Brittney Griner’s legal team appeals her sentence, 3 Black gay men were killed in a hit-and-run in Chicago & the new League of Their Own is out and it’s more diverse than ever – Monday, August 15, 2022

Brittney Griner was sentenced to 9 years in a Russian penal colony and now her lawyers have filed an appeal. Tragedy hit Chicago when 3 Black gay men were leaving a popular club and were killed in a hit-and-run. The new League of Their Own is out on Amazon Prime and it has the queer storyline the original didn’t.

00:00 – Welcome & Intro

01:00 – Top news stories

01:30 – Intro Music by Aina Bre’Yon

02:06 – BG Update

05:35 – Chicago Hit & Run

06:29 – A League of Their Own

08:07 – Anna’s got a word

09:02 – Outro

Things for you to check out 

Join the QCrew

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, it’s your favorite queer radio personality Anna DeShawn with our queer news for today. 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. 

This month for the QCrew we have an exclusive interview with our new producer Dae. Catch the video to learn all about them and to hear his fire vocals. If you want to watch the exclusive interview, you have to join the QCrew. Now 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.

Now, for the news; Brittney Griner was sentenced to 9 years in a Russian penal colony and now her lawyers have filed an appeal. Tragedy hit Chicago when 3 Black gay men were leaving a popular club and were killed in a hit-and-run. The new League of Their Own is out on Amazon Prime and it has the queer storyline the original didn’t. Let’s go!

Our leading story for today is Brittney Griner who has been wrongfully detained for 179 days. Her legal team filed an appeal today in response to the 9 year sentence & $16,000 fine she received for 0.7 grams of THC in the cannabis oil they found. And honestly I’m saying it that way because now we know of a case where the sentence was not that. Audrey Lorber, a 19 year old white woman was found guilty with 19 grams of THC in 2019. She served approximately two months in jail and received a $235 dollar fine. The glaring differences in these sentences really do make me sick. If you can’t see how Brittney is being used as a political pawn after that comparison I can’t help you. The double standard can’t be more obvious. Russia knows what they want and they have the leverage to get it. On Friday, Russia confirmed they are in talks with the US on a prisoner swap. The US provided a proposal a month ago and this was the first time Russia confirmed they were talking to the US negotiating team. 

In the meantime, while they negotiate and appeal Brittney will continue her wrongful detainment in a Russian penal colony. Now what happens in a penal colony you ask? I was wondering the same so I did some research. Turns out there are 35 women’s penal colonies across Russia that are home to approximately 60,000 inmates. The holding cells are just over 11 feet and they hold between 40-60 women who sleep on bunk beds. Y’all already know these beds are never big enough for Brittney, rite. I digress. Now these conditions are known for being tough; tuberculosis is common I guess and some prisoners are malnourished due to limited food and the medical care sucks. Her day will start at 6am and she will work an 8 hour day with a half hour to 2 hour break available. During the break she can read books from the library, write letters home, play sports, play board games & call friends & family. The governors determine the break times. For context, the people that run the penal colonies are called governors. Most of the women are seamstresses but they also clean, cook, and serve food. Some of the more lenient governors actually try to assign the women to jobs that leverage their talents. In one instance, soccer players who were jailed actually got to coach soccer as their job while they served their sentence. Will Brittney land with one of these lenient governors, no one knows, but it’s said that prisoners are encouraged to play sports or do yoga so maybe she could coach. Even with taking all of this in consideration we can’t get her home fast enough. 

Our next story for today is a tragic one out of Chicago. Three Black gay men were leaving a popular gay club on southside when they were struck by a car going at incredibly fast speeds. The impact caused them to actually be lifted off the ground. One man is still in critical condition and fighting for his life. It’s being reported that the men were fighting in the street and that the hit looked intentional. I refuse to watch the video footage but that’s what I was told. They were so young and had so much life to live. My heart goes out to their family and friends. When arrangements are made or if a GoFundMe goes up I will absolutely share it with all of you. 

Lastly, if all of this is too much & you need a break from the world “A League of Their Own” is out on Amazon Prime. Yes! To say that I love the original film is a gross understatement. I mean I might know all the words to their theme song. [Anna sing]. I mean this 1992 classic is sketched in my heart and for a remake to drop in 2022 with Black and queer characters I might just be in love all over again. The series is at the top of the Prime charts since it dropped on Friday and producers are already talking a Season 2. I plan on watching it tonight. Full review coming this week. 

Now my word of the day says “Whether you think you can or think you can’t. You are right.” Your thoughts will impact every action you make as you move throughout the world. The mind is incredibly powerful so you must feed it positive affirmations and encouragement. You have to believe in yourself more than anyone else. Whatever you’re thinking will manifest itself into the world, so affirm the positive so only good can come your way. Till tomorrow family, peace. 

Sources

Brittney Griner’s defense team files appeal of conviction

https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/34401846/brittney-griner-defense-team-files-appeal-conviction

Inside the Russian Penal Colony Where Brittney Griner Will Serve Her 9-Year Prison Sentence

https://people.com/sports/inside-the-russian-penal-colony-where-brittney-griner-will-serve-her-9-year-prison-sentence/

Is the Meme About Brittney Griner and Audrey Lorber True?

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/brittney-griner-audrey-lorber/

Russia confirms prisoner swap talks as U.S. hopes for Griner, Whelan release

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/11/russia-prisoner-exchange-griner-whelan/ 

Chicago hit-and-run: 3 killed, 1 seriously hurt in Jackson Park Highlands crash, authorities say

https://abc7chicago.com/hit-and-run-chicago-crime-car-crash-jackson-park/12124517/

‘A League of Their Own’ star Abbi Jacobson focuses on the film’s untold queer stories

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/06/1116179771/a-league-of-their-own-abbi-jacobson-queer-race