This particular post is based on another Friday Footnote post that was published here last month during Black History Month. Jussie Smollett was featured during that feature and he’s the solo subject of this Footnote article. I personally enjoy the actor for his role on TV and for the excellent job that he does in representing the same gender loving performers who credit not only their race but also their sexuality in popular media. Click the title to reference the previous post: Friday Footnote: Hate and Shame.
Category: history
A Presidential Skinny-Dip!
For the past several years, I’ve always posted here on USA President’s Day holiday of the weekend activities that Aaron, my spouse, and I attended with other same gender loving bare couples in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. This year, we decided not to go. I just wasn’t feeling very “presidential” even though it has now been three months since my father died. Our host understood and asked that we reserve now for next year and we agreed.
Love = Love
This is the week of Valentine’s Day (February 14, to be exact), 2019. So if anyone has forgotten, be advised that any excuse for ignorance is now null and void. Everyone reading or visiting here is now officially reminded that this date is almost upon us – and is fast approaching! Get busy and plan accordingly! This upcoming Thursday is the day to symbolically present our loved one with a token of our affection and appreciation.
Vintage Images: Black, Gay and Bare
In commemoration of February being Black History Month here in the USA, a photo-oriented post showing some historical (vintage) images of Black gay bareness from days gone by. These are offered in the spirit of historical celebration and trying to document the tradition of gay, nude Black men in the recent history of African-Americans. Many of these photos date from the mid-20th century and often feature unnamed men whose life story, their personal history, is simply unknown and can only be speculation.
February 7: National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
Author’s Note: This posting is offered in anticipation of February 7, and National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. It is published beforehand to allow readers to explore developments and opportunities for involvement prior to the actual date.
In the USA and several nations in the Caribbean, February 7, annually, is observed as National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a day for the communities of African descent to focus on the disproportionate (unequal) impact the current HIV/AIDS crisis is having on the various communities of African and Black heritage. This date is observed to bring the different communities and institutions together to explore ways to combat HIV infections and to replace ignorance with facts and knowledge.
Continue reading February 7: National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
February: USA Black History Month
Every year during the month of February, the USA observes Black History Month. This time is set aside in order that we, as a nation, take the time to celebrate, commemorate and pay tribute to the contributions, dynamics, energy, and direction offered by all of our African-American citizens of both the past and the present. For too long the accomplishments of this segment of our national heritage were often neglected and overlooked due to ignorance, fear and prejudice. Fortunately, in many places, that is no longer the case.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
My Father and the Reverend Dr. King
When my brothers and I were growing up, and my parents were still living in this country, I remember my father consistently and constantly sharing with all of us his recollections of the day that he “marched with Dr. King.” My siblings and I would roll our eyes as we had to endure his endless recounting of his participation at the national March for Jobs and Freedom on the National Mall. Even before we understood what exactly transpired that day, we all matured knowing that our father was there.
SAD = Super Angry Deaf(man)!
To write here that I am just “super angry” is an intentional misrepresentation of exactly how furious I indeed am. However, rest assured that no one really wants me to use the language that I am currently thinking. I’m sure that are profanity police floating through cyberspace to protect the innocent against such a crime. I refuse to be manipulated and roll in the gutter only to climb out of said gutter and discover ReNude Pride censored or worse, even cancelled.
Socialization Required!
There has to be a better method to gather together a very diverse and sometimes dysfunctional community of academics to socially interact with one another. The president of my university this year sent out a very disturbing and somewhat insulting memorandum to all staff entitled: “Mandatory Holiday Luncheon.” In it, this generally respected and revered leader bemoaned the fact that the annual presidential holiday luncheon, held every December, has suffered from declining attendance and disinterest. Therefore, this year’s gathering, held earlier this week, was mandatory.
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
The above image shows the sinking of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor.
December 7, annually, was formerly known as Pearl Harbor Day from 1942 until 1993. It was observed in the USA as a day to remember all of the lives lost during the airborne attack by the Empire of Japan on the U.S. Pacific fleet anchored at Pearl Harbor in the then-U.S. territory of the Hawaiian Islands (since 1959, the U.S. State of Hawaii). As the event occurred without a formal declaration of war, the effects of the bombardment were catastrophic and the loss of life severe.
ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers! 