mediaite:

Imagine A World Without Hate

Wow this hurts

Oh… my God. Mathew Shepard. So sad.

I will never, never forget where I was when I first heard of his brutal murder, and how I felt… still feel. The details of his beaten, mangled body tied to a fence, then left to die. It still brings a tear to my eye.

Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” Speech - August 28, 1963

Everyone should hear this for themselves. It’s an important moment in American history that changed everything. It’s an example of what ‘One Person’ can achieve if (s)he puts forth the effort. Dr. King’s insistence on ‘Non-Violence’ was the blueprint for movements that followed. The Women’s Liberation and Gay Rights Movements are two examples.

If you’ve never read or heard Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, take some time form your precious social schedule to do it now. You’ll be a better person for it.

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Make no mistake. This is not just a Black History thing. This is an AMERICAN HISTORY thing!

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Thanks to kipperny for first blogging this link Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” Speech

The Legacy of Dr. King and Our Struggle to End AIDS

January 17th, 2013 by bcarter

This Monday, as the nation commemorates the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., President Barack Obama will also be sworn in for his second term as President of the United States. The historic significance of this event cannot be overstated, and for those of us who have dedicated our lives to realizing Dr. King’s vision of not just racial equality, but social justice, Monday will mark the culmination of decades of struggle. But with each success, we are reminded that our nation’s march toward equality is never complete. It is a constant evolution of hearts and minds, policy and tradition. Thanks to the work of Dr. King and so many others, our nation’s made incredible progress, but substantial work remains.

The fight against HIV/AIDS has always been about more than the search for medicine or a cure. It has been a battle for human dignity. To demonstrate that each life, regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, nation of origin, or religion, has inherent value. From the beginning, this epidemic has taken the largest toll on our most marginalized communities. From gay men and transgender women, to injection drug users and people of color, those who are most often shut out of our nation’s halls of affluence and power are also the most vulnerable to a whole host of health challenges, including HIV.

Over the last four years, we’ve made huge strides in leveling the playing field…

Paul Kawata
Executive Director
National Minority AIDS Council

The Furious Faggot: brashblacknonbeliever: mickolas: brashblacknonbeliever: Dear White...

brashblacknonbeliever:

mickolas:

brashblacknonbeliever:

Dear White People,

You don’t get to say the word n***a/n***er just because it was in a song. Self-censoring really isn’t that fucking hard.

Actually this bothers me. I don’t say those words because they’re derogatory….

I’m reblogging this because it presents a perfect opportunity for me to say…

“I Don’t use the six letter “N” word. So PLEASE, DO NOT USE the six letter “F” word.” It’s just as offensive to me as the “N” word is to you.

I have been chased down the street by gangs of every color, with evil and destruction in their eyes, shouting Faggot! and Queer! and AIDS Carrier! and every other nasty epithet taught to them by their parents.

I have been physically attacked by drunken idiots trolling the streets looking for easy prey. Each time I fought back. A few times, barely making it out with my life.

I’ve seen a close friend beaten almost to death by young thugs who laughed and taunted, “Whatchu gone do? Faggot!” as they kicked and beat my friend into a bloody mess. All I could do was call the police. When the police finally arrived, they treated us like it was somehow our fault we were attacked.

So excuse me if I’m a little touchy about a word.
Excuse me for feeling threatened every time I hear a Young Turk tossing around the six letter “F” word.
Excuse me if I’m a little more offended that another minority group singles out my particular minority.
Excuse me for being so naive as to think we are all on the same side against the ruling class. “United We Stand, Divided We Fall!”

There are a lot of words I choose not to use simply because they are offensive to someone. I try not to use them in private because it lessens the chance I might slip in public. Avoiding offensive language doesn’t harm me in any way.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees my right to say whatever I want, however I want. But why would I go out of my way to hurt someone? What do I gain form it?

“I Don’t use the six letter “N” word. so Please, Don’t Use the six letter “F” word.”

A little consideration for others goes a long way. To quote brashblacknonbeliever: “Self-censoring really isn’t that fucking hard.”

*For the record, just as I say White when referring to White folks, I say Black when referring to Black folks. My friends are okay with it. (I generally don’t go around referring to them as my “Black” Friends.)

**The term “African American” isn’t always appropriate because not every Brown skinned person comes from Africa. Just ask Wyclef Jean or Seal.

*** The term ‘Young Turk’ means rebellious young person. A wild teen. http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/young+turk.html

“Why was I given a mind and then be politely told to sit in the corner and wonder?”

The following is excerpted from “The Gentle Indifference of the World,” as posted on Against The Grain: Non-Mainstream Observations by John T. Marohn

The Christian Soul and American Culture

In my Christian tradition, I was told that every human being has a soul. That soul, I was led to believe, is created by God and is comprised of a mind and a free will. And that soul, I was also taught by my church, would live on after I died. (I was not taught that, since I have a free will, I could choose the after-life habitat I wanted. That decision would be made for me based on my earthly track record and an omniscient God’s foreknowledge—a very tricky combination.)

Using that philosophical and theological model, Hitler, Stalin, Ted Bundy, and Jeffrey Dahmer also had souls. According to that same paradigm, they also had minds and free wills and therefore were to be held accountable for their actions (Christian theologians, to my knowledge, do not accept paranoid schizophrenia, psychosis, or bi-polar disorders as viable excuses for getting off the hook on the final day of judgment).

The American culture I grew up in led me to believe that I could be anything I wanted to be. That I could be my own person. That I could live out any success-story dream I fantasized about. If I just put my hand on the plow of my life, worked hard, and persevered, the world would be my oyster.

Except for the built-in fatalism of the omniscient-God paradigm, I had been well-schooled in Optimism 101. My culture told me I could succeed. My religion taught me that I was morally responsible for all of my actions. That everything was just up to me. That God, through no innate goodness on my part, would intervene, on my behalf, and zap me with favors and grace, if I lived up to His expectations by leading a good life.

But I had no excuses for moral, or even professional failure in life. After all, I was graced with being alive and had a mind and free will—a soul, remember?

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Larry Wilmore explains the world of voter suppression, in which black folks are the delicious tuna and senior citizens are the innocent dolphins who get pulled up in the net. http://on.cc.com/Wjul9T

logotv:

“You can gyrate all you want on a pride float, so long as you gyrate into that voting booth as well.” - Wanda Sykes

Hear more words of wisdom from Wanda Sykes on NewNowNext Vote tonight @ 10/9c on Logo

DON’T CLICK! Unless You Love Samuel L. Jackson And The ‘F’ Word

…and want to see whom he endorses for president. This isn’t safe for work, by the way.

Source - MoveOn.org—» http://front.moveon.org/dont-click-unless-you-love-samuel-l-jackson-and-the-f-word/?rc=tw.fol

aidswalkphilly:

Check out this spot made by NBC10 Philadelphia for us!

↵ Reblogged from aidswalkphilly

I don’t use the six letter “N” Word. So Please, Don’t use the six letter “F” Word. Deal?

United we stand.

As long as the ruling class can keep the rest of us fighting among ourselves, they win.

Divided we fall.

ADignorantium

The Legacy of Dr. King and Our Struggle to End AIDS

The Furious Faggot: brashblacknonbeliever: mickolas: brashblacknonbeliever: Dear White...

“Why was I given a mind and then be politely told to sit in the corner and wonder?”

The Christian Soul and American Culture

DON’T CLICK! Unless You Love Samuel L. Jackson And The ‘F’ Word

I don’t use the six letter “N” Word. So Please, Don’t use the six letter “F” Word. Deal?