I know that there are so many people doing things to make money for themselves. I believe that there are just a few things that hinder us from becoming as big or influential as we should be. That is support from our own. You might not hear this statement that much these days, but I think it still lingers in the backs of our minds. That statement is, "If it ain't white it ain't right".
Well I got news for you that statement is soooo very wrong. Think about the things that you do. Not only is what you do probably more right than anything similiarly done by some whites, it's probably better. The difference is that those white things are supported. Also, everything we do is not about making money. Sometimes it's about uplifting ourselves and those around us.
I'm putting this out there because it is time that we started supporting each other. We have to stop being those crabs in a bucket always trying to pull the other one down to get to the top. If we stood on the shoulders of each other and pull each other up, there's no telling the heights that we would go.
All of this brings me to the reason for my post today. It is the Herndon Davis Reports. Herndon
Davis is having a fundraiser on Sunday, February 12, 2006 at I-Candy here in Los Angeles. You can read about the purpose of this fundraiser on Herndon's website.However, if we do not support this fundraiser we will be hindering our ability, from once again being the image that we as Gay & Lesbian Black people have of ourselves. The Herndon Davis Reports is a talk show that talks to us and is about us. This show is a means for all of those individuals who do not live in the big cities and for those that do, to be inspired and educated. The most important thing about this show is it is an opportunity to be heard in our own voices with our own faces. Not the voice or face of the mainstream media.
Remember my post on GLBT Television. You and I can make it happen.
Please check out Herndon's website for details on this event and show your support by attending or donating. Please RSVP! It's rude when you get an invitation and don't respond. RSVP means Respondez Si'vous Plait. (Very loosely translated - Let me know if you comin or not dammit, so we have enough food for yall to eat.)
If you can't make it to the event and still want to help with this self produced and funded project contact Herndon on how you can do just that. Remember donations do not always mean you have to come out of your pocket with money. You might have some information or a resource that would be helpful.
4 comments:
Thank you for another great post. Then, I think your blog is great period. Forgive me, I have this thing for Langston Hughes, a kindred spirit in a surprising way to me if I may say. Anyway, he wrote a poem pretty much expressing the exact comment you made about the how "some" of our people believe "white is right." The poem is called "ARGUMENT (2)":
White is right/....Do you believe that..../Then you're a dope/for which there ain't no hope/Black is fine!/And, God knows,/It's mine!
I perhaps know more than what I need to about Langston Hughes like the fact that he preferred to loved the brothers, especially the very handsome darker-skinned brothers. I like that Hughes cared for his people and wanted the best for them. He wanted equality for everyone, but especially for his people, us black folks. I want the best for my people, black folks, especially gay and lesbian black folks.
Sorry for rambling. It's the writer in me.
You have a great blog!!!
Thanks for plugging Herndon and for the insight on the importance of us supporting each other.
And it's funny about the RSVP part too... People never do that. But I did RSVP... I have a silly work party that afternoon in the lovely Inland Empire. But I already let HD know.
Nice entry... as usual!
fs
oooh, the community support is a toughie for me. i used to be the first say those very things about being crabs in a bucket and white don't make it right....then i put my money where my mouth was. i hired a brother to redo my mother's kitchen. a 12' x 8' kitchen took him 13 months to complete because he kept running out of money and losing his crew (most were random buddies, who btw, left their trash all over my mom's house and one even took a sh*t in her toilet!) then, i had to have my previous car worked on and i was overcharged by $220 because i wanted to support my people. and in the past few months, a nice "brother" broke into my car and stole $1000 worth of merchandise and my current neighbors are stealing cable from me. so i've tried to be supportive and i've tried to even remain comfortable around my community and the bottom line, for me, is that a person is a person and i'm cool with you until you give me a reason not to.....plenty of those crabs have given me reasons not to, so i switched to lobsters. :-)
You sound like someone who's ready for more change. We definitely need to grow in number.
Post a Comment