#thegranvarones

we are back! in our brand new episode of COLORED PEOPLE’S TIME we talk shit, process the netflix documentary “untold: the girlfriend who didn’t exist,” and celebrate the legend that is tevincampbell

so yeah, y’all should give a listen.

may 21 will mark the 40th anniversary of the white night riots that took place in san francisco in 1979 after dan white was sentenced to just 8 years in prison for the murder of mayor george moscone and supervisor harvey milk.

by the turn of the 1970’s, the castro district of san francisco had become a queer & trans utopia that provided a sense of sexual freedom, liberation, and self-realization. however, both local and national anti-gay legislation & sentiments were threatening that paradise.

in 1977, miss america runner-up & florida citrus orange juice “queen” lead a successful “save our children” campaign to overturn a dade county ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. that win launched a nat’l movement against the lgbtq community.

in 1978, harvey milk, the first out gay man to be elected to public office in CA, helped to get a non-discrimination ordinance signed in to SF law & was integral in mobilizing lgbtq folks and allies to shut down a statewide bill to ban gay teachers.

former cop dan white, who was elected to the SF board of supervisors the same time as harvey, was the only board member to vote against the non-discrimination bill. embarrassed and angered that his own bills failed, white resigned from his position on november 10, 1978.

in the following weeks, white reconsidered his decision and asked to be reappointed to his position. after being told during a radio interview that another person would be appointed to the board in his place, dan white set out to punish those he felt had humiliated him.

on the morning of november 27, 1978, dan white snuck into city hall through a side window & with a loaded 38 caliber smith & wesson,  and traveled to city hall. walked into the office of mayor george moscone, an ally of harvey’s & shot him 4 times, 2 shots to the head.

as dan white rushed through the hall searching harvey milk, he stop to reload his gun. when he found harvey down the hall, white shot harvey 5 times, two times in the head. the murders shocked an already devastated city who that just beginning to process the jonestown massacre.

in may of 1979, white was tried for 2 counts of 1st degree murder. however, the mostly older white & working class jury delivered a guilty verdict of voluntary manslaughter w/ sentence of just 8 yrs. for gay community, this was further proof that the justice system was anti-gay.

thousands marched to city hall to protest the verdict. some held signs that read, “pity for the privilege, death penalty for the poor” and “white(s) get away with murder.” as the crowd grew, the pain and disappointment quickly turned into collective rage.

outnumbered by the gays, cops retreated as the gays rioted at city hall breaking windows. when things subsided, folks headed back to the castro district. in retaliation, police descended onto the castro and invaded a gay bar later that night.

police violently struck gay patrons. still filled with complete fury and disdain of the police state and justice system, the gays fought back and set police cars on fire. by the end of the night, dozens of police cars were set ablaze and 20 people were arrested.

the white night riots are an important chapter in queer history. on the night of may 21, 1979, the san francisco gays challenged the police state and defended themselves from police violence. they set the city on fire.

the following san francisco pride, marchers held signs that read “lesbians against police violence” & “end police violence.” cops were seen as a threat to queer liberation. later that year, in november of 1979, close to 100,000 people marched in support gay rights in DC.

the white night riots signaled a continued a trans & queer revolution that was ignited during the stonewall uprising 10 years earlier. pride marches were political and even more so just two years later when the aids epidemic began its assault on the queer community

sadly, in many ways, the aids epidemic truncated the revolution that we were on the brink of by stealing the lives of those who knew our liberation could never be realized under the police state.

BAN POLICE FROM PRIDE!

after disappearing for almost 50 years, miss jackie shane reemerged late 2017  with “any other way”, a comprehensive double-album of her music catalog. and because the universe looks out for our trailblazing queens, miss jackie’s album is now a 2019 grammy nominated album in the best historical recording category. 

jackie shane was born in may 15, 1940 in nashville, tennessee. even from a the tender age of 4, it wasn’t unusual for jackie to dress up in her mother’s dresses, heals and jewelry. in an interview with rob bowman, jackie shared that her mother would come walk into her bedroom and find little jackie sitting at her mother’s vanity table wearing lipstick and rouge. “my mother would crack up”

by age 13, jackie told her mother that she is identified as a woman. her mother replied by telling her, “you have nothing to cry about or be shamed of or anything. you’re magnificent.”

after a stint of performing in a band as part of traveling carnival and after surviving being kidnapped by mobsters,  jackie released her first single in 1962. she would go on to perform along side etta james, jam out with jimi hendrix and even fix up little richard’s wigs. this 1964 video of jackie performing “walking the dog” on the “night train”, a regional show in nashville, is the is the only existing video of miss shane performing.

jackie’s most notable hit was “any other way.” released in 1962, the song would become a massive regional hit in toronto, reaching the #2 spot. the song’s staying power proved to be strong when it saw a resurgence three years later. “any other way” would garner even more mainstream exposure years after the song had fallen off the charts.

after over a decade of performing across the country and throughout canada, and receiving an offer to join george clinton’s band funkadelic, miss jackie shane walked away from the biz in december of 1971. in the bowman interview, jackie says, “i’m not one of those people [where] this month I'm leavin’ show business and two months later, i'm back.” 

in 2016, a 22-story mural was commissioned to by heritage toronto. the mural commentates the history of r&b icons and features muddy waters, bb king and others. jackie shane is in the center of the beautiful mural.

in 2017, after 46 years in seclusion, miss jackie shane reemerged with the release of “any other way”, a comprehensive double album featuring all of her music. the album marks the first official jackie shane release since 1969. the album is now up for a grammy!

jackie shane now resides in the south and enjoys the (re)discovery of her music. in a recent interview, she said, “i thought i would be forgotten. but i haven’t been. it goes to show i didn’t do it vain....that’s a beautiful thing.” 

It is sorrow-heavy to count our losses and remember those who were ripped from us—in our collective memory—but we must not let their names go unspoken, because the defeat of memory through oppression and erasure will not encumber us. We shout their names, because they are beautiful, Black and their very existence: magical.

muhlaysia booker

tamika michelle washington

claire legato

Today, the #BlackTransPrayerbook launched #TransphobiaIsASin social media campaign.

so there is a lot going on with the stories swirling around puerto rican and dominican reggaeton/latin trap aritst ozuna. it is hella complicated and involves multiple people. but what links all of these people is the insidiousness of homophobia. 

before i continue, i must note that this ozuna saga is still on-going and more could be revealed by the time you read this. i will try my best to update as new information is made available. but this is what we know so far. 

on january 10th, puerto rican queer latin-trap artist kevin fret was murdered. since then, there have been rumors and speculations that ozuna was connected to fret’s murder. admittedly, before tuesday afternoon, i had no idea of what the basis of the speculations was. 

latino media outlet, primera hora, reported earlier this week that fret threatened to release a pornographic video featuring ozuna on social media. some would say, “what’s the big deal? what public figure in 2019 DOESN’T have a compromising video out on the net?” well, the video fret threatened to release that features ozuna is a film that would be categorized as “gay porn.”

in a world where homophobia and toxic masculinity exists, the threat of releasing this kind of video can have major implications on artists that are assumed to be and/or consumed as cis-hetero. particularly in a genre that values the presentation of masculinity is so closely associated with the music and artistry. 

on tuesday, the digital media outlet, remezcla, reported that ozuna allegedly paid fret $50,000 to prevent the video from being leaked. ozuna’s attorney has stated that ozuna had also reported the extortion to the FBI. 

since this story broke, folks have been sharing the link of the video fret had threated to release. ozuna has confirmed via a statement that it is, in fact, him in the video. he has also stated that he was underage when the video was recorded. 

wait. there’s more. 

because homophobia is what the fuck it is, puerto rican reggaeton artist don omar, used the scandal to take a homophobic jab at ozuna, who he had long been beefing with. in the tweet, don omar uses the duck emoji which is clearly a reference to the anti-gay slur, “pato.” 

latinx-trap artists and current queer fave, bad bunny, responded to don omar’s post by tweeting: “homophobia in this day and age? how embarrassing loco.”

so, that was a lot. where does this leave us now? well, i am not sure as i am sure this story is still developing, but i will offer these few takeaways. 

1. do not watch the ozuna video. if ozuna says that he was underage, i believe him. it is no secret that the bodies of young men continue to be exploited, so his claim is not that hard to believe. also, in this age of consent, if there is someone asks people not to watch a video of their naked body because it makes them feel unsafe, we should honor that demand. PERIODT.

2. don omar is trash. he has not apologized and because he is a coward, he even denied that the use of the duck emoji was code for “pato.” also, omar is living proof that homophobia is neither “witty” or “clever.” 

on this day we celebrate revolutionary black trans visionary, performer, aids activist and mother of pride, marsha p. johnson. today would have been her 73rd birthday.

marsha’s liberation work did not end with her playing a key role during the stonewall uprisings in 1969. she, along with her friend sylvia rivera, was a founding member of the gay liberation front - a movement that centered lgbtq folks that were marginalized by other lgbtq folks.

marsha & sylvia also formed STAR, a community based org that provided housing & other support to homeless youth, sex workers, trans, & poor queer folks. STAR was a groundbreaking organization in the queer liberation movement and has become the model for many organizations since.

as the AIDS epidemic began to impact queer communities in the 1980’s, marsha became an outspoken and visible member of ACT-UP. she participated in the legendary protest on wall street against the high costs and inaccessibility of new HIV/AIDS medication.

marsha became an ancestor at the age of 46 on july 6, 1992. her body was found in the hudson river. her death was ruled suicide despite proof that she may have been a victim of anti-trans violence. 25 years later, the case was re-opened.

happy birthday, marsha! we will continue to speak your name and lift your legacy!

marsha p. johnson