#cece macdonald

[celluloidrainbow]

FREE CECE! (2016) dir. Jacqueline Gares On her way to the store with a group of friends, CeCe McDonald was brutally attacked. While defending her life, a man was killed, and, after a coercive interrogation, CeCe was incarcerated in a men’s prison in Minnesota. An international campaign to free CeCe garnered significant support from media and activists and, in the end, CeCe emerged not only as a survivor, but also as a leader. CeCe's powerful story highlights the groundswell of voices questioning the prison industrial complex and calling for its disassembly. (link in title)

[lalalaetc]

I can't be in a space with a bunch of people who think baking cookies and having a potluck is real activist work. We have to be diligent and real about this shit. We need to have a movement and be real about it. We can't rely on having movements. It's the way we encounter the people we're surrounded by everyday. People who have privilege can utilize that on a day-to-day basis and make some really big changes. I want to see how many rich white people can call out their other rich white friends when they say something wrong. That's being a true ally. That's being a true activist. It doesn't have to just be you with a picket sign marching down the street. That's cool too, but what about the domestic shit? What about the shit that's right next to me? That's what counts more than being passive and saying that you're an activist.

SPEAK UP: An interview with CeCe McDonald by Andrea Abi-Karam (The Media)

[earthmoonlotus]

Love, for a black trans woman, freed her, and kept her safe on the inside. Loving trans people, I believe, is a revolutionary act. And I believe when we love someone, we respect them, and we listen to them, we feel that their voice matters. And- and we let them dictate the terms of who they are and what their story is.

- Laverne Cox, in her Keynote speech at the Creating Change Conference. (In reference to Cece MacDonald at the beginning.)

[theiconcity]

Do We Even Need "A Dream" in 2014?

I'm homesick!!  This is the first time in the last five years that I haven't been in Atlanta for Martin Luther King Day. Every year I would purchase a new outfit and put on my best mug (makeup) to attend the Audre Lorde-Bayard Rustin brunch.  Bayard Rustin (picture below) is recognized by many historians as Dr. King's leading mentor during much of his early community work.  Unfortunately after information of Bayard's homosexuality surfaced Dr.King was forced to distance himself from Mr.Rustin in the face of the mounting criticism from the black church.  This particularly story isn't well known to most I guess it's one of those situations where you'd just have to have been there for the drama. So while I'm sure there are many excellent celebrations taking place across the country, nothing compares to the experience being on the scene and getting a more personal take on the challenges that faced these great men.

(Civil rights leaders Martin Luther King (left) and Bayard Rustin (right)

The majority of of my life so far has been dedicated to achieving meaningful social and economic equality for minorities particularly black gay men.  My music, my associations, and  what sometimes feels like my entire identity have been invested in this cause.  In the past few years we've seen a unprecedented number of civil rights achievements for same gender loving people we've also seen the election of our first African-American president.  While I'm honestly delighted at the progress that we're making I have to admit that it's lead me to question my purpose.  In my quest to fight the good fight did I make my music too gay am I missing out on other fulfilling experiences.  Am I living the life or is the life living me?

(Anye Elite marching in 2011 Martin Luther King Day Parade in Atlanta, Georgia.)

I wonder if Martin Luther King would feel similar in this day and age?  Does the presence of wildly successful African-Americans like Oprah, Barrack, and Beyonce (yep, she counts) signal the end of the civil right moments or do real life american horror stories like the murder of Trayvon Martin and the unfair incarceration of Cece Mcdonald indicate that these will always be perilous times for black and queer people?   What does "the dream" mean in 2014?

[kunstmull]

Trans Day of Remembrance

Illustration by Micah Bazant

[thegentlemanjigger-blog]

i live for the fact that the Black queers are sending out so many reality checks to the white supremacy.

[clobbergrrrl]

[monsterpotion]