in viewpoints

Kwanzaa and the Nguzo Saba

Kenneth Winfrey Reports

As I think over the past year, I am glad to say that I feel that I’ve had a wonderful year. Despite the disappointments, there were many precious moments of realization and countless others where I feel that I was blessed with the gifts that life on Earth has to offer. I feel that I have learned a great deal during this year, especially from writing on this site. And while I fancy myself as a writer, I am not able to describe fully my gratitude for the experience this site has provided for me. My life has come so much closer to being a testimony of my faith and beliefs. I feel affirmed and yet, I also look forward to learning more, experiencing more, meeting more of the wonderful people with whom I share this life and this fascinating planet, and becoming more of the person I was created to become.

As we close the year and this site, I encourage everyone to take time to look back for a brief moment. In the tradition of the sankofa, it's taking from the past what is good and bringing it into the present in order to make positive progress through the benevolent use of knowledge. I encourage everyone to say goodbye to yesterday so that you can sincerely say “Hello!” to tomorrow and the rest of your God-given life. One of the ways I do this is by looking at my past year, as well as planning for the new year, with respect to the Nguzo Saba, the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Here are the seven principles and the definitions provided by Maulana Karenga. Happy Kwanzaa everyone!

Posted in viewpoints on December 26 2007, 1:01PM | Read More | Comments (8)

The Service of My Vision

Kenneth Winfrey Reports

In “Dare to Be Powerful” Keith references the ever-inspiring quote of Audre Lorde, “When I dare to be powerful -- to use my strength in the service of my vision -- then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid." This quote is powerful for me because it was, as Keith mentioned, a reminder that fear is not something which we can eliminate, but that can be made less and less important through the service of a vision.

All too often, the rebuttals for inspiration, motivation, and revelation reside in the idea of a world too imperfect and frightening for us to be powerful. However, I have come to discover what I believe Ms. Lorde meant. I realized that I didn’t have to “unlearn” or ignore fear. I realized that I needed to learn to make it less important through processes I will share with you today.

Posted in viewpoints on November 27 2007, 2:15AM | Read More | Comments (7)

A Culture of Pain

Kenneth Winfrey Reports

In my last post, I wrote about how affirming it was to read about two studies which found that LGBT people of color were more comfortable with their homosexuality than other groups. Some of you seemed to think that I was trying to deny the struggle of being black and/or LGBT. There were even a few comments alluding to the possible existence of a conspiracy to make people believe in the research. Some also thought that what I wrote did nothing more than widen the divide between the races.

To the first charge, please know that I am not a part of an organized effort to make people deny their pain or otherwise minimize the struggles of LGBT people of color in a world where people are still quite often treated badly because of their race and/or sexual orientation. Now, on to the second charge.

Posted in viewpoints on November 12 2007, 10:17AM | Read More | Comments (34)

That's Right: "Black, Gay and OK"

Kenneth Winfrey Reports

Sixty-four posted comments trailed Keith’s October 4 piece titled “Black, Gay and OK.” Many rejected the notion from the Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health study he referenced which found that more black gays and lesbians could be living a happier life than their white counterparts. Now, a new national demographic study goes further to support that assertion and it also refutes some other long-held notions about the LGBT community in general.

This study, among other surprising revelations, seems to effectively debunk the myths put forth largely by the media that lesbians and gay men are “affluent, educated, urban—and usually white.” Not only is it one of the few national demographic studies that highlight the diversity of the LGBT community, it also supports the findings of the report from Columbia University that “we” might well be handling “the life” better than others.

Posted in viewpoints on October 30 2007, 11:39AM | Read More | Comments (33)

Things We Lost In The Fire

Reviews by Stanley Bennett Clay

After several embarrassing missteps in such cinematic dreck as "Gothika," "Catwoman," and "Perfect Stranger," Halle Berry regains her equilibrium in the sobering and heartfelt "Things We Lost In The Fire." As a wife and mother whose perfect husband is killed in a random act of violence, Ms. Berry gives her best performance since winning the Oscar for "Monster's Ball."

Director Susanne Bier, greatly aided by Allan Loeb's quietly intense script, takes a non-linear approach to introduce us to the characters, their heartbreaking circumstances, and their grieving process, a method that effectively informs us in bits and pieces, adding a reality devoid of histrionics and melodrama.

Posted in movies·viewpoints on October 20 2007, 12:31PM | Read More | Comments (35)

Come Out Everyday

Kenneth Winfrey Reports

October 11 is National Coming Out Day. This is the day when most of us expect to hear stories about those of us brave enough to cross the threshold of the proverbial “closet” to letting our loved ones know that we are either lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or otherwise. You will, but that’s not all I’m going to tell you about today.

When we talk about “coming out” it is generally in the context of another discussion about how important it is to claim your right to be open about who you are as LGBT. It is also often about the oppression heaped upon us as we are forced to deny the truth of who we are. Well, as we all know, denying the truth of who we are is not limited to sexuality. It is something that we can do unconsciously in many areas of life, like I did.

Posted in viewpoints on October 11 2007, 8:49AM | Read More | Comments (13)

Pete Domenici And Me

Kenneth Winfrey Reports

When I learned that Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) is retiring after 36 years, I must admit that I experienced a moment of euphoria. He cites health issues as his reason for not seeking re-election. He is reported to have a degenerative brain disease and will not seek a seventh term next year. Domenici, 75, said he has frontotemporal lobar degeneration, or FTLD, and tests showed the disease progressing.

I don't mean to sound insensitive to this man's medical condition, but learning that any part of this generation of the Republican Party is retiring, resigning in shame (i.e., as Larry Craig should) or in any other way exiting the halls of power in our nation’s capital is good news to me. After a failed war (for which Domenici voted), a string of notorious U.S. Attorney firings (with which Domenici was heavily involved), and a series of right-leaning votes that undercut the progress of minorities and the LGBT community, I’m glad to see him go.

Posted in politics·viewpoints on October 5 2007, 6:13PM | Read More | Comments (6)

in viewpoints

Kwanzaa and the Nguzo Saba

Kenneth Winfrey Reports

The Service of My Vision

Kenneth Winfrey Reports

A Culture of Pain

Kenneth Winfrey Reports

That's Right: "Black, Gay and OK"

Kenneth Winfrey Reports

Things We Lost In The Fire

Reviews by Stanley Bennett Clay

Come Out Everyday

Kenneth Winfrey Reports

Pete Domenici And Me

Kenneth Winfrey Reports

Your Condition is Not Your Conclusion

A Visit Home

Stars (Jones) Will Shine

The Case For Bill Richardson

We Are Family

Being Oprah's Cousin

Black and Gay in New Mexico

Revealing Oprah's Secret (Part II)

Revealing Oprah's "Secret"

I Blog, You Blog, He/She/It Blogs...

My Fire Shall Bring Life

Black and Gay at An HBCU

Gay Pride at A Black High School

Nathan Hale Williams: Final Campaign Diary

Nathan Hale Williams: Second Campaign Diary (Keith Wins Exit Poll In Keene)

Nathan Hale Williams: First Campaign Diary (The Campaign Begins)

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