by Joey Pressley
The recent
resignation of Tokes Osubu from New York City’s Gay Men of African Descent
(GMAD) has prompted me to think very seriously about the future of the Black
gay/same gender loving (SGL) community and the vision needed to confront and
address our needs as we work to move forward. It has also generated my interest
in becoming GMAD’s next executive director. A position for which I would
consider applying the moment the organization’s Board of Directors elects to
initiate its search process.
I’ve read
that GMAD founder, the Reverend Charles Angel, was a tireless, outspoken and
fearless activist who stood in the forefront of several organizing efforts in
the New York City gay and people with AIDS communities including, the National
Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays, ACT-UP, and the People with AIDS
Coalition. In those Silence = Death days, he understood the vital importance of
advocacy, a clear vision and establishing a set of goals for addressing a
community’s broader needs. It was a holistic approach to activism rooted in a
proud African heritage, progressive Christian teachings and his belief in
psycho-spiritual growth. It was from this set of beliefs that GMAD grew, and
continued to grow even after Charles Angel’s untimely death from AIDS
complications in 1987, three years before I discovered GMAD via its Friday
night forums. These forums often brought a hundred or more Black gay men to The
Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center in Greenwich Village.
Organizations
such as GMAD, many of which are more than two decades old, were founded as
psycho-social-political entities designed to celebrate and empower Black
gay/SGL men. GMAD employed its holistic approach to create a much needed safe
space for its constituents to look at the intersecting issues in our lives. In
the 1990s, these well-intentioned organizations sought funding to combat
HIV/AIDS. This shift transformed them into AIDS service organizations that, by
necessity, narrowed their scope and vision. As the unpaid director of GMAD in
1991, I was involved in securing one of the first grants for the organization
thinking that it would create a pathway to growth and facilitate a greater
response to the devastation levied by AIDS on our community.
Given this
ongoing devastation, it stands to reason that our organizations must maintain a
powerful response to the epidemic; however, being pigeonholed as only an AIDS
service organization restricts the ability of Black gay/SGL institutions to
effectively speak for and to the myriad needs of their constituents. Black
gay/SGL men are as concerned about employment as they are about HIV prevention
and treatment. We are concerned about the impacts of climate change and hate
crimes, a woman’s right to choose as well as marriage equality and our presence
in the military. Black gay/SGL men are equally concerned and impacted by lack
of access to healthcare, education, housing, criminal justice issues and income
inequality. Working with faith-based institutions, combating stigma, homophobia
and addressing the social, economic and behavioral cofactors related to the
rise in HIV/AIDS infections will be ongoing work for GMAD. At the same time, I
see GMAD standing shoulder to shoulder with other progressive organizations
working in coalition to promote a fairer, more just society and world.
Our
organizations need new funding streams that will enable us to become active
participants and thought leaders in these arenas. As an expert in community
organizing and policy analysis, with years of experience in organizational
management and fund raising, I would seek to diversify GMAD’s revenue supports
so that its efforts would reflect the broader needs of its constituents. An
initial first step moving forward is for GMAD to engage in a strategic planning
exercise designed to assess strengths and weaknesses and to redefine its vision
and related mission. Stakeholders engaged in this process would include past
and current staff and funders, policymakers, community leaders and of course a
diverse representation of New York’s Black gay/SGL men. The organization would
work directly with Black gay/SGL men via ongoing participatory engagement to
develop agendas and strategic plans reflective of the community’s priorities
and work with legislators and public officials to shape policy and legislation
responsive to identified needs.
I recognize
that this vision is broad and ambitious, but it is also one of more personal
concerns. I think about my 9 year old nephew. What if he shared with my husband
and me that he is gay? What world would he face? Simply put, I would want our
society to embrace and support him. I would look to GMAD, and organizations
like it, to stand without equivocation or shame in demanding that all of us,
including my dear nephew, have the equal and unmitigated opportunity to
celebrate our lives, and have the space to act as partners in bringing about
transformative social, economic and political change.
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