LIFEbeat Board Member Futterman Responds
As six-degrees of seperation would have it, turns out that one of the LIFEbeaet Board Members is a MD at my job. Yesterday after asking some other MDs around my office if they thought Futterman would be open, responsive to my email and getting a postive response, I sent this letter to her.
From her response back to me she - unlike LIFEbeat's PR missives - "gets it." Since then Futterman has come out strong as both a committed board member and one of the few ppl within LIFEbeat who is challenging the organziation's actions. In an article posted on Gay City News yesterday, Futterman "praised LIFEBeat as 'the only people who go to concerts with HIV awareness and prevention messages, reaching thousands of kids,' but disagreed with this latest attempt at 'dialogue.'" Obviously there is a strong internal dialogue going on inside LIFEbeat. But when LIFEbeat throws around phrases like "it was a collective decision" to cancel the concert at Webster Hall, has it been a collective process this whole time? Because it seems like from talking to Futterman and the Gay City News article, there were a number of Board members not down for this.
But I digress, still hungry, and need to get out of this piece very soon!
Latah.
* * * *
Hi,
I'm a Research Assistant that works with Drs. Cunningham, Sacajiu, and Kunins around the corner from your office. The reason though I'm writing you is... I'm also a black gay blogger who believes that there is no place in HIV/AIDS awareness for individuals who publicly call for the killing of anyone, gay or lesbian, black or white - which both Beenie Man and TOK have called for in their songs. I know that you've probably received some amount of correspondence about this, but something tells me that you're gonna dig what I have to say. :)
A broad group of Black, Carribbean, Carribbean American, Straight and LGBT people call on LIFEbeat to either disinvite these two artists or demand that they make a public apology. Many of us believe that any goodwill done by LIFEbeat to invite artists like Beenie Man and TOK who have broad urban youth appeal is lost by inviting these two artists who have extraordinary histories of calling for the burning and killing of gay and lesbian people. There are a number of dancehall artists who could reach the same audience but who do not call for such violence towards gays and lesbians - we ask that you invite these artists to your concert instead of Beenie Man and TOK.
At tomorrow's 10am press conference in front of LIFEbeat's Manhattan offices, a group of concerned Carribbeans will speak about how homopohbic stigma fuels the HIV epidemic in Caribbean communities - in NYC and the Caribbean and how Gay Caribbean men are disporportionaly affected by HIV and are the primary victims of HIV stigma. Other speakers include Keith Boykin (the author and former Gay and Lesbian Liaison to the Clinton White House), NYC City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and many more. You are most welcome to attend.
Thank you for time. As a LIFEbeat Board Member, I hope this email helps sway your opinion. I'd be happy to speak to you in person or via phone as well. I can be reached at (xxx) xxx- xxxx.
Sincerely,
Andre The ___
More resources
Human Rights Watch Report , Hated to Death: Homophobia, Violence, and Jamaicas HIV/AIDS Epidemic http://hrw.org/reports/2004/jamaica1104/ .
ACCESS HOLLYWOOD Video on Homophobic dancehall lyrics
http://andresist.googlepages.com/anti-gay.wmv
Full Press Release
http://nysbgn.org/blog/?p=32
From her response back to me she - unlike LIFEbeat's PR missives - "gets it." Since then Futterman has come out strong as both a committed board member and one of the few ppl within LIFEbeat who is challenging the organziation's actions. In an article posted on Gay City News yesterday, Futterman "praised LIFEBeat as 'the only people who go to concerts with HIV awareness and prevention messages, reaching thousands of kids,' but disagreed with this latest attempt at 'dialogue.'" Obviously there is a strong internal dialogue going on inside LIFEbeat. But when LIFEbeat throws around phrases like "it was a collective decision" to cancel the concert at Webster Hall, has it been a collective process this whole time? Because it seems like from talking to Futterman and the Gay City News article, there were a number of Board members not down for this.
But I digress, still hungry, and need to get out of this piece very soon!
Latah.
* * * *
Hi,
I'm a Research Assistant that works with Drs. Cunningham, Sacajiu, and Kunins around the corner from your office. The reason though I'm writing you is... I'm also a black gay blogger who believes that there is no place in HIV/AIDS awareness for individuals who publicly call for the killing of anyone, gay or lesbian, black or white - which both Beenie Man and TOK have called for in their songs. I know that you've probably received some amount of correspondence about this, but something tells me that you're gonna dig what I have to say. :)
A broad group of Black, Carribbean, Carribbean American, Straight and LGBT people call on LIFEbeat to either disinvite these two artists or demand that they make a public apology. Many of us believe that any goodwill done by LIFEbeat to invite artists like Beenie Man and TOK who have broad urban youth appeal is lost by inviting these two artists who have extraordinary histories of calling for the burning and killing of gay and lesbian people. There are a number of dancehall artists who could reach the same audience but who do not call for such violence towards gays and lesbians - we ask that you invite these artists to your concert instead of Beenie Man and TOK.
At tomorrow's 10am press conference in front of LIFEbeat's Manhattan offices, a group of concerned Carribbeans will speak about how homopohbic stigma fuels the HIV epidemic in Caribbean communities - in NYC and the Caribbean and how Gay Caribbean men are disporportionaly affected by HIV and are the primary victims of HIV stigma. Other speakers include Keith Boykin (the author and former Gay and Lesbian Liaison to the Clinton White House), NYC City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and many more. You are most welcome to attend.
Thank you for time. As a LIFEbeat Board Member, I hope this email helps sway your opinion. I'd be happy to speak to you in person or via phone as well. I can be reached at (xxx) xxx- xxxx.
Sincerely,
Andre The ___
More resources
Human Rights Watch Report , Hated to Death: Homophobia, Violence, and Jamaicas HIV/AIDS Epidemic http://hrw.org/reports/2004/jamaica1104/ .
ACCESS HOLLYWOOD Video on Homophobic dancehall lyrics
http://andresist.googlepages.com/anti-gay.wmv
Full Press Release
http://nysbgn.org/blog/?p=32
posted by Andre Lancaster at
7:07 AM
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