Newly elected mayor of New York Eric Adams is creating a new position for anti-LGBT politician Fernando Cabrera. Queer superhero America Chavez is back in the new movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. We salute Audre Lorde in our Black History Month Spotlight.

00:00 – Welcome & Intro

00:30 – Rate & Review Queer News Ad

00:57 – Intro Music

01:37 – New elected mayor of New York Eric Adams is creating a new position to fill a seat for anti-LGBT politican Fernando Cabrera

03:43 – Queer superhero America Chavez is back in the new movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

04:31 – We salute Audre Lorde during our Black History month spotlight

06:03 – Anna’s Got A Word

Things for you to check out 

12 Audre Lorde Quotes That’ll Spark Conversation

https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/relationships-love/g25776736/audre-lorde-quotes/

16 queer Black trailblazers who made history

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/black-history-month-17-lgbtq-black-pioneers-who-made-history-n1130856

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Transcript

Family, this is your favorite queer radio personality Anna DeShawn here with our queer news from today. 

Newly elected mayor of New York Eric Adams is creating a new position for anti-LGBT politican Fernando Cabrera. Queer superhero America Chavez is back in the new movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. We salute Audre Lorde today in our Black History Month Spotlight.

We are starting today’s podcast with a story out of New York, New York. Newly elected Mayor Eric Adams plans to move forward with the appointment of former New York City Councilman Fernando Cabrera. Welp the gay politicans of New York are letting Mayor Adams know they are not happy about it at all. It seems Cabrera is a conservative pastor who actually spoke on agreeing with Ugandan government on being anti-gay and anti-abortion. Listen here, “The United States of America has put pressure; It has told Uganda, ‘We are not going to fund you anymore unless you allow gay marriage,’ and they have stood in their place. Why? Because the Christians have assumed the place of decision-making for the nation. Abortions are illegal here — things that Christians really stand for. Why? Because the Christians here took the opportunity to take their rightful place.” Okay so here’s to those types of Christians never taking another place in government. Now there were previous plans to install Cabrera as the head of the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health but those were tossed due to LGBTQ opposition but the Mayor seems bent on appointing him so he created a new Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnership for Cabrera. Activist Allen Roskoff said, “How is he going to deal with LGBTQ people of faith? How is he going to deal with a gay synagogue? How is he going to deal with gay Catholics?…What is this mayor thinking? Has he no consideration for us? It’s a big FU to the LGBTQ community.” Welp that’s what it sounds like to me so here’s to the LGBTQ politicans and activists in New York holding Mayor Adams accountable. He rallied for their votes but now he needs to work on keeping them. 

Any Marvel comic fans out there? Well in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, they are introducing a new LGBT+ hero named America Chavez into this series. Now America isn’t new to Marvel as she’s been featured in the Young Avengers too but she appears to have a larger role here. She’s known for her amazing abilities which manifest as superhuman strength, durability and speed. She can also create interdimensional portals by punching or stomping her foot. This series is coming to a movie theater near you come May but the trailer is out now and has already racked up 39 million views in just one week. Representation matters and it seems America Chavez is going to be representing in a realish way. 

Now y’all know its Black History Month and in every episode this month we are going to celebrate living at the intersections of being Black & Queer. With that our Black History spotlight today is Audre Lorde.  

Audre Lorde was a writer, feminist, womanist, librarian, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described “black feminist warrior mother” who “dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia.” Among her most notable works are “Coal” (1976), “The Black Unicorn” (1978), “The Cancer Journals” (1980) and “Zami: A New Spelling of My Name” (1982). She was named New York’s Poet Laureate in 1991 and over her life authored more than 10 books including Sister Outsider which is how I was introduced to her. There are also three biographical films about her life. Now there are lots of famous Audre Lorde quotes. Lots. But I wanted to share two that always hit for me. First, “If I didn’t define myself. I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.” Whew. And next “Your silence will not protect you.” It will not. To tap into some of Audre’s other famous quotes I’ve included a link in the show notes if you’re interested in checking them out. Audre Lorde, we see you & we salute you. 

I want to close out today’s episode with some inspiration from a book I’ve been reading titled “Manifest Now”. I’m in a section called “Release It” that teaches techniques on how to get out of your own way in order to create the life you want. Well the one I read today was about forgiveness and cutting cords from the past. The author provides a technique that I wanted to share with you. She says if there is someone or something from your past that you need to release, imagine them right in front of you and see a cord between the two of you. You are supposed to let yourself feel the energy of peace and love toward that person as you cut the cord between the two of you. The energy of peace and love is what is going to free you and help you to let go. In that moment you are to forgive them and smile. Wave goodbye to them and see them peacefully disappear into thin air. Well family, when I cut my cords those people went flying the first time and I almost left it that way. But I did it again the way Idil suggested and it’s absolutely a healthy technique. I’m going to need a couple more go’s at it cause I’m a work in progress but I thought it was worth sharing. So the word for today is coming from Idil, “Forgive and move on with your life”. Till tomorrow family, peace.

Sources

Gay lawmaker snaps as NYC mayor says he’ll hire “kill the gays” pastor for “faith-based” position

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/02/gay-lawmaker-snaps-nyc-mayor-says-hell-hire-kill-gays-pastor-faith-based-position/

Marvel’s new LGBT+ superhero has a tragic backstory: Meet Doctor Strange 2’s America Chavez

Marvel’s new LGBT+ superhero has a tragic backstory: Meet Doctor Strange 2’s America Chavez

Audre Lorde

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audre_Lorde

12 Audre Lorde Quotes That’ll Spark Conversation

https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/relationships-love/g25776736/audre-lorde-quotes/

16 queer Black trailblazers who made history

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/black-history-month-17-lgbtq-black-pioneers-who-made-history-n1130856

New York’s Mayor Eric Adams is ready to appoint anti-LGBT politician to his cabinet, Marvel is bringing back queer superhero America Chavez & we salute Audre Lorde during our Black History Month Spotlight – Monday, February 21, 2022