGBT issues in recent months. The cover of Black Enterprise's July 2011 issue was "Black and Gay in Corporate America." Our report on Black same-sex couples raising children was featured in the October 2011 EBONY.

The film opens in limited engagement in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco on December 28. The nationwide premiere is January 2012. Watch the trailer AFTER THE JUMP ...

White Teen Pleads Not Guilty in Hit and Run Killing of Black Miss. Man

The white Mississippi teenager charged with deliberately running down a Black man pleaded not guilty to capital murder on Friday. Hinds County Circuit Judge Jeff Weill set a Jan. 9 trial date for 19-year-old Deryl Dedmon. The judge told prosecutors to inform the court by Nov. 1 if they plan to seek the death penalty, reports the Clarion Ledger.

Dedmon was shackled at the waist, "showed no emotion and spoke only two words during his five-minute court appearance. "Not guilty," reports the Associated Press.

James C. Anderson died on the morning of June 26 in a Jackson motel parking lot. The 48-year-old Anderson had a long-term male partner of almost two decades and they were raising a daughter.

Surveillance video shows two carloads of teenagers driving into the parking lot. Several approached Anderson, who was beaten and robbed. The video shows Anderson being struck by a truck. Witnesses report one teenager yelled "white power" and the driver of the pickup shouted the n-word.

Dedmon, who was driving the pickup, faces capital murder and hate crime charges and is being held without bond. Police initially charged another teenager, John Aaron Rice, with murder. That charge has been reduced to simple assault.

Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith says it is "unlikely" that Dedmon will face the death penalty. Anderson's  family opposes the death penalty.

Earlier this month, Anderson's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the seven white teenagers that police say were involved in the gruesome crime. Anderson's long-term partner is prevented by Mississippi law and the Defense of Marriage Act from joining the legal action. Anderson's partner is also prevented by Mississippi law from making end of life decisions.

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REPORT: Racial Slur on Name at Rick Perry's Hunting Ranch

Texas Gov. Rick Perry continues his free-fall skydiving contest from the Republican presidential primaries. The Washington Post reports on the racially-charged nickname of the Perry hunting ranch

In the early years of his political career, Rick Perry began hosting fellow lawmakers, friends and supporters at his family’s secluded West Texas hunting camp, a place known by the name painted in block letters across a large, flat rock standing upright at its gated entrance. "Niggerhead," it read. ...

[T]he name of this particular parcel did not change for years after it became associated with Rick Perry, first as a private citizen, then as a state official and finally as Texas governor. Some locals still call it that. As recently as this summer, the slablike rock — lying flat, the name still faintly visible beneath a coat of white paint — remained by the gated entrance to the camp.

When asked last week, Perry said the word on the rock is an "offensive name that has no place in the modern world." [...]

"My mother and father went to the lease and painted the rock in either 1983 or 1984," Perry wrote. "This occurred after I paid a visit to the property with a friend and saw the rock with the offensive word. After my visit I called my folks and mentioned it to them, and they painted it over during their next visit. Ever since, any time I ever saw the rock it was painted over."

Perry’s version of events differs in many respects from the recollections of seven people, interviewed by The Washington Post, who spoke in detail of their memories of seeing the rock with the name at various points during the years that Perry was associated with the property through his father, partners or his signature on a lease.

The Perry campaign denies the charge and claims the sign has been whitewashed—literally and figuratively.

Herman Cain became the first GOP presidential contender to respond, claiming the name was "vile" and "just plain insensitive to a lot of black people."

And if Herman Cain has to say that good ole' boy racism is "vile" and "insensitive" ...