Little did I know, “The Campaign for Black Gay Men’s Lives” has been running an ongoing campaign to fight homophobia and the spread of HIV in the black community since 2007. The ads are a series of billboards in subways, bus shelters (and even the side of entire buildings) that say the words: “I Am Gay” in bold neon colored letters. Explanatory text at the bottom educates people that gays are already a part of their community, families and congregations whether they know it or not.Ads like this are crucial because it goes into what Cypher Ave preaches and stands for the most. That there are many masculine gay/bisexual men that they know and love in people’s lives. These men are sports fans, car lovers, church goers, fathers, sons, nephews, cousins and friends.Recent studies suggest that in the Western World, 2-13% of men are Gay, Bisexual or at least have had one sexual experience with another guy in their lifetime. So whenever I’m in a room with a bunch of other guys I’m always wondering how many of them also are gay/bisexual and masculine…How many other men in my family? Other men I went to college with…Men I work with…Men I see in the gym…
Their website, WeArePartOfYou.org, states the following about the campaign:In recent years Black Gay Men’s lives have been devalued in our own communities. There have been reports of shootings and stabbings of Black gay men in some US major cities. The campaign seeks to mobilize Black gay men and our allies in the community to end homophobia and the violence it spreads.
This is awesome! Damn, how did I miss out on this blog?
Interesting