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Americans Can Learn from Africans in the Fight for Sexual Freedom
(This was posted originally September 20, 2010 at The Bilerico Project.)
Recent polling suggests that Americans are becoming increasingly accepting of same-sex couples and their families. The second poll in as many months shows that.
This is a remarkable statistic and is no doubt a result of all the work that thousands of gay rights activists and allies have done in laying the groundwork to change hearts and minds. The fight for equality, however, should be examined through the lens of the larger fight for sexual freedom in general.
We as LGBT people are a sexual minority and as we help this country’s citizens progress in their view of the definition of what love means, we are also exceptionally poised to help them acknowledge their own sexuality and that sexual freedom is a fundamental human right.
For Kushaba Moses Mworeko, or Moses, as his friends call him, the struggle for sexual freedom has meant having to leave his home country or face potential deadly consequences. Moses’ remarkable story was first told earlier this year when he was featured as a panelist at the American Prayer Hour press conference. The American Prayer Hour was an alternative interfaith service held in protest on the day of The Family’s National Prayer Breakfast. Moses, who hails from Uganda, talked about his experience as a closeted gay man in Africa. His story was especially significant as Uganda’s legislature was, and still is, considering passage of the homophobic Anti-Homesexuality Bill of 2009.
The pictures of Moses speaking with a paper bag over his head to hide his identity while he spoke at the National Press Club have become iconic images. 
Since then, Moses has officially come out to the world revealing his face on the cover of Washington’s Metro Weekly. His story has also served as a rallying call in the international fight for equality as evidenced by a recent blog post at Truth Wins Out. In it, Moses called on Anglican leaders to denounce the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
It is time for Christian leaders in Africa to start promoting peace and stop persecuting LGBT people,” said Kushaba Moses Mworeko, who recently escaped to the United States. “I call on the Anglican Church to speak out forcefully against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill and to support decriminalizing gay relationships across the continent. As the church grows in Africa it must choose to be a force for good and not intolerance.
To honor all this work, this week (September 23, 2010) Moses will be awarded with the Victoria Woodhull Sexual Freedom Award, the “Vicki,” for his bravery and for embodying the mission and vision of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, which works to affirm sexual freedom as a fundamental human right. Moses plans to work with the Woodhull Freedom Foundation to help them establish an Internet platform for global rights, which he will use to continue his advocacy and work.
The award ceremony is part of Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom Day, a day long event taking place at the National Press Club this Thursday. The day will be capped with the release of Woodhull’s new report, “The State of Sexual Freedom in the US” at a 3 p.m. press conference. Bilerico’s very own Bil Browning is a also a featured panelist.
The award is named after the group’s namesake, Victoria Woodhull, a progressive suffragist who advocated for sexual freedom and who was the first woman to run for President of the United States.
Moses is humbled to be receiving the award and the attention he’s received in the last year has bolstered his belief that what he is doing is right.When it comes to his own thoughts on sexual freedom, Moses is very clear about what he feels is most important.
“It is okay for people to do whatever they want to do, provided the sex is consensual and safe,” he said.
Moses quoted Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood and early champion of birth control, to help explain his view: “Through sex mankind may attain the great spiritual illumination which will transform the world, which will light up the only path to an earthly paradise.”
Getting to this earthly paradise is something he is confident will happen for the U.S., Africa and the world in general.
“In Uganda, internet usage isn’t as prolific there as it is in the West. They do use it, but they don’t do much research,” he said. “My story has opened their minds and their view of the Internet, so if I keep speaking about it folks will slowly start to understand.”
Though he is 31, he says that he has never felt more free than he has since going public with his true identity this past summer.
“I look at myself as a person who is now free and empowered to do whatever I want to do with my life and I think that also encompasses the sexual side of myself,” he says. “I feel like I am now out of the closet and I think I am the happiest person around. I can function more normally now that I am free.”
Despite this newly found freedom and the attention he has received in this country, Moses is quick to note that he does not consider himself to be the new face of the fight for equality. Rather, this humble man feels he’s most effective when he’s working behind the scenes of the movement.
“I’ll always speak out about injustice. That’s all I can do. If I’ve been of any help through my words then that is a good thing,” he said. “I thrive on feedback when talking with the other side and I don’t mind their responses to me, but the whole issue is that if I communicate with the other side that’s a good thing. We have to be able to engage them.”
Moses acknowledges very frankly that coming out has caused some pain for him and his family and friends, who have only recently learned of his activities here in the States. The calls from home have been endless and most are in disbelief that it is true. While he is disheartened at some of the negative reactions he has encountered, he is determined to keeping up the fight for equality here and at home in Uganda.
Moses is currently living in San Francisco where his case for asylum has been moved and he’s looking forward to working with local LGBT groups there when he returns later this week as he waits for his case to be decided.
He’s also working on his plans for the future which include a return to graduate school. His studies were cut short in Uganda when he had to leave and his application was positively received at Johns Hopkins University, where he hopes to soon matriculate in order to work on his other passions: social work and public health.
And, through this all, Moses says he will continue to do his part to ensure sexual freedom and equality for all. His core set of values is based on a simple yet profound idea that gets to the heart of the equality movement and the Woodhull Freedom Foundation’s mission.
“All I care about is having people free to express themselves the way they want to.”
Learn more about the work the Woodhull Freedom Foundation is doing and read their recent report on the State of Sexual Freedom in the United States.
Prop 8 D-Day Coming Down the Pike
There will be a decision in the Prop 8 case tomorrow. http://tinyurl.com/28j4wfq
A Day of Action
There’s lots happening in Arizona today.
Today is the first day of implementation for SB 1070 there are some pretty big rallies and marches being planned by L.A. union leaders and the United Farm Workers.
From the press release:
“If SB 1070 and other similar laws proposed around the country are allowed to go into effect, it would have a negative impact on the nation’s agricultural industry. Arizona produces much of the nation’s winter vegetables. Today somewhere between one-half and three-quarters of the U.S. farm labor workforce is undocumented. Agricultural employment is often the entry point for new migrants to this country. We need to end the fear and help improve the lives of the immigrant farm workers whose sweat and sacrifice bring the rich bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables to our tables. They do the hardest, most difficult jobs other American workers won’t do,” [UFW President Arturo] Rodriguez said.
Chartered buses are on their way to Phoenix as I write this.
Organizers of other rallies are planning to be in attendance without papers and there will most likely be arrests.
Speaking of protest and direct action. One of the best pieces of political theater I’ve seen so far was staged by DREAM Act activists (DREAMers) at Netroots Nation. I think it really drove home the point of what we’re dealing with here. The DREAMers posed as ICE officers and stopped those who looked “European” and asked for their papers before allowing them to enter the Netroots lunch on “Civil Rights in the Modern Era.” They cited an uptick in the number of undocumented European immigrants. People of color, like myself, were waved on through. Check out the video after the jump.
(video courtesy of SumofChange.com)
Most folks rolled with it, yet they definitely acknowledged the uncomfortable feeling of being stopped for no reason. Others were not quite so tolerant and one white gay male blogger, John Aravosis of Americablog, even made a complaint to the Netroots organizers and demanded apologies from the DREAMers. Though I couldn’t tell you what for. Nezua of the TheUnapologeticMexican.org has a great video up on the action and an interview with the young woman Aravosis tried to belittle. The action starts at about 5:30. For the most part, though, the progressives at Netroots rolled with it. This was a bold action that, unfortunately, may be realized if SB1070 is not rescinded altogether.
Today is an important day for immigration reform. I’m standing with them in solidarity.
Netroots Nation 2010 Recap: Intro
You may have noticed from the previous post’s date that I wrote it last Thursday, but that I’m only now just recapping my experience there.
While my experiences with blogging have evolved, I still think a vital part of any successful blog (and I use that term liberally) worth reading accepts as the premise that one should post on a semi-regular basis. I try to keep to this, though my archive doesn’t necessarily reflect it. Still, my excitement over going, as my first Netroots post shows, was partly because of the amount of blogging I would be doing while there. 
Cut to day one of the LGBT Pre-conference event. I was a little tired after arriving at 1 a.m. west coast, but I was jazzed and ready to go! Wi-fi service wasn’t free on this day as Netroots hadn’t actually started yet, so I paid for it. I was happy to.
That’s when the connection I had just purchased only an hour or so earlier suddenly went out. Never to return for the rest of the day. Drat. It was fine, though. I just decided to update on the 22nd, Thursday, the first day of the conference. It would be free, too.
Imagine my horror when the connection still wouldn’t return! I managed to catch it a couple of times, but it would never last. There was a point that day, though, where I managed to get a signal for a good while. Then my computer, Tiffany, started freaking out on me. I know she’s an old Mac, but I thought she’d hold up fine. Nope. I guess Tiffany had had enough because she refused to cooperate and shut down my browser and started what I call “hiccuping”. The menu bar just flashes and I have to force quit.
I get it, Tiff. You want to retire. I need a new computer. Oy.
The entire conference was plagued with technical issues for others besides myself and Tiffany only compounded a bad situation. I just had to accept that my first bloggers conference would have to go blogpost-free until I got home. Go figure.
I was able to Tweet my time there, so check out my Twitter feed on the lower right or on the website, for some pretty fun Tweeting. Searching hashtag #nn10 should yield some good stuff from the whole conference, too.
The “Encouraging Signs” post was written last Thursday, but as soon as I clicked “Save Draft”, Tiffany shutdown and I pretty much gave up. I wasn’t even sure it had been saved. Imagine my surprise when I get home to start my post-conference blogging and I see the post saved and ready to go. I’m especially glad because I am exhausted and had to return to my full-time job. This beauty needs rest.
Consider that post the prologue to upcoming posts over the course of this week about my time at Netroots Nation 2010: Las Vegas.
Look for another recap tomorrow, this time on Day 1 and so on.
I walked away with some new thoughts on where the progressive movement should be going. I’ll also have more thoughts on how the LGBT and Latino communities can rally around immigration reform as well as some pretty funny-ass stories involving mohawks, a Tequila Caucus and, of course, Chippendales.
Encouraging Signs
I am a proud gay man. I am a proud Latino. I’ve spent my adult life working on behalf of both of those communities.
Sadly, those two communities have not always embraced each other. The gay rights movement has for too long been lacking in diversity and has been slow to address that issue.
The Latino community, with its heavy Catholic influence and family dynamics that are often rooted in traditionalism is wary of what gay rights could mean for them.
This has been a source of frustration for me and I’ve often racked my brains over how to bridge that divide. After the first couple of days at Netroots Nation, though, I am seeing some very good signs of encouragement.
It seems that everywhere I go at this conference, everyone is talking about immigration, including progressives in the gay community. Indeed, Kate Kendall of National Center for Lesbian Rights, made a compelling case for how the gay community must embrace and support the Latino community, and minority communities in general. This is a significant move for the gay rights movement as it is finally starting to realize that immigration affects them, too. I see much collaboration between the two communities in the coming years, and I think the conservative right should be scared.
I have been delighted to hear that gay bloggers want to make our leaders accountable on immigration reform, not only where it concerns UAFA, which would directly affect bi-national LGBT couples but on immigration reform in general.
One of the most encouraging talks I’ve had about what we bloggers can do to work with immigration reform advocates had to do with being in the closet. And, I think it is one of the best selling points we can make to win over the hearts and minds of those in the gay community who, at best, have been lukewarm to the idea of supporting immigration reform.
Undocumented immigrants are also in the closet and every out gay person knows what it is like to live a lie and to be in constant fear of being discovered. We have all been through it at one point or another and if for no other reason than this, we should be supporting immigration reform that would help these folks come out of their immigration closet. Our undocumented brothers and sisters live every day in fear that they may not see their families after they leave for work in the morning. They live in fear that their families will be ripped apart for an unknown amount of time. They live in fear of having to make the trek back across the border after being deported.
The gay community can make real inroads with another community that is in desperate need of the kind of advocacy the gay rights movement is famous for.
Netroots Nation and Me
I’ve been a busy traveler these past couple of weeks and I’m a bit exhausted from having worked at the annual NCLR conference in San Antonio.
Now, I’m off to the Netroots Nation 2010 conference in Las Vegas. This is really a treat for me and I’m eternally thankful to Mike Rogers and his National Blogger and Citizen Journalist Initiative and another pair of great friends who I’ll be working with while in Vegas.
This is going to be my first Netroots Nation conference and I’m super psyched about it. First off, I’m looking forward to storming Las Vegas with a few thousand fellow progressives and meeting some new friends.
Mostly, though, I’m looking forward to jumpstarting my writing, which has been sorely lacking these days.
Part of that lack in content has to do with what Jim and I have been dealing with these days, not the least of which is a dismal job situation that has soured both of our moods for quite some time.
We’ve also been grappling with one of the worst episodes Jim has ever dealt with and being a caregiver for him has sort of zapped my energy. It is exhausting and I can only imagine how hard it must be for him, and still, I would not trade living with and being his partner for antyhing. We have been through so much together and I’m glad that I’ve been able to be around for him when he needs it the most. There is so much misunderstanding of mental health and I’ve been with him on those days when it seemed like nobody cared about what he was going through. It must be a lonely place sometimes, but at least I’ve been around to see him through it.
So, my hope is that going to Netroots will provide the boost I need to get back to the craft I love so dearly and which I think could use improvement. You should expect to see more posts on this space and on Bilerico.com from myself and other Bilerico Projectors this week.
With that, I’m off to Netroots to enjoy what is arguably one of the best conferences around. Seriously, check out the agenda, even if you’re not going. It should entice you to go next year.
So, hasta luego. The next time you hear from me, I’ll be in Vegas, baby!
How I Became a Home Depot Defender
(cross-posted from The Bilerico Project)
I’m not usually in the practice of coming to the defense of many coporations, especially a giant retailer like Home Depot, but Media Matters for America’s County Fair blog pointed out a World Net Daily report that promoted a homophobic American Family Association (AFA) email to its members. In it, Home Depot is the subject of AFA’s ire for its domestic partner benefits, which are open to domestic partners of their employees.
County Fair on the AFA:
“So, what exactly is the AFA? It certainly sounds wholesome, but a review of its past comments tells an entirely different story. Political Correction — Media Matters’ partner organization — offers some enlightening context:
- American Family Association Promotes “Radical Homosexual Agenda”
- American Family Association: “Gay Sex = Domestic Terrorism”
- American Family Association: Indian-Americans Win Too Many Spelling Bees
Yep, you read that correctly. WND quotes an organization that thinks too many Indian-Americans are winning spelling bees and that gay sex is tantamount to domestic terrorism.”
It’s true, as County Fair’s Kyle Frisch points out, that WND is clearly on the furthest parts of the right-wing fringe, but it’s also true that they’re doing their part to spread hatred in the form of some twisted comedy to all its readers.
It’s also true that there are probably some things I would hate to know about Home Depot’s corporate business practices, but at least it does have accepting benefits policies, which include any domestic partner of an employee, which includes its LGBT staffers.
I’m glad they have a presence at Pride celebrations like the one featured in the WND story. More corporations would do well to look to Home Depot for ideas on how they can be more inclusive of their own LGBT employees.
Still, my support for Home Depot doesn’t derive from that alone. There are, thankfully, other American corporations with similar policies. It derives from how much enjoyment my father has found in working for them, especially where it concerns their inclusive policies.
Both my parents are hard-working blue-collar Latinos with not much more than a high school education. They also probably spend their time online doing less social networking than most of those reading this post right now, especially when it comes to activism. But I like to think that over the years I’ve kept them informed enough to consider the LGBT implications of those they support electorally, financially, or as potential employers.
Not too long ago, my dad took a job with a Home Depot in Texas working in the lumber department. I was a little confused when he told me left an operating room position at a local hospital to take a customer service job at Home Depot, but he told me he was happy about the decision and looking forward to not having to contend with physician egos. Understandable.
I can’t say I was really convinced that it was the best decision, but over the last year I have really come to understand more clearly than ever how important it is to attain personal happiness. My partner has been instrumental in helping me get to that point. My father, I’ve learned, is doing what he needs to do to be happy.
He’s also an outstanding carpenter so the lumber department makes perfect sense for him! He even landed an account at a river resort in the Texas hill country making deck chairs. He gets to work with his hands and he’s around 2×4’s and 3×4’s and whatever else you might find in that department. All I know is that he is in utter bliss when he’s there.
I’m very proud of him and he is also skilled at charming the pants off people when he meets them, so it’s fitting to have him on the floor talking to folks about what they need for their own projects.
Despite all that, I was still on the fence about him working there.
I became a Home Depot supporter when my dad told me what he learned after finishing orientation. He called and was very excited to tell me about Home Depot’s LGBT friendly benefits policies and how he spoke up to his supervisors to let them know that he was happy he was working there because of that policy. He told them that he had a gay son, so it was important for him to be working for such a friendly company.
He had come out to his fellow staffers. True, he didn’t come out as a gay man, but I know many parents back home who love their gay and lesbian kids, but who would also prefer that nobody else know they have one. It’s sadly far too common.
I’m lucky enough to have parents who love me for me in private and in public and who are unafraid to say so.
Whether my dad knows it or not, he was an activist that day when he voiced his support for his company’s LGBT policies. LGBT employees at Home Depot should thank my father for his small action.
He is a true friend and ally to our community the world over.
Thanks, Dad.
A Message for Anti-Voting Rights for DC Residents
As if killing the DC Voting Rights bill wasn’t enough. Today, the Maverick-Not Maverick Senator from Arizona, John McCain and the Junior Senator from Montana, Jon Tester (D), introduced a stand-alone bill that would further gut DC’s strong gun regulations.
From WTOP:
The bill would repeal the District’s ban on semi-automatic weapons and remove the requirement that guns be kept unloaded and disassembled when stored in the home or office.
It would also authorize District residents to buy guns and ammunition in Maryland and Virginia, and it would repeal registration requirements.
I think Jon Stewart sums up how I feel about this bill and Sens. McCain and Tester. The message starts at about 7:40.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Religious Right Has No Intention of Letting Uganda Anti-gays Bill Die
This despite reports that the Uganda Parliament’s Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee doubts the Anti-Homosexuality Bill will pass.
Religious extremist Lou Engle’s group The Call is planning a rally next month in Uganda and will include calls to support the legislation.
From Truth Wins Out:
“He [Warren Throckmorton] reports that The Call Uganda, an organization which has both political and religious purposes and supports Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill, is preparing for a large rally on May 2.
According to Throckmorton, ‘The relative quiet in Uganda surrounding the bill could easily be broken by this event.'”
Engle is a scary guy. His intensity is unnerving and he has a penchant for using disturbing images to get his point across. His work against families and reproductive health rights is legendary. His message is one of hate and he calls on followers to become martyrs for Christ.
Just check out some of The Call’s videos for a taste.
The Call Uganda is just the kind of thing supporters of the all but dead Anti-Homosexual act need to bring it back to life.
From Throckmorton:
‘I am quite concerned that this event could have the same kind of impact that the March 2009 anti-gay conference had in Uganda. At that event, Scott Lively told his Ugandan audience that gays were behind Nazi Germany and possibly involved in the Rwandan atrocities. In general the conference reinforced the desire of some religious leaders to persuade the government to create laws which would eliminate homosexuality from the nation.”
El Castillo 