Marsha P. Johnson (Credit: Diana Davies/New York Public Library)
As we recognize Pride Month, in addition to the celebrations and Pride festivals/parades, I do want to offer a few short bits of history along the way so we know whose shoulders on which we stand today.
Pioneering drag performer, activist and a leader at the Stonewall Rebellion will be honored with a monument near the Stonewall Inn this year.
Learn why in one minute:
“Darling, I want my gay rights now.” 🙌
In celebration of #PrideMonth, we pay tribute to Marsha P. Johnson, the unapologetic activist who led the ’69 Stonewall Rebellion in NYC that gave birth to the modern LGBTQ movement. pic.twitter.com/FesVwBxmK9
Trans/deaf model Chella Man will play ‘Jericho’ in DC Universe’s TITANS
The world of super-heroes is about to get a lot more diverse as transgender model, activist and YouTuber Chella Man has been cast to play ‘Jericho’ in season 2 of the live-action TV series Titans.
The 20-year-old, who identifies as Jewish/Chinese-American, deaf and genderqueer, announced the news on his social media where he has developed a large following documenting his transition including top surgery and hormone replacement.
The Brooklyn-based artist has over 255k followers on Instagram, 65k on Twitter, and over 173,000 subscribers on YouTube.
In his Instagram post announcing the news of his new acting gig, Man shared, “As a trans, Deaf, Jewish person of color, I have always reminded myself of the power in my differences.”
“It is a dream come true, now, as I will be able to showcase this power on the Titans,” he continued. “HUGE thank you to all who have supported me throughout this process!”
A post shared by Chella Man (@chellaman) on Mar 19, 2019 at 10:21am PDT
Man’s super-hero character, ‘Jericho,’ has the ability to possess and control the body of anyone he makes eye contact with. He communicates through sign language as he was rendered mute as a youth when kidnappers severed his vocal cords.
When Jericho possesses another body, he can communicate using that person’s voice, vocabulary and language.
The character first appeared in 1984’s Tales of the Teen Titans #43, and is the son of longtime villain, ‘Deathstroke.’ Esai Morales has been cast as the father and will join the show in season 2 with Man.
While the original Tales of the Teen Titans comic books in the 1980s didn’t address his sexuality, his modern incarnation is openly bisexual and has an edgier quality.
Man joins the series which debuted last fall as the first original programming for the DC Universe subscription streaming site.
The show follows a team of young heroes led by Batman-side kick Robin, the empath Raven, alien princess Starfire and shape-shifting Beast Boy.
Director/producer Greg Berlanti (Love, Simon; Riverdale; The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), is a member of the Titans producing team.
Filming for season 2 of Titans is scheduled to begin next month.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students Jaclyn Corin, Alex Wind, Emma Gonzalez, Cameron Kasky and David Hogg cover the latest issue of TIME Magazine standing behind the headline, “ENOUGH.”
The article, titled “The School Shooting Generation Has Had Enough,” chronicles how the students’ lives have changed since the February 14 shooting that killed 17 classmates and faculty members.
How a movement catches fire is always a mystery, but the Parkland kids seem matched for this moment. They’re young enough to be victimized by a school shooting, but old enough to shape the aftermath. Like many teenagers, they’re at a peculiar stage in their lives where they feel at once vulnerable and invincible, highly social yet impervious to the etiquette expected from adults. Their bombastic style mirrors President Trump’s: they call their enemies names and hurl sick burns at politicians and lobbyists as if they’re shouting across the locker room.
[snip]
They envision a youth political movement that will address many of the other issues affecting the youngest Americans. Hogg says he would like to have a youth demonstration every year on March 24, harnessing the power of teenage anger to demand action on everything from campaign-finance reform to net neutrality to climate change. But even if none of this works—even if they never pass comprehensive gun reform, and net neutrality fails, and Citizens United endures, and climate-change legislation stalls—today’s teenage rebels will become tomorrow’s establishment leaders, informed by the experience that may already be shaping the gun debate.
And that, says Hogg, is the bottom line for politicians who side with the NRA. “You’re gonna be smeared in the textbooks. Your legacy is gone,” he says. “If you don’t stand up with us now, you’ll be standing against us.”
Acclaimed LGBT blogger Pam Spaulding announced yesterday that July 1 will bePam’s House Blend’sfinal day online after a successful nine-year run.
From her announcement:
“All good things must come to an end, even after numerous awards and accolades, it’s time to acknowledge that I cannot continue to run on fumes alone. The Blend could continue limping along, but my health and well-being come first; over the last few years burning the candle at both ends with a full-time offline job and PHB. It has taken a severe toll—most readers have learned that I am dealing with chronic pain conditions—fibromylagia, and in the last couple of years, aggressive rheumatoid arthritis.
My decision to close the blog is just as reality-based as its content has been. If I cannot produce material at the frequency or with the same level of quality, enthusiasm and effectiveness, it’s really time to close the doors to this coffeehouse—and work to ensure it continues to have a life as an archive, a snapshot in our digital political history. Pamshouseblend.com will redirect to archives.
Political blogging changed mainstream journalism in many ways. Save for a few who were able to monetize their blogs or who were cherry picked to help traditional outlets get their feet wet in new media, the vast majority of citizen journalists and opinion-makers toiled with little hope of quitting that day job. The LGBT movement was energized by the speed and reach of new media, and at times appeared quite threatened by it—mostly because it was a venue where Beltway orgs, and even the White House, didn’t see any possible way to co-opt or control what was being produced by this first generation of online political rabble rousers and activists. I’ve made a lot of great friends and met a lot of people along the way, and hopefully opened a few eyes, particularly with my posts about the intersection of LGBT and race.
I’ll have a “goodbye” post on July 1 that takes a look at some of PHB’s nine-year history.”
You can read more of Pam’s announcement at her superb blog, Pam’s House Blend.
Army veteran and gay activist Dan Choi, Chicago activist Any Thayer were among at least 18 people who were mobbed at a gay pride parade in Moscow by police and a group of Neo-Nazis on Saturday.
Video of the attack was posted on AmericaBlog, in which Choi and Thayer are walking quietly, when a mob of uniformed and undercover police attack them. According to British gay rights activist Peter Tatchell, the arrests took place between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Moscow time.
Choi and seven others were carted off to Presnensky Police Station in Moscow after the attack. He and the other foreign protesters were released without a charge or fine, but the Russians will have to remain overnight.
