Strange Fruit

Suit designer Leon Wu sees a person's first suit as a milestone. "Historically, a father will bring in his son," Wu says. "It's like a coming of age sort of thing." But what about a person who didn't grow up as a boy? Wu can relate: "Ever since I was five I would envision myself as a more masculine person," he explains. "Growing up I was happy getting my older brother's hand-me-downs. I didn't need to go buy any 'female' clothes." Wu founded Sharpe Suiting, a clothing company catering to masculine-of-center folks who want to look dapper in suits custom-tailored to every type of body. He joins us this week to talk about their work, and what it's like to work with transmasculine populations. "Whenever somebody transitions or they decide to adopt a certain type of gender representation," Wu explains, "it is in a sense like another puberty." Also this week, we meet Louisville Public Media's new executive editor, Stephen George. We chat about diversity in newsrooms and news coverage, and how it seems like we only see black neighborhoods on the news when it's about crime. "It often gives people a very wrong idea about what's happening in certain parts of this community," George says. In Juicy Fruit, we bring you the story of Jesse Jacobs, a 32-year-old gay man who died in police custody in Galveston, TX. Jacobs had been taking Xanax for over a decade to treat severe anxiety disorder. But after he turned himself in to serve a 30-day sentence for DUI, jail personnel would not give him access to his medication. He started having seizures (a known effect of sudden Xanax cessation) and died a few days later. Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochessett insists Jacobs died of "natural causes." And we take a look at The Advocate's list of 10 Tips on Growing Older for LBGTQ folks under 40. Some make perfect sense (build a support system and be part of a community), while others left us scratching our heads (don't drink, and prepare to die alone if you don't have kids?).

Last week in Cleveland, activists from across the country came together for the Movement for Black Lives Convening. Panels and breakout groups talked about police violence, LGBTQ inclusivity, self-care, labor organization, and all sorts of topics relevant to the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Dr. Britney Cooper was there, and two incidents stand out in her mind: First, conveners were at a nightclub when one of them - a trans man - was forcibly removed from the men's restroom. En masse, attendees exited the club in protest and solidarity. They stood outside the establishment chanting, singing freedom songs, and documenting the whole thing under #ShutItDown. Then, on the last day of the conference, they witnessed a 14-year-old black boy being arrested for intoxication. Activists surrounded the police cruiser in protest, and some were pepper sprayed by a Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority police officer. After negotiation between organizers and officers, the young man was released into his mother's custody instead of taken to jail. Dr. Cooper joins us this week to talk about her experiences at the convening, and what she sees as some of the next steps for those working to put an end to police violence and lack of accountability. We also talk about the indictment of University of Cincinnati Officer Ray Tensing, who is charged with murder for shooting Sam Dubose in the head during a routine traffic stop. Tensing had claimed he feared for his life after being dragged and nearly run over by Dubose's car; his body camera later proved his account to be untrue. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters called the shooting "the most asinine act I've ever seen a police office make," "totally unwarranted," and "an absolute tragedy." And we also talk about the latest casting news in the live television version of The Wiz: Queen Latifah will play the title character, with Mary J. Blige in the role of Evillene. And it's Jaison's birthday week! Doc sings the praises of those born under the Leo sign, and we raise the question of whether Vanity Smurf was a butch queen.

Doc, Jai, and guest Joe Dunman weigh in on the Nicki/Taylor twitter beef surrounding the VMA nominations... and the perpetual narrative of white woman victimhood. And Geena Davis. (Our full episode with Dunman is here: http://strangefruitpod.org/news-round-up-with-marriage-equality-attorney-joe-dunman/)

Remember that whole Supreme Court marriage equality thing a couple weeks ago? It was kind of a big deal? Well one of the attorneys, Joe Dunman, joins us this week for a news roundup, and to give us the latest information on two Kentucky county clerks who have refused to issue marriage licenses. Dunman, who is a civil rights attorney and co-host of the Parade of Horribles legal podcast, also weighs in on the death of Sandra Bland in police custody, and how police interactions are different for white people. We also talk about the case of local prosecutor Karl Price, who lost his job after making racist remarks in legal documents and in court. Price was given a chance to apologize, and issued a classic faux-pology—which was not good enough for his employer, Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell.

Many of Louisville's activist leaders got their start marching behind the same man: Reverend Louis Coleman. Now his life's work is being portrayed in a brand-new musical called "Buster," written by Larry Muhammad and directed by William P. Bradford II. They both stopped by the studio this week to talk about the project, which opens this Thursday and runs through July 26. In Juicy Fruit, we talk about the "Respond with Love" campaign, started by Muslim groups to raise money to rebuild Black Churches recently destroyed by fires in the South. The effort, spearheaded by the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative and the Arab American Association of New York, defies the widely-held idea of animosity between Muslims and Christians. We also talk about recent data showing that Latino/as now outnumber white people in California. And we almost can't believe it, but Raven-Symone did something good this week. She went head-to-head with Candace Cameron Bure when The View discussed the bakery in Oregon who refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. And we close out this week's show with Jai's own reflections on the legacy of Reverend Coleman. His first time getting a citation for protest was with Coleman, demonstrating against the lack of minority contractors building Slugger Field. But it was only a few years later Jai was writing a column for the Courier-Journal against Coleman. JCPS was considering adding anti-discrimination protections for LGBT employees, which Rev. Coleman publicly opposed, saying, "I just don't think policies should be put in place to protect habits or behaviors." Many of us know people like this: activists who are very dedicated to one social justice cause, but seem ignorant or just plain bigoted on another. No one knows how Rev. Coleman's views on queer issues may have evolved had he lived into our current era of wider LGBT-acceptance. So for gay black folks, his legacy is a complicated one.

Dr. Burt Ashe always saw himself as a sort of a renegade. Edgy. Bohemian. But no one else seemed to agree. "The way that I presented to the world was completely, just amazingly, conventional," he says. So he decided to change his look. "I thought maybe that me growing dreadlocks might be a kind of pathway to allow what was inside to be presented outside." In doing so, he learned about all the presumptions the world projects onto black people with 'locked hair. Jai had 'locks for 7 years, and like Ashe, he was often asked if he was Jamaican. His book, "Twisted: My Dreadlock Chronicles," explores the history of dreadlocks, and details his own relationship with the look. The natural hair movement continues to gain steam with black women, but what about men? Ashe says he got some interesting responses from them while working on the book. Like, "It's just hair man you're overthinking this," and, "Dude, your relationship with your hair is a little too...." "It's sort of a questioning of my masculinity because I decided to talk about my hair and to reveal the anxiety that comes along with 'locking ones hair." But he says there's a significance to black hair, regardless of gender—that we choose our hairstyles for a reason, whether or not we can put it into words. "I think it's time we start thinking out loud about the cultural realities and personal realities of what we do with our hair means." In our Juicy Fruit segment this week, we talk about #WhoIsBurningBlackChurches, and the history of domestic and racist terrorism in the United States. On this Independence Day weekend, we wondered whether the foundational ideals of our country—as a nation of immigrants, where freedom from persecution is possible—still hold true today. At the same time we're seeing a rise in racially-motivated violence, like the Charleston shooting and the burning of black churches, we're also seeing some striking acts of civil disobedience. Bree Newsome becmse a household name after removing the Confederate flag from South Carolina's statehouse. And someone in Boston painted "Black Lives Matter" and dumped red paint on a statue of Christopher Columbus. On a lighter note, we also recap what we loved about the BET Awards, and argue about which members of #TeamStrangeFruit cried last week in the County Clerk's office, and which simply had allergies.

Friday was a historic day for the USA, and we spent it experiencing and documenting some of the sights and sounds of all the Decision Day activities here in Louisville! On this week's show, we share those sounds with you. Full Story: http://strangefruitpod.org/marriage-equality-at-last-sights-sounds-from-decision-day/

As we celebrate Juneteenth this weekend, it's with the impossible-to-ignore knowledge of how much work the United States still has to do to achieve safety and true equality for all its citizens. We recorded this show before a white supremacist named Dylann Roof opened fire on a bible study group at historically black Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, SC. It was before mainstream media called him a lone wolf and assumed he was mentally ill. It was before Roof's roommate said he'd been planning the attack for six months, but no one tried to stop him. It was before Roof was taken into custody, alive and unharmed, at times not even wearing handcuffs. It was before a 5-year-old girl played dead to survive the massacre. It was before leaders publicly said we would probably never know the reason for the attack—despite the fact that Roof was very clear he had gone to the church "to kill black people." It was also before the president of Louisville's Fraternal Order of Police wrote a menacing letter to "sensationalists, liars and race-baiters," telling them (us, we guess?) to "Consider yourself on notice." We will come back to these topics next week, with as much clarity as we can achieve between now and then. On this week's show, we covered a story that seems downright frivolous by comparison, but still raises important questions about racism, identity, and taking up space: Rachel Dolezal. Dr. Yaba Blay, scholar, and author of "(1)ne Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race," joined us to try to make some sense of the story. Is there such a thing as transracial? And is it comparable to being transgender? "Trans people are trying to be honored in their truth, " Dr. Blay said. "They are coming out. And there are things that they have to risk in order to come out, and be taken for who they believe they are. Rachel Dolezal never came out. She got caught up. And if she didn't get caught up, she would continue this lie. Her identity is seated in deception. And I think a lot of people presume that trans lives are seated in deception, and that's why they're making that comparison." We also learned a little this week about queer people's place in the history of medical marijuana activism. The connection began when cannabis oil was found to have therapeutic benefits for patients with HIV. Whit Forrester is working on documenting that story in a project called "Affinity: The Rainbow Roots of Medical Cannabis." And it's not only Juneteenth, it's also the Kentuckiana Pride Festival this weekend. We've been long-time supporters of KPF, and because we love them so much, we'd like to see them do a little better in terms of diversity and inclusiveness for people of color and gender non-conforming folks. We talk about why and how. Fruitcakes, be as proud as you can this weekend, and celebrate Juneteenth, and if you need a break from the news, check out #BlackJoy on twitter. And check out this advice from friend to the show Ashlee Clark: "For my black folks: We can’t just survive. We must thrive in the face of domestic terrorism. We might be weary, but we are resilient, too. Centuries of struggle have taught us to keep pushing. We must succeed in spite of hate."

Happy Pride Month, Fruitcakes! This week we speak with mixed media artists Rahel and SCZ, who are part of a collective called Mother Tongue Techniques. Their group is in San Francisco this weekend presenting "Y’all Come Back: Stories of Queer Southern Migration." They talk about their work, and why it's important to lift up the stories of queer folks and people of color in the south. The actions of (former) Officer Eric Casebolt at a pool party in McKinney, Texas have raised conversations all over the country about who is presumed to be a criminal. Casebolt has since resigned, but questions remain about why the police were called in the first place, why he reacted the way he did to teenagers who weren't resisting, and the long legacy of segregation in swimming pools. Also this week, we talk about a new show Jaison loves called The Prancing Elites. The Oxygen Network's docu-series follows an African-American, gay and non-gender conforming dance team. They perform within the tradition of J-Setting - a style that originated at southern HBCUs in the 1970s. Oxygen's website says the Elites are "challenging societal norms while overcoming several obstacles with passion and humor on their journey to be their authentic selves." We also talk a bit about the troubled relationship of WNBA stars Brittney Griner and Glory Johnson. Griner announced she would file to annul their marriage just a day after Johnson announced they were expecting a baby. Their arrest for domestic violence shortly before their wedding raised questions about how violence is viewed within queer relationships. You count on Strange Fruit to bring you musings on politics, pop culture and black gay life. Every week we do our best to make you laugh, and make you think. Our show is a labor of love for Jai and Doc, so please consider becoming a supporter through our crowdfunding page on Patreon! You can make a monthly pledge (as little as a dollar a month) towards the work we do by visiting www.patreon.com/StrangeFruit Big thanks to Jessica Musselwhite and Erin Fitzgerald (host of Crescent Hill Radio's Keep Hearing Voices) for being our first official patrons! We'll see you on the airwaves next week, and at Louisville's Pride Parade on Friday, June 19th. Look for #TeamStrangeFruit in a red convertible, and be sure to wave and blow us a kiss!

A battle of the generations broke out when, on a recent episode, we talked about Janet Jackson's upcoming album and tour! Flyy Sexuality TV's Kendra Elise Anderson called the singer all washed up, scandalizing Jaison, and our other guest, actor Billy Flood. We thought we were going to have to get out the smelling salts. This funny segment didn't make the final cut of the show, but we couldn't resist sharing it as a slice of bonus fruit! What do you think, Fruitcakes? More info on the album & tour here: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/janet-jackson-promises-new-album-new-world-tour-in-2015-20150516 ______________________________________________ Support Strange Fruit: https://www.patreon.com/StrangeFruit