Kevin Maxen is the first NFL coach to come out & we celebrate LGBTQ authors with Samiya Bashir of Lambda Literary – Monday, July 24, 2023

Welcome to our summer interview series. This week Anna DeShawn I welcome back Samiya Bashir, an award winning poet, author, and today the executive director of Lambda Literary. Lambda Literary is the hub for queer writers and the work they do today is so crucial given the unprecedented attacks on queer literature. We talk about these book bans, The Lammy’s which is the premiere award show for LGBTQ writers and how Lambda Literary is supporting our next generation of queer writers. I really think you’re going to enjoy this conversation so stay close because of this quick break we’ll be back with Samiya Bashir.

00:00 – Welcome to the Queer News podcast 

5:45 – Top queer news stories 

9:40 – Tap into the mental health services provided by the Cook County Department of Public Health, http://h2hucookcounty.com 

10:38 – Subscribe to Rebound Revolution, https://pod.link/reboundrev 

11:20 – Black & Brown podcasts go on our tour with The Qube. Get your tickets. 

For Silver Spring – get your tickets here, https://events.eventnoire.com/e/qube-tour-2023

12:25 – Intro Music by Aina Bre’Yon

13:05 – Wyn Starks joins Queer News

28:24 – Anna’s Got a Word 

30:08 – Who I Am

31:12 – Outro

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Follow Lambda Literary on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lambdaliterary/ 

Follow Lambda Literary on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lambdaliterary 

Follow Lambda Literary on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/LambdaLliterary 

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More on the Summer Interview Series

The Queer News team is changing it up for the next couple of months so we have a little more time to enjoy the summer, our families, and rest. We hope you enjoy these conversations with some really wonderful queer folks doing good in the world. Those are the stories we want to amplify here on Queer News. 

During the interview series we won’t leave queer news stories on the sidelines either. Anna will provide brief commentary about the top one or two queer news stories happening that we should be following. Not full stories but know we are still closely following the queer news feeds. You can always follow Anna on social media to stay up to date. 

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Things for you to check out

Watch the Brandon Wolf Interview

The Qube Tour! Get your Tickets! 

Watch the Replay: UNAPOLOGETIC: Being Black and Queer in Podcasting

Listen & Subscribe to Rebound Revolution

Watch the full interview

Tre’vell Anderson talks Black Trans Life in TV & Film with Anna DeShawn

Order Tre’vell’s Book Today!

Queer News Pride Specials – Get You An Ad Today

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Listen to Black HIV in the South: How Did We Get Here?

Join the QCrew

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Listen to More Queer News

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The Blog Post by Chat GPT

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Transcript

Family, it’s your favorite queer radio personality Anna DeShawn and this is the Queer News summer interview series. Y’all already know I’ve been changing it up for the summer to take a little break from the research and script writing and avoid the dreaded podfade. As you also know we aren’t leaving our top queer news stories on the cutting room floor. I’ll be sharing a couple of stories you should know before we jump into the interview for the week. 

Before I get into this week’s episode I’ve got two things. First, I want to officially welcome all of our new listeners. Maybe you arrived here from hearing me on the Queer Family podcast or allyship is a verb or maybe the Gayish podcast. Maybe it was social media. Maybe it was a friend. I don’t know but either way I’m so glad you’re here and now that you are here if you are digging our intersectional take on the weekly, consider joining the QCrew.  The QCrew is our queer news community. 

I started it to help us grow the podcast and I want it to be a place where I get to know you better too. You’ll get weekly emails from me which include a recap of top stories and an uncut video from me on the latest happenings with me & queer news. With your monthly support, we can bring you more stories celebrating our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & comrade communities. We have 23 paid subscribers today which is two more than last week. I want to say thank you to our two new additions Sara & Darryl. Thank you so much for your support. If you want to join these beautiful folks and be part of the QCrew click the link in the show notes today. 

Second, our tour update. Yes, Queer News is on our tour with The Qube. The Qube is my

podcast production company and curated streaming platform of the best BIPOC & QTPOC podcasts. Someone described us as the Black Queer Spotify. I’ll take it. I decided to go on tour to take our podcasts to the people using silent headphones as the medium. Two weeks ago we kicked off the tour in Brooklyn with the Black Podcasters Association and then we headed to Manhattan on Sunday at Podstream Studios with DCP Entertainment. The only Black owned podcast studio in Times Square. It was just magical. So we are playing our podcast trailers; Queer News, Black HIV in the South, Rebound Revolution, PolyAm Chats & Second Sunday. We will also be highlighting other podcasts in our network city to city. Each activation is a bit different and I’m loving it. Next we head to Denver, Minneapolis, Atlanta and Baltimore. I’m still looking for sponsorship support and if you want to bring our podcast listening experience to your city let me know. There is a link in the show notes with all the details. 

Now for our quick glance at the top queer news stories for this week.  

We’ve got a big political win to celebrate coming out of Arizona. A federal judge issued an order blocking enforcement of an Arizona law that bars all transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams. The court’s ruling on the preliminary injunction bars enforcement of the ban. So for now these two trans girls can go back to playing sports with their friends. We have to give a BIG shoutout to the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), and the other law firms for representing these trans girls and their families in this lawsuit. 

In sports, Kevin Maxen has become the first coach in the NFL to come out and honestly the first coach in a male sport especially the pros to come out. He currently coaches with the Jacksonville Jaguars and in an exclusive interview with OutSports he said, “I don’t want to feel like I have to think about it anymore …I don’t want to feel like I have to lie about who I am seeing, or why I am living with someone else.” I know that’s rite. Living in the closet is exhausting especially when you have someone at home you love. His family, friends, and fellow coaches have rallied around him with support and I know that had to give him the extra courage needed to come out and I’m sure he will inspire others to do the same. 

In entertainment, there is a new film that just premiered at Outfest called “Truth Be Told” that is making a big splash. Truth Be Told” tells the stories of Black queer folks experiences in the Black Christian church. This film is directed by Emmy-award winning filmmaker Nneka Onuorah and It will feature interviews with Cedric the Entertainer, Tichina Arnold, Warryn & Erica Campbell, David & Tamela Mann and Kev on Stage. I can’t wait to see it. 

Family, now let’s get into the interview for this week. This week I welcome back Samiya Bashir, an award winning poet, author, and today the executive director of Lambda Literary. Lambda Literary is the hub for queer writers and the work they do today is so crucial given the unprecedented attacks on queer literature. We talk about these book bans, The Lammy’s which is the premiere award show for LGBTQ writers and how Lambda Literary is supporting our next generation of queer writers. I really think you’re going to enjoy this conversation so stay close because of this quick break we’ll be back with Samiya Bashir. 

If you’re hearing this it means we didn’t sale this ad space. If you hear this it means running ads on our pod works. See what I i did there. We’ve got rates starting at $100 dollars. Check the link in our show notes. 

I hope y’all enjoyed the interview with Samiya. You can follow Lambda Literary across social media at LambdaLiterary and links are in the show notes. 

Now, let us close out with a word from a song that I learned while attending the most affirming and inclusive church of all time. While reporting about “Truth be Told” I wanted to share this experience with y’all. The church is called Broadway United Methodist and they have a long history of being a place of refuge for the LGBTQ community. Well there is a song by Mark Miller called “Draw the Circle Wide” that really hits at the heart of the work. That we must draw the circle wider and include those on the fringes. Here are a few lines,

Draw the circle wide.

Draw it wider still,

Let this be our song

No one stands alone!

Standing side by side,

Draw the circle,

Draw the circle wide.

Till next week, peace.

Sources

Groundbreaking Documentary “Truth Be Told” Set To Premiere At OutFest

https://www.revry.tv/news/groundbreaking-documentary-truth-be-told-set-to-premiere-at-outfest

Macro Television Studios Boards Nneka Onuorah’s ‘Truth Be Told’ Black Church Docuseries

https://deadline.com/2021/09/macro-television-studios-nneka-onuorah-truth-be-told-black-church-docuseries-1234838740/

Jacksonville Jaguars strength coach Kevin Maxen comes out in the NFL, a first in major US men’s pro sports

https://www.outsports.com/2023/7/20/23799193/kevin-maxen-nfl-coach-coming-out-jacksonville-jaguars-boyfriend

Arizona Federal Court Allows Transgender Girls to Play on Girls’ Sports Teams

https://www.nclrights.org/about-us/press-release/arizona-federal-court-allows-transgender-girls-to-play-on-girls-sports-teams/