Brittney Griner is going on trial in Russia. It’s set to start this Friday, July 1st – Tuesday, June 28, 2022

She is a political prisoner. Period. 99% of people who face court in a Russian court get found guilty. She’s facing up to 10 years. Family, our work to raise awareness has been working. But to guarantee BG’s safe return, President Biden and the state department needs to negotiate her release from Russia.

00:00 Welcome 

00:08 Anna speaks on Roe v. Wade being overturned

01:22 Its Pride

01:48 Intro Music by Aina Bre’Yon

02:28 QCrew Invitation 

03:39 LGBTQ Women’s Survey

04:37 BG trial update

07:53 Queer film & Tv sneak peak 

08:25 Anna’s got a word

Things for you to check out 

And 40 min later the preliminary hearing is over. No comment from Griner. Her Russian lawyer says the judge extended her detention for the length of her trial. No date set. Curiously, no US embassy officials present for the hearing. #BrittneyGriner pic.twitter.com/FSYprXjSgs

— Charles Maynes (@cwmiii3) June 27, 2022

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A post shared by 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄 𝐓. 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐑 (@cherelletgriner)

Brittney Griner on the Queer News Podcast

https://e3radio.fm/?s=brittney+griner

Special Edition: Anna provides Roe v. Wade reflection and provides a state by state overview in a post-Roe era

https://e3radio.fm/r8xi

Pro-Choice Resources

https://choice.crd.co/

Join the QCrew

Get your tickets to BKLYN BOIHOOD’s Pride Party @The Bell House with code: BKBOIS2022

https://bit.ly/3tPBard

Take the National LGBTQ+ Women*s Survey today

​​https://www.lgbtqwomensurvey.org/

Sign the Petition – Secure Brittney Griner’s Swift and Safe Return to the U​.​S.

https://www.change.org/p/secure-brittney-griner-s-swift-and-safe-return-to-the-u-s

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Transcript

Family, its your favorite queer radio personality Anna Deshawn with our queer news for today. Before I get to the episode, I want to join my podcasting community in taking a moment to address the United States Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe versus Wade on June 24th, which stripped away the right to have a safe and legal abortion. 

Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care – including abortion – threatens the health and independence of all people. This decision has dire consequences, and could have harsh repercussions for other landmark decisions within the United States. I encourage you, living in the U.S. and otherwise, to learn more about the ways you can help at choice dot c-r-d dot c-o (choice.crd.co). That’s choice dot c-r-d dot c-o (choice.crd.co)

I published a special podcast on Sunday where I shared my reflection on Roe v. Wade and provided a state by state overview in a post-Roe era. Check the link in the show notes for easy access. I encourage you to take action when & where you feel safe and take good care of yourself.

Now, I want to make you a promise. We will continue to bring you the latest in queer news, culture and politics: 7 minutes a day, 5 days a week. So, if you are digging our intersectional take on the daily, consider joining the QCrew.

The QCrew is our monthly membership program we started to help us grow the podcast. With your help we can bring you more stories celebrating our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & comrade communities. You’ve shown us your support by tuning into this episode. You can show your curiosity by clicking the link in the show notes to learn more about the QCrew.

Instead of diving into this week’s top stories, we’ll take a break from the the coverage to chat about 5 new queer TV shows and movies I have in high rotation right now. From B-Boy Blues to the new Netflix vampire drama First Kill, I’m doing a spoiler-free rundown on the moments you missed in queer media. But first, we have an update on Brittney Griner.

On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives released a resolution calling for the ‘immediate release’ of Brittney Griner. The resolution urges the United States, in all its interactions with the Government of the Russian Federation, to raise the case of Brittney Griner and to press for her release.

And yesterday, after 4 months of being detained, A Russian court scheduled Brittney Griner’s trial to start Friday, July 1st. The court also ruled that BG will remain in custody for six months pending the trial’s outcome. 

Brittney — who has been held in Russia since her arrest at a Moscow airport on allegations of attempted drug smuggling — attended her preliminary hearing in person this yesterday morning. A photo shows BG in a gray T-shirt and glasses handcuffed to Russian guards in black body armor. She can be seen shaking her head in true disbelief. 

What it comes down to is negotiation. Russia has made it clear they want the “merchant of death” in exchange for Brittney. This man’s name alone should tell you this isn’t an even exchange to say the least. But essentially his real name is Viktor Bout a Russian arms trader who is serving a 25 year sentence on conviction of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens and providing aid to a terrorist organization. Viktor’s exploits are so notorious a movie called “Lord of War” had a character inspired by him and played by Nicolas Cage. They’ve tried to trade him in the past and the U.S. has said no. I don’t see why this time would be any different. I’m sure we’ve got plenty of other Russian criminals in custody to exchange and my hope is this gets figured out real quick. 

She is a political prisoner. Period. 99% of people who face court in a Russian court get found guilty. She’s facing up to 10 years. Family, our work to raise awareness has been working. But to guarantee BG’s safe return, President Biden and the state department needs to negotiate her release from Russia. We heard from BG’s wife Cherelle last week that she has “zero faith” that the government can get this done. This came after a botched attempt by the government to patch through a call from Brittney to her wife on their fourth wedding anniversary. This call was scheduled for two weeks and they guaranteed they could make this happen. Brittney called 11 times only to later find out she was calling an unmanned telephone line. What a mess. 

So what can we do? We need everyone to sign the petition to show just how many people are supporting BG’s secure return home. The link, like always, is in the show notes. Every signature matters, so don’t forget to add yours today. If you’ve already added it, share the petition on social media or with your family & friends. Family, sign the petition and send up prayers for BG and her family. And let’s pray the White House gets this done. 

We all we got. 

Now with everything we’ve discussed today and everything going on in the world sometimes we need to unplug. We must. And one way I love to do that is with tv and film. So tomorrow I’m going to drop some queer recommendations that came out this month that might take your mind off reality just a bit. 

Also, I want you to know that I’m working on my reflection from my trip to San Francisco to cover the 35th anniversary of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. It’s almost there so let’s close with a word from poet Essex Hemphill on the AIDS Epidemic of the 1980s that reads:

“When my brother fell

I picked up his weapons

and never once questioned

whether I could carry

the weight and grief,

the responsibility he shouldered.

I never questioned whether I could aim

Or be as precise as he.

He had fallen,

And the passing ceremonies

marking his death

did not stop the war.” 

Till tomorrow family, Peace.

Sources

Brittney Griner will stand trial starting July 1 in Russia
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/06/27/brittney-griner-trial-date/