To Be a Black Mother in the U.S. Melissa Harris-Perry to Lesley McSpadden.

Today, Melissa Harris-Perry gave the most heartfelt open letter to Lesley McSpadden, mother of Mike Brown, killed by that Ferguson police officer.

If you're not watching the Melissa Harris-Perry Show on MSNBC on Saturday and Sunday mornings, you're missing out on the BEST news show around. 

Social justice, equity, and the most diverse commentators around -- scholars of color, women scholars, queer scholars, and activists of all walks of life -- drive the show. And the #Nerdland community on Twitter, during the show and afterwards, is the best!
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Feast of Fun. Porn Again & Josh Sabarra.

Saturday afternoon. Cleaning up the house. Thanksgiving company and food gone.

Decide to put on one of a million podcasts sitting in my iTunes, to keep me company. Saw something under Feast of Fun about gay men, youthfulness, L.A., and decide to listen.

What a treat!

Great Feast of Fun interview (It's Never Too Late) with a Josh Sabarra, a publicist with big jobs/clients, discussing his memoir Porn Again, about coming to terms with sex and sexuality and LGBT identity in L.A. after age 30.

Take a listen. And have a great day!
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Mac N Cheese

Every year, I get asked to make the Mac N Cheese. I must make it good. Lol.
Happy Thanksgiving... pace yourself... and try to get some cardio in over the weekend in a gym!
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We Need To Talk About The Pumpkin-Related Violence In This Country.

We need to talk about this pumpkin-related violence in this country.

I guess some of my happy hour friends & acquaintances forgot to share their deep outrage and anger when the Great Pumpkin Spice Riot broke out in New Hampshire last month. Or maybe they didn't know. The story is linked above.

But when Black and Brown Millennials stage civil disobedience (and yeah, maybe close a freeway or two for a few minutes) over something more urgent than pumpkins -- like police brutality on our communities, like systems and histories of long-term oppression on our communities -- we begin to see what lurks behind the "smiles and what's ups" of our happy hour friends and acquaintances, with ill-informed, non-academic, opinions and sarcasm about groups/causes we should be allied with.

But enjoy that pumpkin pie this weekend, and think about the Great Pumpkin Spice Riot of 2014. I'll be eating sweet potato pie, by the way.
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deepsouth and World AIDS Day

Had a chance to see the film deepsouth last week, as part of a World AIDS Day event. It's a documentary about HIV & AIDS in the U.S. South, and how silence and shame are at root for the continued epidemic in the U.S. South. 

I enjoyed the film and post-film discussion led by director Lisa Biagiotti. Got a real understanding of how silence and shame around sex & sexuality, along with the reverence given to Southern tradition, make for a recipe ripe for HIV and AIDS in the U.S. South.

If you're part of a campus or community Cultural, Gender, or LGBT Center,  or part of an HIV/AIDS Education agency, I encourage you to contact the film director and arrange a screening of the deepsouth film.

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LoWriting: Shots, Rides, Stories from the Chicano Soul

Had a wonderful time attending an event for the LoWriting: Shots, Rides & Stories from the Chicano Soul anthology at the Cal State L.A. Student Union today (11/17/14). Great readings, photography, and stories about the positive elements of Low Riding communities in L.A. and nationwide.

Anthology editor, S.J. Rivera, plus three contributors -- Art Meza, Viva Flores, and Tara Evonne Trudell -- shared their pieces and talked about the significance of Low Riding to the Chican@ community, plus the inspiration behind their pieces and the anthology.

Get a copy for yourself. Or catch the LoWriting team at other book events in L.A. this week at UCLA or in Boyle Heights for other events.
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Healthy Masculinities and Eagle Men's Retreat. Lit Review.

In addition to my QPOC novels, I am a Student Affairs professional.

This weekend, I attended and presented at the ACUI Region I, a regional conference for College/Student Union professionals. My co-workers and I presented on Healthy Masculinities, Gender Performance, and the Cal State L.A. Eagle Men's Retreat that we facilitated in February 2014.

Because the Prezi text was small, and may have been difficult to read, I'm sharing the Lit Review that we used and referenced during our ACUI Region I presentation.

Even if you didn't attend, but follow me due to my QPOC work, you may still find this Lit Review helpful for your further scholarly inquiry.
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Men and Gender Performance

Berkowitz, A. (2011). Using how college men feel about being men and “doing the right thing” to promote men’s development. In T. Davis & J. Laker, Masculinities in higher education: Theoretical and practical considerations. (pp. 161-176). New York, NY: Routledge

Kimmell, M. (1994). Masculinity as homophobia: Fear, shame, and silence in the construction of gender identity. In H. Brod and M. Kaufman (Eds.), Theorizing Masculinities. (pp. 147-151). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Intersectionality and Identities

Crenshaw, K., Gotanda, N., Peller, G., Thomas, K. (Eds.) (1996). Critical race theory: The key writings that formed the movement. New York City: The New Press.

Stewart, D.L. (2008). Being all of me: Black students negotiating multiple identities. Journal of higher education, 79 (2) , 183 – 207.

Strayhorn, T.L. (Ed.) (2013). Living at the intersections: Social identities and Black collegians. St. Louis: Washington University Press.

Men of Color & Gender Performance

Harper, S.R. (2005). The measure of a man: Conceptualizations of masculinities among high-achieving African American male college students. Berkeley Journal of Sociology, 48(1), 89-107.

Williams, R.A. (Ed.) (2014). Men of color in higher education: New foundations for developing models for success. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing

Men of Color, Queer Identities, & Gender Performance

Alexander, B.K. (2006). Performing black masculinity: Race, culture, and queer identity. Washington, D.C.: Alta Mira

Johnson, E.P. (2008). Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South--An Oral History.  Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.