Strange Fruit

On this week's show, we talked to journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas about his latest film, Documented, his organization, Define American, and his experience as an undocumented person living in the United States. Vargas described how his intersecting identities have required him to come out of two closets - one of which was easier than the other: "For me, being vocal and open about being gay, knowing where I grew up in California, was much easier than outing myself as undocumented." We also explored the idea that our equality is tied to everyone else's equality - and that we have a long way to go. " This country invented white like it invented black. And now you have all these Latinos and Asian people - everybody's just confused," he explained. "I actually think that's why we're at this very seminal moment in american history. People like to think that we live in some kind of post racial colorblind Obama era thing. And you and I both know that that doesn't exist." In our Juicy Fruit segment, we talked about UMass basketball star Derrick Gordon'srelationship with CSI actor Gerald McCullouch. Gordon is 22, McCullouch is 47, and while we don't know anything about this particular relationship, Jaison points out that it's part of a larger phenomenon of middle aged white men who only date very young black or Latino men. We discussed how in some cases this attraction is based on fetishization, and can even be predatory. And we announced an event we're looking forward to: On Thursday, May 29th, we'll host a screening of The New Black, a film by Yoruba Richen that chronicles the efforts of black LGBT activists to pass marriage equality legislation in Maryland. Our own Jaison Gardner and Dr. Kaila Story will hold a discussion and Q&A after the film. Click here for details and here to reserve your free ticket.

Donald Sterling's racism and punishment were all anyone was talking about last week - so we did too! And to supplement our, shall we say, spotty familiarity with athletic endeavors, we enlisted the help of friend-to-the-show Brian Lee West. Brian has spoken to us before about his theater work, but this time he joined us in his capacity as our favorite basketball superfan. In case you were under a rock (or completely overwhelmed by a little horse race), here's what happened: Donald Sterling, owner of the L.A. Clippers, was recorded telling his girlfriend, V. Stiviano, not to post pictures of herself with black people on social media, and not to bring black people to his games. Not only is this obviously racist, it's also pretty irrational; Donald Sterling's girlfriend is half African American, half Latina, and the overwhelming majority of NBA players are black. Including all but two of the players on his own team's roster. And their coach. Stiviano's Instagram photo of herself with Magic Johnson at a Clippers game seemed to be the inciting incident for it all. Magic shot back on twitter that he would never attend another Clippers game as long as Sterling owns the team. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Donald Sterling from the association for life. The other team owners will vote on whether to force him to sell the team. Brian helped us analyse the situation, including Sterling's long history of racism, the LA branch of the NAACP giving him awards, and what the deal is with racist people who date and sleep with people of color. "Sterling has that plantation owner's mentality where you can enjoy the fruits of your 'property' - what the plantation owner considers his property," Brian said. "But the plantation owner doesn't want to get too comfy. Doesn't want to get too close to the 'property.'" He also wondered whether Sterling's wealth has lead him to be out of touch with mainstream society. "He lives a sheltered life," Brian explained. "He doesn't see what happens in the rest of America. So he's probably really out of touch and thinks that his views are still germane to what is happening in America today. " (While he was with us, Brian also told us about the newest exhibit at the Frazier History Museum, Gridiron Glory. It features a Lombardi Trophy, which we understand is an important prize given to the winners of a sports contest. It also features Brian doing historical interpretation as football star Woody Strode, pictured.) We congratulated George Clooney on his engagement to such an accomplished woman, and we spoke about the HRC's intention to focus on the South - a move that has many southern activists scratching their heads. And of course, we had to acknowledge adult website pornhub for doing their part for the environment; as part of an Arbor Day promotion (SFW link), they planted a tree for every 100 videos watched during the week. As Dr. Story said, "I feel like I've created a garden of Eden."

This Summer during New York's Pride celebration, violinist and opera singer Tona Brown will become the first trans woman of color ever to perform at Carnegie Hall - headlining the first LGBTQ-themed production ever to be staged there. We were lucky enough to speak with Tona this week about the music she will play there, and the importance of transgender people in LGTBTQ history. NYC Pride 2014 will focus on commemorating the Stonewall Riots, which were lead by trans women of color. Tona says she's been able to reach the level she has in her career because she took a non-traditional path. "Everything that I do is as an independent, freelance artist," she explains, which means she produces her own events and released her album, This Is Who I Am, independently. "Now if I had tried to do it the traditional way, of going to The Met competitions and doing all of that sort of thing, and meeting a conductor that can say yea or nay to me being hired," she says, "I would have had a different experience." She encourages other aspiring artists to hone their craft and be persistent, even if discrimination slows their progress. "If you have a talent and you have a drive to not let people tell you what you can and cannot do, you will succeed. It will just take you longer." With the help of GLAAD, she's raising funds to support the production. We'll be keeping up with her on Facebook and Twitter and will keep you posted on her progress (and let you know when tickets go on sale, for those who can make the trip!). We absolutely adore Tona and can't wait to see what she might accomplish next! Since we'reLove And Hip Hop Atlanta fans, we had to talk about Mimi and Nikko's sex tape this week in our Juicy Fruit segment. Whether you think so-called "leaked" sex tapes are publicity stunts or the real deal, they share a troubling common denominator: "The thing that kills me about all of these sex tapes that come out, like Kim Kardashian and now Mimi," Kaila says, "is that in all of these straight copulation videos, there's no condom! I mean, in 2014, it's really not time for you straight women to keep sleeping with men raw. Just an FYI, that's not a good look." And as Jaison adds, "Pregnancy's the least of your concerns." Indeed, women now account for 1 in 5 of new HIV infections - with African-American women particularly at risk - mostly from heterosexual sex. So why do we only see free condom distribution and mobile STD testing trucks outside gay bars? What would happen if straight people were encouraged to keep track of their status as conscientiously as gay folks are expected to? Would we see a celebrity safe-sex tape one day? Also in Juicy Fruit, we touched on the always-controversial subject of corporal punishment for children, inspired by a Louisville mom who is accused of punching her teenage son in the mouth, busting his lip and loosening one of his teeth. And we had to toot our own horn a bit, because Jaison Gardner recently appeared before a committee of the Louisville Metro Council to talk about the challenges faced by tipped workers who make a $2.13/hour minimum wage. Check out his remarks and let us know what you th

For most of us, Michael Jackson's death is one of those where-were-you moments. "When I found out MJ died, Jai was with me in the car, and I pulled the car over at a gas station and I started bawling, crying. And he thought my dad had died," Dr. Story says. "Michael Jackson was very symbolic to me of my childhood - listening to his music with my dad when I was a little girl, and I just didn't expect him to die like that." When we heard Cirque du Soleil had put together a stage production based on the King of Pop's music and dance, we wanted to find out more. So this week we spoke to Laura Silverman who does publicity for the group about how the show came together, and the challenges of bringing such a legendary life to the stage. In our Juicy Fruit segment this week, we welcomed Derrick Gordon to the fun side of the closet; the University of Massachusetts shooting guard is now the first openly-gay male athlete to play NCAA Division I basketball. (In related news, this week's show serves as a Dear John letter from Jaison to his former boyfriend, Michael Sam.) Dr. Story also stanned for Beyoncé's interview and photos in Out Magazine, and we shouted out Tona Brown, a trans woman who will become the first African-American violinist to ever perform at Carnegie Hall! We also covered The Tenth, a bi-annual zine documenting "the history, culture, ideas and aesthetics of the black, gay community," and Reverend Al's assertion that he's not a rat, after documents emerged suggesting he informed the FBI about mafia activities in the 1980s.

This week we spoke with local hip hop artist Jalin Roze, who was recently announced as part of the lineup for this year's Forecastle Festival. We talked to Jalin about hip hop's place in young people's lives, its importance as a genre, and how he became an artist himself. He also brought us a tune called "That's It," which we played a sample of in the studio, leading to a conversation about what the n word means in the context of hip hop culture. "At least when I personally use it - I don't use it to kind of glorify that word, I'm just using it to paint the picture. For instance in the song, when I was like, 'Where I'm from niggas slump from the pump all because a young nigga wanna beef.' And I was using those two words to symbolize the fact that there are a lot of killing, a lot of violence going on, for no reason really, because some people just like beef. Some people just like drama." Jalin also sat in on our Juicy Fruit segment this week, where we started out with a discussion of a new song and video by gay rapper Fly Young Red. The song is called "Throw That Boy P****" (note: we say the full title on the show) and it's been making the rounds online this week for its controversial portrayal of the feminine-performing gay men who dance in the video. Earlier this week, friends-to-the-show Darnell Moore and Wade Davis hosted a great discussion on their Tongues Untied blog about whether the video is revolutionary or, as Darnell said, "misogyny and sexism in queer drag." Jaison had concerns with what impression the video gives of LGBTQ people of color. "I don't like the fact that there are some straight people who know nothing about black gay men, who are gonna see this video and think that everybody's talking about boy p****," he said. "The first thing you're exposed to about black gay culture is gonna be this video? It's very reductive to me. Versus Big Freedia who's making good music about everything, that everybody can dance to, and happens to be gay. " We also spoke briefly about Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta's Benzino having been shot by a nephew during his mother's funeral. And Jaison was interviewed for an article in Next Magazine called Getting Off Scot-Free, which looked at free versus paid online porn, whether or not people are willing to pay for porn, and how piracy affects the adult industry. Our thanks to Jalin Roze for stopping by the Strange Fruit Studios and sticking around to weigh in on Juicy Fruit. His latest release, Grand National Dreams is now available, and you can also keep up with him on twitter, at @JalinRoze. We can't wait to see him at Forecastle!

Out of town Fruitcakes may not have heard, but a large group of teenagers committed multiple assaults and robberies on March 22nd in downtown Louisville. Racist commentary followed; the teenagers were black and, though their victims included both white and black folks, many in the community framed the incident as black on white crime. The WFPL newsroom has been following the story, and our News Director Gabe Bullard joined us for part of our Juicy Fruit segment this week to talk about the incident and how the community and media responded. "We are attracted to a person, to a soul, and not necessarily whatever their reproductive organs are." That's how our guest this week, Djuan Trent, explains her choice to identify as queer. The former Miss Kentucky made headlines this month when she came out on her blog; interviews and profile pieces followed. Originally from Georgia, she went to Berea College and now calls Kentucky home. After being crowned Miss Kentucky in 2010, she went on to place among the top ten semifinalists in the Miss America Pageant. She's now a blogger and motivation speaker (we're guessing her bookings will increase now!) We spoke with Djuan this week about her career in pageants, why she felt it was important to be an out and proud black woman, and how sexual orientation can evolve over time. "I understand and I believe very much in the fluidity of sexuality," she explained. "I've seen girls who were full-flown lesbians, running around campus with the rainbow flag all day, every day when I was in college, and two years later they're on facebook like, 'He proposed and I said yes!'" We talked about a recent incident involving friend-to-the-show Dr. Mireille Miller-Young, who removed a sign from an anti-choice display/demonstration on the UCSB campus where she teaches. Protesters then followed her across campus, harassed her, and filmed her without her consent. (Dr. Miller-Young joined us on an earlier episode of Strange Fruit to share her research on considering porn through a black, queer, feminist lens. Also on Juicy Fruit, a thumbs up to Logo & Avenue Q's new HIV awareness campaign and a recap of RuPaul's Drag Race so blunt it prompted Jaison to say, "I probably am for the first time ever on this show speechless, that you just really read that child like that."

Chuck MF Deuce is a fixture on our Louisville hip hop scene, writing, performing and producing with Skyscraper Stereo. But he recently turned his attention to filmmaking, and his first full-length movie, Good Luck With That, premiered last Sunday night at Baxter Avenue Theater. He joined us this week to talk about the film and to join us for Juicy Fruit. We talked about Britney Cosby and Crystal Jackson, the black lesbian couple who were murdered in Texas. When we recorded this, police were still looking for clues. Since then, we've learned the shocking news that Britney Cosby's own father is suspected of killing the two women because he didn't like that they were gay. Also in Juicy Fruit, the Malaysian flight disappearance happened while Dr. Story was on a trip, triggering her flight anxiety. And a new documentary called Whitelandia explores the racist origins of Oregon, and gentrification in Portland, which is the whitest major city in the USA, and getting whiter.Then we dove into a topic we've covered before, but could talk about for hours: Chuck brought us an article by Ebrahim Aseem, in which he saysblack men view white women as more desirable than black women—an assertion we mostly disagreed with and don't see much of in our generation and younger (although Dr. Story says she sees it plenty). We also discussed some obstacles to young black folks trying to meet each other in Louisville specifically.

To say Aisha and Danielle Moodie-Mills are busy would be like Jaison calling Michael Sams okay-looking. They're the founders of a a policy initiative called Fighting Injustice to Reach Equality (FIRE), have been named a "power couple to watch" by Black Enterprise and Politico, and were the first lesbian wedding ever profiled by Essence. Lucky for us all, they didn't stop there: They also host a talk show called Politini, which was recently picked up by theGriot. They joined us this week to tell us more about this latest venture, their background, and how they became such visible, powerful advocates. In our Juicy Fruit segment, we covered Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's veto of a bill that would've allowed businesses to refuse service to LGBTQ citizens, and former Miss Kentucky Djuan Trent's inspiring blog post in which she came out as queer. Trent said coming out publicly was necessary for her because it's not an identity people can see when meeting her: "I would find it rather odd if a man walked up to me and expected me to agree that I should be paid less than my male counterparts. I would be baffled if a white person walked up to me and expected me to agree to use a different water fountain than my white counterparts. I would be baffled with these approaches because it should be seemingly easy for one to look at me and see that I am woman, just as it is also pretty obvious that I am black. But sometimes, I forget to put the "QUEER" stamp on my forehead on my way out the door in the mornings. So, on the mornings that I forget my stamp, I have realized that there is really no way for people to know that I disagree with their views or, even moreso, to know that they are talking about me, unless I actually open my mouth and say it." And Jai also filled us in on a story that left us momentarily speechless: A pastor in Kenya is asking (female) members of his congregation to forgo wearing underwear while attending services, in order to be closer to God.

LGBTQ and feminist activist Urvashi Vaid will deliver the Minx Auerbach Lecture Tuesday night at the University of Louisville. She joined us this week to share a little about her speech, called “Winning the Future: A Critical Look at the LGBT Movement," and to answer our questions about her work, and the future of social justice activism. The Minx Auerbach Lecture takes place tonight at 5pm in Comstock Hall, at 105 W. Brandeis Ave., and is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jan Rayburn at (502) 852-8160. In our Juicy Fruit segment this week, we talk about Spike Lee's recent announcement that he's making a sequel to School Daze, Arizona's controversial so-called "religious freedom" bill (which has been vetoed since we recorded this episode), and marriage equality making its way to Texas. We also shouted out Aisha and Danielle Moodie-Mills, who are hosting a new video series calledPolitini on the Griot. Aisha and Danielle are a married couple who describe themselves as polinistas: "A fashionably political woman who is unapologetic about her femininity and brilliance." We couldn't agree more, and we're so excited they'll be our guests next week on Strange Fruit. See you then!

This week on Strange Fruit, we're joined in the studio by Dan Canon and Laura Landenwich, two of the attorneys who litigated Kentucky's recent marriage equality case. They gave us some background on the case and told us more about the addition of unmarried plaintiffs (including friend-to-the-show Bojangles Blanchard and his husband) and what might happen next. We appreciate them, not only for the work they do, but for explaining some of the legal intricacies in language we didn't have to go to law school to follow along with. In our Juicy Fruit segment, we discuss the recent controversy over Nicki Minaj using a photo of Malcolm X on her new single cover, and how it harkens back to her mentor, Lil Wayne, using imagery of Emmett Till in his lyrics. The trial of Michael Dunn for the death of teenager Jordan Davis was also on our minds this week. Dunn opened fire on the SUV Davis was in, after asking them to turn their music down. He later claimed Davis had a shotgun, though no weapon was ever found. Last week a jury found him guilty of attempted murder of the other three people in the car, but they were unable to reach a verdict in the murder charge for the death of Davis. As friend-to-the-show Dr. Brittney Cooper wrote, "This is not just about Dunn getting jail time. This is about whether our legal system is capable of defending black life against irrational forms of white fear." We also wish a happy birthday to Audre Lorde, and chat about an online article that supposedly instructs us on the proper way to perform certain bodily functions. Only on Strange Fruit, folks.