A New Beginning
By Keith Boykin, in pop culture
Thursday, June 3 2004, 11:48AM
Tuesday night I took a 1-day trip to Fire Island. It marked the end of May, the start of summer, and the beginning of an exciting year ahead. This has been the busiest year I've had in a long time, and it's only going to get busier in the months ahead.
This website has changed a bit over the past few months as I've adjusted to the changes in my life, schedule and workload. Since you, the readers of the site, have been following the developments for so long, I felt you deserved an explanation about what's going on.
As many of you know, I recently signed an agreement to write a new book. It's my third book, but the first I've written in 5 years. I promised the publisher to finish the book by the end of the summer.
I've also been busy serving as the president of the board of the National Black Justice Coalition. When the organization launched last December, it was a lot easier to keep up with the developments in the marriage debate. I had plenty of time to devote to the task and the media were just starting to pay attention to the issue.
Everything changed dramatically in February when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome began issuing marriage licenses in his city. That sparked an unprecedented movement of civil disobedience from New Paltz to Austin as state and local officials began seeking out ways to push for marriage equality in their own communities.
In response, the right-wing quickly hired black ministers to argue that the freedom to marry is not a civil rights issue. That whole ridiculous debate kept us quite busy at the Coalition from February onward.
Meanwhile, I had to keep up with several deadlines for my syndicated column and for articles I had promised to write for CrisisMagazine, the Village Voiceand Black Issues Book Review. During this time, a close family member has been in the hospital, and I have been on an intense speaking schedule that kept me flying across the country almost every week in February, March, April and May.
Now that the lecture season is over, the summer I had planned to spend enjoying life has become a summer of work instead. I've come to the conclusion that I cannot continue to do all the things I've been doing and expect to do any of them well. So I'm making a few changes in my life.
First, I will no longer be available to write on this site regularly during the summer, and I will only write whenever I have time. That may be once a week, once a month, or some frequency in between.
Second, I will not be able to read any manuscripts, books, articles or other material that you send me this summer unless it's related to the topic of my book. Similarly, I will not be responding to all my email anymore either. I have just hired an executive assistant, who will now be responsible for managing the hundreds of emails I get each day.
Third, my web designer has agreed to guest host the site during the summer. He will help to find new voices for guest columns and writings to provoke discussion. This is one of the most vibrant communities on the Internet, and I love being a part of it. Knowing the readers of the site, I'm confident that energy will continue throughout the summer.
But everything must change. And now I want to thank all of you who have helped and supported me along this wonderful journey. I hope to be writing on the site every now and then during the summer, and then I hope to be back in full force in the fall.
Thanks again for making this a wonderful experience, and thanks for your support.
Comments conceal
John G.
June 3 2004, 12:41PM
I've been waiting for a website about the opinions and musings of other black GLBT folk. This could be it. I can’t wait to see what this turns into.
--John
Barry
June 3 2004, 12:43PM
Keith,
I enjoy your website tremendously and I enjoy your articles even better. One of the few constants in life is change. The black GLBT community owes you a debt of gratitude for all you do. So, have a great summer and take a break for YOU every once and a while. I look forward to reading your book next February. Take care!
Troy
June 3 2004, 1:34PM
the best and only thing on the internet worth going for is keithboykin.com and if I knew how to reach you this past weekend I would've treated you and yours to Ben & Jerrys in Adams Morgan (one of the best kept secrets) all around!
you rock!
Laura
June 3 2004, 4:45PM
Best wishes, Keith. Can't wait for the book (and hopefully a book tour to the west coast!)
eliott morst
June 3 2004, 5:02PM
i have enjoyed you site
thank you for being you
Nuit-Noire
June 3 2004, 6:34PM
Keith,
Your website is great, and I was really glad to meet you in person @ the Convention Centre in D.C, I had a good time at the Warrior party ,I think the club decor was great, the dancers were fine..Too bad there wasn't enough people to enjoy that. I'm waiting forward to reading your book. Keep up the great job
Etienne.
jaymillionaire
June 3 2004, 8:24PM
Keith,
When are you getting married?
Regan DuCasse
June 3 2004, 9:02PM
I was THAT close to meeting you in LA brother!
You were right, I checked out Kola's book on Amazon. The cover photo is gorgeous, but I blew my book budget for the month already.
I'm writing myself and shopping lit agents to help me negotiate the royalties for this play.
I wish I was in NYC to check out the theater there. A couple of local guys opened a musical there "bare" that I saw about three times here in LA.
I really badly wish I could see "Caroline, Or Change" if you check it out, Keith-please give us a review.
Although "Raisin in the Sun" is my forever favorite, I don't think I'd see the revival.
I got my tkts for OutFest and I have Noah's Arc in the line up.
If my own play gets to NYC, I will be looking you up!
Aje
June 3 2004, 9:09PM
Keith,
Congratulation to you and NBJC on the award Proclamation from C. Virgina Field, Manhattan Borough President, on Thursday, 3rd June, 2004. I, for one, look forward to contributing my time and effort to the mission of NBJC.
Aje
Troy
June 4 2004, 8:54AM
a spokenword piece for Keith and his new journey, may he never forget us and be even more powerful and loving as he ever was, here now a work by Mowlana Jalaluddin Rumi
I died from minerality and became vegetable;
And From vegetativeness I died and became animal.
I died from animality and became man.
Then why fear disappearance through death?
Next time I shall die
Bringing forth wings and feathers like angels;
After that, soaring higher than angels -
What you cannot imagine,
I shall be that.
cheers to new beginnings!
Christian Grantham
June 4 2004, 8:45PM
Keith, good luck with the book! I would encourage you and your publisher to view this site as a promotional outlet and keep the blog going... if anything as a means of dropping articles or related subject material that keeps a dialouge going on the subjects you hope people will want to read in your book. Keep up the great work!
ronn
June 4 2004, 11:05PM
Keith, good luck with the book and congrats on remembering the big stuff of life: Love yourself first and foremost. You already said it, you can't do anything well if you try too many things at once.
Looking forward to the summer changes and eagerly awaiting your book and full return.
All the best!
Kim Pearson
June 5 2004, 12:47PM
Bonne chance, Keith. Many of us will, as the Quakers say, hold you in the Light.
JP
June 7 2004, 2:45PM
Keith:
I wish you all the best my friend. Glad to hear you are sorting things out and cutting back here and there for do you seem to have been spreading yourself a bit thin of late. I hope you will keep this BLOG going for, even when you are too busy to join in the conversations you stir, you make a significant contribution towards getting people to talk to each other and the conversations demonstrate that there is more about us all that is the same than is different.
In seeking find new voices for guest columns and writings to provoke discussion I hope you and your web master will pay close attention to the same-sex marriage debate. As an attorney I remain amazed that not one legal pundit from the NYT to the Washington Post or even the "Independent Gay forum" has got the full dynamic right when it's really rather simple. The fundies got it right in one sense in that a constitutional amendment is the ONLY way to stop it; but, alas, no one talks much about why that's an exercise in futility and why it can't happen. Nor has anyone talked about the broader legal dynamic of equal protection as it has developed in American jurisprudence, why the history of equal protection dooms amendment, and no one has even touched the ninth amendment issue. Nor has anyone addressed the issue of public opinion in the correct context. Since this is easy enough for an 'L One' to figure out it amazes me that no one talks about it. So I hope you will keep the discussion going.
Please keep us all informed as to all your forth coming articles in other publications. We all want to hear from you. But whatever you decide I wish you the best of luck with your new book. I just got a copy of "One More River to Cross" and look forward to reading it this summer. You sometimes seem to be running in many directions at the same time and are now realizing that all roads can not be taken. There is writing and then there is typing and, as you know, good writing is the hardest work you can ever do – give it 110%! I admire your relentless hard work and your tremendous energy but please try to remember that "living well is the best revenge." All my best. God speed!