Lori Lightfoot Elected First Black Lesbian Mayor of Chicago

Lori Lightfoot is a 56-year-old former federal prosecutor and private attorney who just became the first Black lesbian to be elected mayor of Chicago. Lightfoot will become the highest ranking openly LGBT mayor in the country when she takes office and mayor of the largest city to be run by a Black woman, although not the only one. San Francisco (London Breed), Atlanta (Keisha Lance Bottoms), and Washington, D.C. (Muriel Bowser) are just a few.

Congratulations, Mayor Lightfoot!

2018 EMMYS: My Predictions in Major Categories

Here is my predictions post for the 2018 Primetime Emmy awards for excellence in television. Last year, I predicted that This is Us would win Best Drama Series and Veep would win Best Comedy series. I was wrong about Drama (The Handmaid's Tale won instead) and correct about Comedy (Veep won for the third year in a row). This year, as Issa Rae says, "I'm rooting for everybody Black!"

Outstanding Drama Series
The Americans
The Crown
Game of Thrones
The Handmaid’s Tale
Stranger Things
This Is Us
Westworld

I think Game of Thrones is the best thing on television (it is easily the most popular show in the world) but I think the fact that this was the final season for The Americans will convince Emmy winners to finally reward it, although that has not been a convincing argument for past heavy hitters like Mad Men and Breaking Bad.
WILL WIN: The Americans
SHOULD WIN: Game of Thrones

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Ed Harris, Westworld
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us
Jeffrey Wright, Westworld

Sterling Brown won this category last year and his work on the NBC powerhouse This Is Us has only grown more poignant, not less. But its his co-star (with whom he can never have any scenes with because they are in different time periods on the show) that is the heart of the show.
WILL WIN: Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
SHOULD WIN: Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Claire Foy, The Crown
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Keri Russell, The Americans
Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black

Last year Elizabeth Moss won this award and the year before that it was Tatiana Maslany. It's hard to root against Evan Rachel Wood's work as Dolores on Westworld but I thinkn Claire Foy is the main reason why The Crown works so well. I don't really understand all the love for Killing Eve. I think the show is deeply flawed but grudgingly agree that Sandra Oh is incredible on it. I've never seen a single episode of The Americans but I know LOTS of people love it, and this is Keri Russell's last shot.

WILL WIN: Sandra Oh, Killing Eve or Keri Russell, The Americans
SHOULD WIN: Claire Foy, The Crown

Outstanding Comedy Series
Atlanta
Barry
Black-ish
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Glow
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Silicon Valley

It's pretty amazing there's only one network show in the bunch (Black-ish) while Modern Family is absent after winning continuously for 4 years in a row. The absence of Veep means other shows have a chance to shine and the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel from Amazon Prime has the biggest buzz. But if Atlanta doesn't win we should riot! (Kidding, sorta.)

WILL WIN: Atlanta.
SHOULD WIN: Atlanta.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Donald Glover, Atlanta
Bill Hader, Barry
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
William H. Macy, Shameless
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm

Ted Danson is a revelation on The Good Place but Glover won this award last year and there's no good reason why he wouldn't win it again. Hader has a lot of buzz for HBO's Barry but does anyone watch that show?
WILL WIN: Donald Glover, Atlanta
SHOULD WIN: Ted Danson, The Good Place

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Pamelon Adlon, Better Things
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Allison Janney, Mom
Issa Rae, Insecure
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

Pretty sure Allison Janneyw on this award last year (didn't she win all the awards last year?) but it would be amazing if either Tracee Ellis Ross or Issa Rae could win this award becoming just the second Black woman to  do so almost 40 years after Isabel Sandford for Good Times.
WILL WIN: Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
SHOULD WIN: Issa Rae, Insecure or Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish

GRAPHIC: The racial/ethnic demographics of U.S. Top 10 metro areas

Information on race in America, especially in metropolitan areas in the United States. This is from a recent deep dive into race, politics and demographics by the Boston Globe's award-winning Spotlight team as the paper tried to examine why Boston is perceived as "more racist" than other big cities.

CELEBRITY FRIDAY: Kordale and Kaleb (2 Hot Gay Dads) Broke Up

In January I blogged about the heartwarming story of a Kodak commercial featuring a Black gay male couple and their three kids. The names of the guys in the couple are Kordale Anthony and Caleb Lewis and the two have nearly 200 000 followers on Instagram.

Of course, this being America, we now have news from People magazine that the couple has broken up.

It seems Anthony and Lewis made an effort to work out their issues but ultimately could not mend feelings of "disrespect."  

"Neither one of us were perfect in our relationship, but when you are blatantly disrespected by someone who is supposed to be working with you to make y'all better, going to counseling smiling and telling you how much everything is going to work out…it's over," Anthony writes.  

Anthony assures his kids Desmiray, Malia, and Kordale Jr. that he will still be there for them despite the breakup. 

I wish the best for Kordale and Caleb and hope that things work out for the best.

Hat/tip to Wonder Man

Nikon Features Black Gay Dads With Kids In Advertisement

One reason I know that LGBT people are winning the cultural war for social acceptance is the adoption by corporation of using LGBT images to sell their prodcts to LGBT (and non-LGBT) folks.

The latest case in point is the Nikon commercial featuring Kordale and Kaleb Lewis, two Black gay dads with three kids who live in Atlanta. They have their own Facebook group: KordalenKaleb.

The company is promoting the family as part of their "I Am Generation Image" campaign, with a whole website and video commercial.

That's today's good news for today!

Hat/tip to Joe Jervis

EYE CANDY: Jerome Walker (Again)

Jerome Walker has an amazing body, which has appeared as Eye Candy here once before (January 20, 2014). According to his Model Mayhem profile, Jerome is 42, 5'9", 168 pounds and lives in Atlanta.

Hmm, I think that seeing him in person would be a good reason to cross the Mason-Dixon line!

U.S. LGBT Black Population Estimated At Approximately 1 Million

Previously I had blogged about the Williams Institute report about the U.S. Latino LGBT population and today I want to discuss a similar report about the U.S. African-American LGBT Population. One of the main results is that 3.7% of African American adults identify as LGBT. This is slightly higher than the latest estimate that 3.4% of the overall American adult population is LGBT.

A summary of the other results of the report is:

The report finds overall higher unemployment rates (15 percent v. 12 percent) and lower proportions with a college degree (23 percent v. 26 percent) among LGBT African-Americans, when compared to their non-LGBT counterparts. However, these disadvantages are not present among African-Americans in same-sex couples. Twenty-five percent of African-Americans in same-sex couples have completed a college degree, compared to 22 percent of African-Americans in different-sex couples. In addition, 71 percent of African-Americans in same-sex couples are employed compared to 68 percent of their counterparts in different-sex couples. LGBT African-Americans are also less likely than their non-LGBT counterparts to have health insurance.

African-American same-sex couples raising children, report household median incomes $15,000 lower than comparable African-American different-sex couples ($47,300 vs. $63,020). Female African-American same-sex couples, which comprise 58 percent of all African-American same-sex couples, earn over $20,000 less than male African-American same-sex couples. LGBT African-American females and African-American females in same-sex couples are three times more likely to report military service than their non-LGBT counterparts.

Additionally, the Williams Institute analyzed Census Data and estimates that in Washington, D.C. nearly 10 percent of the Black population identifies as LGBT. No wonder they call the District "Chocolate City" eh?

ATLANTA 2013: Isner Beats Anderson To Win 7th ATP Title

6'10" American John Isner won his 7th career ATP tour title by defeating 6'8" South African Kevin Anderson in a wild 6-7(3) 7-6(2) 7-6(2) final of the BB&T Open in Atlanta, the first stop on the 2013 US Open Series. It was the tallest final in ATP history and the first final since Milos Raonic won the 2012 Chennai Open over Janko Tipsarevic that a title was decided by a match with no service breaks. The 3-set match lasted just 5 minutes shy of 3 hours.

Isner saved 11 break points and had 24 aces, compared to 21 aces (and only one break point on his serve) for Anderson. Two of the breakpoints that Isner saved were also match points at 5-6 in the 3rd set, and he also fought his way out of 0-40 in his first service game at 0-1 in the deciding set as well.

Isner improves to 7-7 in career finals (and a tour leading 26-7 for the year in tiebreaks) while Anderson falls to 2-4. The American will return to the Top 20 after today's win in Atlanta when the new rankings come out tomorrow. Isner had played tennis in college for the nearby University of Georgia Bulldogs and this was the third time in four years he was playing in the final of what he considers his hometown tournament (losing to fellow American Mardy Fish in 2011 and 2010). Isner's win puts him in the lead of the US Open Series on the men's side.

In other ATP news, Fabio Fognini's amazing win streak on clay came to an end at 13 when he lost in the finals of the Croatia Open in Umag to Tommy Robredo 6-0 6-3. It was the pulchritudinous Italian's 3rd consecutive final in as many weeks, but the Spanish veteran used his experience to win his 12th career title (11 of which have been on clay).

CDC Releases Latest AIDS/HIV Figures

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention released updated figures on HIV/AIDS incidence in the United States this week. The figures show that the annual rate of new infections is still approximately 50,000 per year, with the total number of people living with HIV in the United States approximately 1.2 million. The data are from 2010.

Hat/tip Joe.My.God

Queer Quote: Atlanta Mayor Supports Marriage

Kasim Reed, the Mayor of Atlanta, has finally agreed to publicly support marriage equality and sign a resolution passed 11-2 by the Atlanta City Council affirming support for equal marriage rights for same sex couples which last week.

Mayor Reed issued a press release, which included this quote:

“Today marks an important day as I announce my support for marriage equality. It is well known that I have gone through a good bit of reflection on this issue, but listening to the stories of so many people that I know and care about has strengthened my belief that marriage is a fundamental right for everyone. Loving couples, regardless of their sexual orientation, should have the right to marry whomever they want. By signing this resolution, I pledge my support to marriage equality for same-sex couples, consistent with equal protection under the law provided under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

Earlier this year, Mayor Reed had refused to endorse marriage equality, even after President Obama did so in May. Reed said:

“I respect President Obama’s decision to stand in support of marriage equality. I have fought hard for the rights of gays and lesbians my entire political career from protecting adoption rights for gay and lesbian families, to voting against Georgia’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage as a state senator, to serving as the state house sponsor for the only hate crimes bill ever passed in the state of Georgia.

“While I am still wrestling with my own personal beliefs on the issue of marriage, I deeply appreciate the contributions gays and lesbians make to our city every single day and I remain committed to Atlanta’s vibrant and diverse LGBT community.” 

A good day for Atlanta and openly gay city Councilman Alex Wan who sponsored the resolution.

Roddick Wins Atlanta; 23rd ATP Tour Title

Andy Roddick won his 32nd ATP tour title by defeating Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 1-6 7-6(2) 6-2. Roddick has won 11 of his 12 matches, and 2 of the last 3 tournaments he has played in, winning the Queen's Club title on grass the week before Wimbledon and now the Atlanta Open. These results may bode well for his next tournament, which is the London Olympics. There he will be playing doubles with John Isner, who he defeated in a very tough semifinal in Atlanta on Saturday night 6-4 6-7(5) 6-4.

Muller is the most accomplished player from his country and was playing in his 3rd career final (Roddick was playing in his 52nd) and although he led 6-1 he served very well (ended the match with more aces than Roddick) until things got tight in the second when Muller double faulted multiple times and his forehand went off and never returned before the match concluded with two breaks of his serve.

Celebrity Friday: Stephen Stafford is Young, Gifted & Black

Stephen R. Stafford, II is the name of the whiz kid who entered Morehouse college at the tender age of 13-year-old two years ago. He is also (quite) young, (very) gifted and Black!

Stephen is now 15 years old and a junior at Morehouse College in Atlanta studying mathematics (yeah!) and computer science, after he recently dropped his 3rd major of pre-med. Like most teens, he is active on Facebook.

From his frequent posts, he is clearly interested in the special needs of extremely gifted kids like himself.

The picture above was taken before his appearance on the Mo'Nique Show last year. Stephen spends a lot of his time (when not studying) doing outreach to kids in schools to demonstrate the importance of education.

Keep up the good work, Stephen!

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Black Atheist Public Awareness Campaign

This is great news! African Americans for Humanism has announced a new publicity campaign to raise awareness about the presence of religious skepticism in the Black community. It is not as rare as one might think, a point a recent New York Times article raised that I promoted here on Godless Wednesday a few months ago.

Friendly Atheist alerted me to the ads and supports the campaign, as do I. Apparently they will be running in various major metropolitan areas like Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Dallas. Each ad shows a prominent historical African American (it is Black History Month after all!) along with a local Black freethinker.

What do you think?

Eddie Long's Wife Reportedly Leaves Him

"Bishop" Eddie Long, the Atlanta-area pastor who settled a combined sexual misconduct civil lawsuit for a reported $15 million last month now appears to have trouble at home. Long's second wife, Vanessa Griffin Long, has now reportedly moved out of the couple's $1.5 million home.

Black Medias Scoop delivers the deets:

Let’s catch you up on the scoop! After being fired by Ford for financial irregularities, Eddie Long moved to Atlanta to study theology and became the pastor of a small Jonesboro, GA church. In 1987 he became the pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, which at the time had around 300 members. Under Long, membership grew to 25,000.


About a year ago, on September 21 and 22, 2010, Maurice Robinson, Anthony Flagg, and Jamal Parris filed separate lawsuits in DeKalb County Superior Court alleging that Long used his pastoral influence to coerce them into a sexual relationship with him.


On September 24, Spencer LeGrande, a member of a New Birth satellite church in Charlotte, North Carolina, filed a similar suit, making him the fourth man to file a lawsuit claiming sexual misconduct by Long. The plaintiffs state that Long placed the men on the church’s payroll, bought them cars and other gifts, and took them separately on trips to destinations such as Kenya, South Africa, Turks and Caicos Islands, Trinidad, Honduras, New Zealand, and New York City.


[...]


Church members quickly informed BMS of a $15 million dollar settlement mostly paid via church insurance. Long only offered a private apology to the young men despite what they really wanted, a public apology and money. Church members were upset and many are leaving the church they once called home.


[...]


Long married Vanessa Griffin in 1990. She worked on the Board of Directors for the Faith Academy. She also headed many ministries, mostly those dealing with women’s issues. They have 3 children together Edward, Jared, and Taylor.


BMS has also learned that she allegedly took one of the children with her to stay at an undisclosed family members home! Our source says Vanessa allegedly agreed to stick by Long until the sex scandal drama was over and then she’d leave. This is Long’s second go around at the chapel of love. He married Dabara S. Houston in 1981 and they have one son together Eric Long.

Wow! Truth can be stranger than fiction. This summary reads like a book by Eric Jerome Dickey or E. Lynn Harris. HOT MESS!

Eddie Long Settles 4 Sexual Misconduct Cases

Things that make you go hmmmmm. Eddie Long, an Atlanta-area evangelical preacher who was accused of sexual misconduct with four young Black men involved in his church's youth ministry, has decided to settle the lawsuits for an undisclosed sum and guaranteed secrecy.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

Attorneys involved in the four lawsuits against Long, the LongFellows Youth Academy and the 25,000-member Lithonia megachurch said the case had been settled but declined to comment further. The case is expected to be dismissed "with prejudice" -- meaning the defendant cannot be sued by the plaintiffs again in the same alleged offense -- by close of business Friday, said Barbara Marschalk, who represents New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and LongFellows Youth Academy.

B.J. Bernstein, who represents the four men who sued Long, New Birth and the academy, also confirmed the lawsuits had been settled. The academy was named in three of the suits.

Long, pastor of the Lithonia megachurch, which has an international following, had denied the men's allegations through a spokesman shortly after they first became public in September and told his congregation he planned to "vigorously" fight them.

The accusations made against Long by Anthony Flagg, Spencer LeGrande, Jamal Parris and Maurice Robinson alleged that the bishop used his influence, trips, gifts and jobs to coerce them into sexual relations.

Of course, does the fact that the terms of the agreement were undisclosed and the parties are not able to discuss the amount of money involved change how Long is viewed by his parishioners? These people believe  an old white guy in the sky watches over every word, thought and deed so reality-based they are not:

Kamelya Hinson, a Web content editor who lives in Decatur, said the settlement has not shaken her faith.

"It doesn't make me think he's guilty or anything," she said. "I decided when this came out that I loved my pastor unconditionally. Even if he came out and grabbed the mic and said ‘I'm guilty,' it wouldn't change the way I feel about him. I wouldn't be angry like a lot of people are. You can't walk away after 15 years of being a member of a church."

Hinson said it doesn't bother her that she may never know whether the allegations are true. "He's done 1,000 good things," she said, "and he may or may not have done four really bad things."

A fool and his money are soon parted.

Hat/tip to Rod 2.0

Celebrity Friday: Kasim Reed

Kasim Reed is the pro-gay Mayor of Atlanta who was elected in a startlingly close election last year.

Atlanta has been in the news recently for an anti-gay police raid that happened in summer 2009 and for which a federal judge has entered a $1 million judgment against the City. Watch video of Mayor Reed apologizing to the LGBT community for the police misconduct:




Hat/tip to Rod 2.0!

Eddie Long Says He Will Fight Charges

Eddie Long, the Atlanta-area Black minister who is the target of four lawsuits claiming "coercive sexual activities" between Long and four teenaged Black men, has announced that he will fight the charges. The story is on the front page of today's New York Times.

Writer and Black gay AIDS activist Craig Washington has penned a brilliant "A Sermon for Bishop Eddie Long" which ends with this crescendo:

Whether or not Long actually committed the acts of which he was recently accused, this much is true: He is assuredly guilty of engendering fear and hatred of LGBT people among thousands. He has convinced countless numbers of gays that they are sinners whose salvation rests on becoming "reconditioned" into heterosexuality. Such toxic teachings reinforce the stigma that compromises HIV-prevention efforts as well as our mental and physical health.

One who cannot face aspects of himself that he despises will train that animus on another whom he regards as his opposite. Did he sell out countless individuals in order to throw congregants off the scent of his own hunt, the exploitation of young men? Was there a point when, at first, a few and then many knew what was happening and said nothing? How long will we enable the abuse perpetrated in word and deed by our pastors? When will we dare to speak the ugly, inconvenient truth even when we are afraid?

This story of this sullied bishop serves overdue notice to Christians across the nation who have bought and sold snake oil presented as holy water. It is a foreclosure warning to every black male pastor who deems the church his castle, and the women, gays and young who build it as no more than chattel to serve his appetites. It is a subpoena, a calling to account for all black men who endorse patriarchy as the most legitimate form of power in our communities. It is a stained diary page brought to light. It is truth. Amen. 

Pow!

UPDATED 10:55AM PDT 09/26/2010:
Via Rod 2.0 comes this brief statement from Eddie Long to the press:

"On the advice of counsel, I am not going to address the allegations and attacks against me, again as I stated earlier, I want this to be dealt with in a court of justice and not in the court of public opinion."

13-Year-Old Morehouse Whiz Kid!

.Thanks to Jack and Jill Politics, I found out about this heart-warming story about a 13-year-old Black male college student:

At thirteen years of age, Stephen Stafford is causing quite a stir at Morehouse College. Stafford has a triple major in pre-med, math and computer science. Though he loves playing video games and playing his drum set, he is no typical teenager.

"I've never taught a student as young as Stephen, and it's been amazing," said computer science professor Sonya Dennis. "He's motivating other students to do better and makes them want to step up their game."

Stafford began his college career at the age of 11, after being home-schooled by his mother. Stafford's mother said that when Stafford began to teach her instead of being taught by her, she knew he needed to be in a college environment.

Isn't that a great story? In a perfect world, Stephen Stafford's name would be more well-known than Chris Brown. I'm jus' sayin'!

Kasim Reed Wins Atlanta Mayors's Race by 714 Votes

Tami Chappell/Reuters

The Atlanta Mayor's race has finally been decided after a recount and Kasim Reed, 40, has defeated Mary Norwood by 714 votes (42,549 to 41,835) out of over 84,000 votes cast.

MadProfessah was following the race because it featured a hard-fought tussle over the votes of LGBT voters, and on Tuesday December 1st Atlanta made history electing the first openly gay people of color to the City Council and the State Legislature.

714 votes! Let's hope that Annise Parker wins her race to become the first lesbian chief executive of a major American city (Houston, the 4th largest in the Country!) on Saturday December 12th. This race also pits the LGBT community "against" the Black community, since Parker's opponent is African-American.

Openly Gay ( and POC!) Candidates Win in Atlanta

Simone Bell	Alex Wan

Simone Bell and Alex Wan made history on Tuesday night by winning election to the Georgia House of Representatives and Atlanta City Council, respectively, as openly LGBT people of color.

Bell became the first African American lesbian ever elected to a state legislative position in this country be winning 53% of the votes in her runoff race for the 58th District race while Wan won 60% of the vote in the 6th City Council district, becoming the first openly gay man (and Asian-American) to the Atlanta City Council.

Both candidates were supported by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, whose Gay and Lesbian Leadership institute is hosting the 25th Annual International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference in San Francisco this weekend. Last year MadProfessah attended the conference as part of the LGBT Bloggers Initiative, but I am unable to make it this year due to a conflict with a board retreat and work commitments.

The Atlanta Mayoral race I blogged about earlier today is currently too close to call, but Kasim Reed is nursing a slim lead of about 800 votes out of more than 80,000 cast.