Now for the news. Angelica Ross leads an action during the closing plenary of the Creating Change conference on behalf of the trans, gender non-conforming & intersex communities. A bill in Tennessee is off to the governor’s desk to ban drag shows. MMA fighters in West Virginia volunteer to protect patrons of a drag show. Da Brat & Judy are pregnant and a few top queer highlights from the NAACP Image Awards. There’s a lot today, so let’s go.

00:00 – Welcome & Intro

01:00 – Top Stories

01:40 – Black HIV in the South: How Did We Get Here? Trailer

2:11 – Lost & Found for Podcasters Trailer

2:50 – Intro Music by Aina Bre’Yon

03:32 – Angelica Ross leads action at Creating Change

19:30 – Tennessee looks to ban drag shows

20:50 – MMA fighters stand up to LGBTQ bullies  

22:55 – Da Brat & Judy are expecting a baby

24:28 – Top Queer moments from the NAACP Image Awards

25:58 – Nicco Annan’s NAACP speech

27:00 – Outro

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Creating Change 2023

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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 every Monday by 7am CT. So, if you are digging our intersectional take on the weekly, consider joining the QCrew.

The QCrew is our monthly membership program we started to help us grow the podcast. You get weekly emails from me, exclusive interviews with LGBTQ influencers from across the country and beginning this year special behind the scenes footage too. With your support, we can bring you more stories celebrating our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & comrade communities. Click the link in the show notes to join the QCrew today. 

Now for the news. Angelica Ross leads an action during the closing plenary of the Creating Change conference on behalf of the trans, gender non-conforming & intersex communities. A bill in Tennessee is off to the governor’s desk to ban drag shows. MMA fighters in West Virginia volunteer to protect patrons of a drag show. Da Brat & Judy are pregnant and a few top queer highlights from the NAACP Image Awards. There’s a lot today, so let’s go.

Family, you know last week I talked all about the Creating Change conference. I had a beautiful time connecting and reconnecting with brillant LGBTQ leaders from across the country and the world. Now if you remember I spoke of all of the ways Creating Change is a special place. There is no other space like Creating Change. It is a gathering of people from across the country who at some level care about the liberation of queer people. 

What’s also very special and simply just the reality is that we don’t all agree on how we get to this liberation. There are protests here and actions. There are impromptu call-ins when people are harmed. There are disruptions. 

Well Creating Change 2023 was no different. I’d heard over the course of the conference that our trans siblings weren’t pleased with a number of aspects that affected them. So during the conference they went to work and formed the 2023 Creating Change trans action collective. This collective prepared demands and strategized on the best way to communicate their concerns. Well, Angelica Ross was slated to speak on the closing plenary and they asked her to lead this action and of course she said yes. Honestly, I’ve never seen Angelica back down from such a moment. So, she did what she does best. She advocated. She used her platform to speak the demands of the community. Angelica invited all of the trans, gender non-conforming and intersex fam to the stage and it was a beautiful site too see. Nearly a hundred of our trans siblings standing in solidarity and speaking up for themselves. Speaking their truth. 

I will be posting portions of the video just so you can see how beautiful it was. Standing up for yourself is never easy, especially not when it’s with family. Honestly, how many of us turn the other cheek when it comes to family. We don’t want to ruffle any feathers or deal with the fallout but that doesn’t do anything for our collective liberation, does it. She started by saying, “We aren’t creating the change we need to make just yet”. Now take a listen to a small portion of what the collective had to say. 

We create change. Yes we do. 

Our next story is coming out of Tennessee where this state’s legislators are choosing to continue the anti-trans & anti-LGBTQ movement of the last couple of years by passing a bill that bans drag shows in public. We all know drag typically takes place inside a bar but what about the gay pride parade or drag story hour. What is a gay pride parade without the queens. I think Lynne Pervis, a Tennessee courts administrator who has sometimes done drag, said it best when they testified in opposition to the bill at a committee hearing. They said, “Seeing a drag queen doesn’t make a kid gay or trans, but it can help queer kids who are suffering so that there’s hope of being able to one day freely express themselves.” PeriodT. Seeing all the straights on TV surely hasn’t made me straight so I just don’t know how it works the other way. Oh right, it doesn’t. This bill is off to the governor’s desk for signature. 

Now for some uplifting news coming out of West Virginia. A MMA coach and his fighters are standing up against bullies who forced a production company to cancel a nearly sold out drag brunch because of threats made against the venue, performers, and patrons. This MMA coach Johnny reposted the cancellation notice on his Facebook page and said, “I volunteer me and a couple of my fighters to work security if Primanti Bros. decides to reschedule their drag brunch. I’m sure we can make sure the event stays safe.” That post took off and gave supporters a place to voice their solidarity. Oh but where there is LGBTQ solidarity there will be hate. So even Johnny has received some threats as well but he’s not detoured. He to LGBTQ Nation, “I’ve been a minority in this state. Progressive minds are a minority in this state—that’s what I thought. But the response to his offer, he says, has shown him a different side of his community. “Showing that this small group of people can’t bully people into stopping is a beacon of light for our valley.” I love sharing stories like this because we do have power when we come together and use it. It started with just one and now if they decide to hold the drag show, they’ve got some protectors ready to support. 

In entertainment news, Da Brat has revealed her baby bump! I couldn’t be happier for her & Judy. They got married last year and began this journey to have a baby. Something Da Brat says she never thought was in the cards for her. During this baby making journey Judy had major health complications following her egg retrieval procedure. Then Brat had to undergo surgery to remove fibroids and polyps prior to her embryo transfer. Then Brat had a misscarriage. Y’all the journey to motherhood can really be tough sometimes it feels impossible. This goes for the gays and the straights. Motherhood does not discriminate in that way  but they didn’t give up. Now Brat is 5 months pregnant with an exclusive spread in People magazine. I will say I loved the reveal on the Sherri Shepherd show as well. The pure excitement on Sherri’s face is a joy many queer folks just don’t get. It made my heart smile. Congratulations Brat & Judy on growing your family. 

In more entertainment news, Saturday night the NAACP image awards were live and so many queer folks got their flowers. The Queen was hosting, Zaya Wade’s parents received the president’s award for their tireless advocacy of Zaya’s rights. I truly have so much respect for Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade. Then there is Nicco Annan who won outstanding actor in a drama series for his role on P-Valley. I want to leave you with his acceptance speech because there are some gems that I believe will encourage you throughout this upcoming week. Till next week family, peace. 

Sources

Tennessee takes lead in Republican effort to restrict drag shows

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/tennessee-takes-lead-republican-effort-restrict-drag-shows-rcna72080

MMA coach & his fighters volunteer to provide security for drag show

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/02/mma-coach-his-fighters-volunteer-to-provide-security-for-drag-show/

Da Brat Reveals Pregnancy at 48: ‘I Thought It Wasn’t in the Cards for Me’

https://people.com/parents/da-brat-reveals-pregnancy-at-48-exclusive/

BET Networks

https://www.youtube.com/@BETNetworks/videos

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