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[00:00:00] There’s no place like the Qube

Family. It’s your favorite queer radio personality. Anna Deshaun, and [00:00:30] this is Queer News. Your favorite weekly news pod where race and sexuality meet politics, culture, and entertainment. Now when you were starting out as a writer, you were black, impoverished, homosexual. You must have said to yourself, gee, how disadvantaged can I get?

Oh no, I thought I hit the jackpot. Oh great.

It was so outrageous you could not go any further, you know. So you had to find a way to [00:01:00] use it. The voice you just heard was James Baldwin, honey. And he said, I hit the jackpot. All those identities. I hit the jackpot. Okay. Don’t get it twisted. On Friday, August 2nd, my feed was lighting up with James Baldwin tribute, celebrating his 100th birthday.

Baldwin was a giant amongst giants who spoke his truth during a time when it was illegal and unsafe. Not only for his [00:01:30] gayness, but for his blackness, my favorite Baldwin quote comes out of an interview he did in 1961 when he was asked about his experience being black in America. I’m going to read the extended version and not just the one they put out on the memes.

Okay. He says, To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a state of rage, almost, almost all of the time and in one’s work. And [00:02:00] part of this rage is this. It isn’t only what is happening to you. It is what’s happening all around you and all the time in the face of the most extraordinary and criminal indifference, indifference of most white people in this country and their ignorance.

Now, Since this is so, it’s a great temptation to simplify the issues under the illusion that if you simplify them enough, people will recognize them. I think this illusion is very [00:02:30] dangerous because in fact it isn’t the way it works. A complex thing can be made simple. You simply have to try to deal with it in all its complexity and hope to get that complexity across.

Thank you, Baldwin.

Also family, don’t forget the queer news tip line is open and I haven’t gotten a queer news tip in a couple of months. Come on now, I know something has to be going on in your local communities [00:03:00] that is not making the news, that isn’t making a blog. Send those tips to me. A link is in the show notes. Q Crew, what’s going on?

Thank you for helping to financially sustain this here podcast. I appreciate you. More than you will ever know. I’ve got another exclusive interview coming your way shortly. I’m so excited about it. And if you’re listening to this podcast and you’re not part of the Q crew, a link is in the show notes. So if you believe in the work I do, if you believe LGBTQ stories need to be amplified, and if you [00:03:30] love and respect how I report on the news and tell our stories, join the Q crew.

A link is in the show notes. Oh yeah. And don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. It’s popping over there. Okay. Check out E3 radio and turn on the notifications. So you don’t miss a thing. Now for the news, an anonymous donor is helping to support the search for Taylor Casey in politics. VP Kamala Harris continues to gain momentum this time from white men and Republicans.[00:04:00]

And in California, They ban outing queer students in culture and entertainment. The Olympics became a trans phobic hailstorm this week and LGBTQ athletes are raking in the medals. Family Kehlani is going on tour and I’m going to share a little bit. About seeing Trump in person at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention.

Let’s go. Family, our top story, as you well know, is about my Chicago [00:04:30] comrade, Taylor Casey, who’s been missing in the Bahamas now for well over a month. We received a press release this past week from the organizers telling us that an anonymous donor, Has donated 10, 000. You heard me 10, 000 as a reward for information leading to Taylor coming home in the press release.

They also let us know that they’ve been able to retain an attorney, John Q. Kelly [00:05:00] and his team. So they’re going to help. Get some answers because as of right now, they still don’t have any new leads coming out of the Bahamas police investigation, which is disappointing and infuriating to say the very, very least.

Taylor’s friend, Sam said this each day that passes. I’m reminded that a world with Taylor. Is a better world for everyone. They went on to say, this is an active ongoing search to find [00:05:30] Taylor and bring her home. That is what we hope comes out of the situation. And we invite any intentional support or effort in that direction.

Family, the organizers have started a new hashtag, hashtag bring Taylor home. They’re looking to launch this campaign online, get some celebrities and influencers to continue to put pressure on authorities. And the U S to get the FBI involved, to raise more money, to cover these legal costs and travel fees, and to support [00:06:00] folks who want to help with the search on the ground in the Bahamas, we can’t do this alone.

We can’t bring Taylor home alone. We need everybody’s support. So please go follow the hashtag, bring Taylor home, donate. If you can, a link is in the show notes

in politics. The story is still VP Kamala Harris. And the epic momentum shift that has happened since she was announced as the [00:06:30] preemptive nominee for the democratic ticket for president of these here United States. It has been incredible to watch. It feels like the energy that I felt when Obama was in this position.

I can remember, I can almost feel the hope. I can feel the energy that I felt at that time. It was palpable. And now in 2024, we get to experience this thing again. She has an amazing opportunity to become [00:07:00] the first woman president of the United States. That’s major. And last week I jokingly said we were going to give white men a little minute, you know, to get on a zoom call.

And look what happened this past week. A group was formed called white dudes for Harris. I am not making this up and it was almost a three and a half hour zoom call and they raised almost 4 million for VP Kamala Harris’s campaign. Let me tell you some of the [00:07:30] white dudes, as they put it on this call, where Jeff Bridges, who was so excited to be on this call, he said, I qualify, man, I’m white, I’m a dude and I’m for Harris, a woman president, man, how exciting.

That’s what he said. Other white dudes that joined this call, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, uh, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, our governor here in Illinois, J. B. Pritzker. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, child, the list [00:08:00] goes on and on. Let me tell you. Also, entertainment folks joined this call.

Lance Bass was on this call. Josh Groban was on this call. J. J. Abrams. I mean, this call was stacked. They raised over four million dollars in three and a half hours. And I just love that they organized. Okay? And that wasn’t all. Now there’s a Republicans for Harris child. I can’t even keep up. This is a very real thing and it was organized by the Harris for president [00:08:30] campaign.

It’s meant to engage with Republican voters who want to reject the chaos division and the violence of Donald Trump and his project 2025 agenda and child. The list is long. Okay, people are not afraid. They are tweeting. about this. Okay. One in particular, Adam Kazinger of Illinois was amongst the list that was tweeting about it.

He said, there is nothing conservative about Donald Trump. Conservatives believe in the constitution, not a man’s ego. [00:09:00] Endorsing American democracy and the future today and leaving the past in the dust. I’m endorsing Kamala Harris. And I think another person worth mentioning. Who’s also joined this Republicans for Harris campaign is former white house official, Stephanie Grisham.

All right. Now she said, I might not agree with VP Kamala Harris on everything, but I know she will fight for our freedom, protect our democracy, and represent America with honor and dignity on the world stage. [00:09:30] Now Grisham served in the Trump administration herself. She was most recently the chief of staff to the first lady, Melania Trump.

She resigned right before the January 6th riots. Yo, yo, I think we might really be turning a tide here. Family. I believe there is a path for VP Kamala Harris to actually win the presidency. Now this week, we should expect [00:10:00] her to announce her VP running May. This is going to be a milestone moment and we’ll see who she selects.

Ooh, what a time. What a time.

In other political news, California has become the first state to ban schools from actually outing students. Now, I’m including this story this week because as we talk about the presidential election and understanding how important that is, we cannot underscore how [00:10:30] important local politics is to our everyday lives.

And what California does and continues to do is set the precedent for what policy can and should look like as it pertains to LGBTQ folks. I absolutely love this. Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for Governor Newsom, said this. This law keeps children safe while protecting the critical role of parents. It protects the child parent relationship by preventing politicians and school [00:11:00] staff from inappropriately intervening in family matters and attempting to control if, when, and how families have deeply personal conversations.

I love this so much. You know? Republicans love to say they don’t want the government in their business, but child all their policies be all up in our business. Thanks California for setting the precedent. I hope other states follow suit. Now I think it’s a great time to take a [00:11:30] quick break and when we get back, culture and entertainment news.

I’m Darren. And I’m Esther. And this is Second Sunday, a podcast about Black queer folk finding, keeping, and sometimes losing faith. This season’s full of candid conversations. We’re talking to theologians, artists, activists, and community members living at the intersections of Faith, spirituality, and identity.

The saints ain’t ready for this, but we’re still going to talk about it. Second Sunday, find it wherever you get podcasts. Second [00:12:00] Sunday is a Qube original podcast, and it’s part of the PRX big questions project.

If you’re hearing this, it means we didn’t sell this ad space. If you’re hearing this, it means running ads on our podcast actually can work. You see what I did there? You see this real life example. You got an event. Do you have an organization? We’ve got something you need to get the word out about. We got rates starting as low as a hundred dollars.

Check the link in [00:12:30] our show notes for more information. Family, welcome back to the show. In culture and entertainment, hands down our top story is about Iman Khalif, the Algerian boxer fighting in the Olympics, who has been experiencing nothing but right wing transphobic hate. Since she knocked out Italian competitor, Angela Carini in 46 seconds.

[00:13:00] Yeah, family. So you may have seen this on your timeline. Maybe you even read a story or two, but let me just get you all caught up. Okay? Iman made her boxing debut in 2018. Okay? She’s had 52 matches, 43 wins, 6 knockouts.

Now last year, the International Boxing Association, the IBA, disqualified Iman saying that they gave her a [00:13:30] test and she came back with XY chromosomes. But let me tell y’all this, Iman was born a woman, lives as a woman, and identifies as a woman. She just happens to have XY chromosomes. And if you do a little research, this just happens to be a thing that happens in some people.

Now, the International Boxing Association, IBA, is not who runs the Olympics. And [00:14:00] in fact, the International Olympic Committee, IOC, stripped IBA of their international recognition. because of this transphobic nonsense. Okay. So what happened was Iman got into the ring with Angela of Italy. She hit her a couple of times, got a real good in the nose.

Angela went down on her knees. It was like, I can’t do no more. Okay. She started crying all the tears in the middle of the ring. She wouldn’t even dap up Iman at the end of the match. And then she did [00:14:30] interviews saying that she’s never been hit that hard in her life. And then the right wing media took off.

On their transphobic hate train, as Amar Jones likes to call it, and they never looked back. They never looked back. Or wanted to check their sources, or wanted to do more research, or maybe didn’t want to be so doggone hateful. And y’all know what this means. This means Iman has been subject to this stream of [00:15:00] nonstop hate when all she wanted to do was talk.

was compete in the Olympics and win for her country. That’s it. That’s all. Since this firestorm of hate has ensued, I’ve actually seen apologies from people on the internet who got this wrong. I’ve also seen the apology coming from Angela, the boxer who was on her knees crying in the middle of the ring.

She apologized to Iman for [00:15:30] what has ensued because of her actions.

But can we all say it’s too late for that now?

And now, out of nowhere, the International Boxing Association, the IBA, the one who the Olympic Committee stripped of their international recognition, you know what they’re doing now? You know what they’re doing? They’re actually gonna give Angela Carini of Italy, you know, the boxer that lost, [00:16:00] 50, 000 in prize money.

Yeah, they’re gonna give her 50, 000. The Federation, another 25, 000 and her coach, 25, 000. Yeah, because their transphobia is just that strong. Currently Iman is still boxing. The Olympic committee has her back and she has expressed immense gratitude. For them supporting who she is, he’s asked for an end to the bullying and into [00:16:30] the disrespect.

She says she’s in touch with her family two times a week and she really hopes this hasn’t affected them. And the best thing she can do is win gold. Iman, we’re rooting for you. Just like everybody in that boxing stadium is rooting for you and cheering for you. We are too. We are too. And when Iman wins that medal, she’ll be adding to the count of all the queers at the Paris Olympics who are raking in the gold, the [00:17:00] silver, and the bronze.

There are currently 195 out athletes, according to Out Sports, right now in the Paris Olympics. They brought home to their country’s 23 overall medals, 5 gold, 10 silver, and 8 bronze. A couple of my standouts have to be Lauren Scruggs, who made history as the first black American woman and the first out lesbian to win an individual fencing [00:17:30] medal.

Mm hmm. My other fave was Tom Daley. He got his fifth Olympic medal. And child, it’s because I just really am fascinated with synchronized diving and the water sports in general. Just like, how do they do that? So the queers is winning in pairs. I think it’s wonderful. Okay. I freaking love the Olympics. Yes.

In other culture and entertainment news, guess who’s going on tour? Our favorite queer [00:18:00] OK Kehlani is going on tour, coming to a city near you. She made the announcement on X last week. She is starting off in Minneapolis. She going to be in Chicago. I’m going to see about getting a ticket or getting me an interview.

Uh huh. We’re just going to sing that into existence, but she’s hitting just over 30 cities kicking off the tour on September the 4th, ending it on November the 2nd, so get you a ticket. Okay. Go support our favorite [00:18:30] queer. Okay. Our favorite lesbian out here just being as out as she wants to be singing to who she wants to be with.

And I’m here for it. Okay. Yes, indeed. Come on. Kaylani give me that interview. Let’s go.

Family. Now it’s time for Anna’s got a word because Anna’s always got a word and it’s not just one word today is multiple words, but essentially it’s, you just never know. You just never know. This past week, [00:19:00] I was an attendee, thanks to the Ford Foundation, of the National Association of Black Journalists Convention.

I’ve never been. I’ve pretty much stayed away from these predominantly black spaces because they are often not queer affirming. So it’s never been something I’ve been interested in, whether it was the NAACP or the Urban League over here or an NABJ. Okay. It’s just never something I’ve done, but I received an opportunity.

They were in my hometown, a friend, Treyvail, who is a loyal [00:19:30] listener of this show, journalist, authorist. Okay. Go get the book. We see each other do that podcaster. They told me I need to get involved. I need to show up. And so all those things combined, I showed up and we received the announcement, which I’m sure you saw on the news that Trump came and was in attendance and was everything we know him to be.

And I wasn’t sure I was going to attend. I mean, I just wasn’t sure I wanted to be in that space with him. [00:20:00] And I was telling my dad about it and he said, Anna, you need to be there. You got to go. You got to report back to the people. I gave that a lot of thought and I decided to listen to my dad. And Darian.

Accompanying me, Darian Aaron, who’s our contributor. You’ve heard his voice on this here podcast and he reports for the Southeast for GLAAD. And so we parted up and decided to go. Okay. It was [00:20:30] everything you saw, except for we had seats in the room to hear it firsthand, and it was honestly laughable. It was a disgrace.

I do not agree. With NABJ inviting him and I did a video on YouTube about it. Go watch it. I’ve linked it in the show notes. I, and I share my opinion there, but that’s not the part I want to focus on. I want to focus on my words, right? You just never know. So while I was. In [00:21:00] that room, I got the opportunity to say thank you to Michael Matera, who’s a broadcast journalist who went to my undergrad, who I was able to shadow one day doing a break because of a program Drake had.

And I got to say thank you to her. That would have never happened if I didn’t decide to go into that room. Roland Martin was there and he was walking around and I stopped him and I asked him and I pitched him to be a queer news correspondent on his show. That would have never happened if I wouldn’t have shown up.[00:21:30]

I got to pitch myself to a couple of other folks in that room as well. And that would have happened if I didn’t show up. And so my words, you just never know, because this journey of life, we really don’t know what’s ahead. We just keep doing the work. Right? We just have to keep showing up and our gifts will make room for us.

So family say yes to the next opportunity because you really just never know till next week. Peace.[00:22:00]

If you’ve enjoyed what you heard, rate and review us inside your favorite podcasting app. This podcast is written and produced by [00:22:30] me, Anna Deshawn. Podcast editing by Ryan Woodhull and brought to you by E3 radio and distributed on the Qube. We are Queer News Done Right.