LATE BREAKING NEWS

The events of the past 48 hours have been exhilarating to say the least.

While readers have followed the story of the ill-fated decision to include homophobic Jamaican dancehall performers Beenie Man and TOK in an HIV/AIDS prevention concert sponsored by LIFEbeat, the music industry group that raises money for AIDS causes, and the fallout that resulted when Black and Black gay bloggers organized by Keith Boykin rose up in opposition, behind the scenes was a flurry of grassroots organizing and communication I haven�t experienced since my college days. But let�s get to what has resulted.

This afternoon, LIFEbeat issued the following statement:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Jody L Miller/JLM PR, INC
212 431 5227 (Work)
917 770 3970 (Cell)
jody@jlmpr.com

LIFEBEAT STATEMENT:

LIFEbeat � The Music Industry Fights AIDS, has collectively decided to cancel its Reggae Gold Live concert, scheduled for Tuesday, July 18 at New York�s Webster Hall. While the organization�s staff and board believe very strongly in the positive purpose and intention of this event, the possibility of violence at the concert from the firestorm incited by a select group of activists makes canceling the event the only responsible action. Dialogue is important and LIFEbeat�s staff and board respect the opinions of those who came forward to make their feelings known. We have always and will continue to support the GLBT community. It is very unfortunate, however, that the intended good that could result from bringing this community together around this potentially ground breaking event will not be realized. The Caribbean American community needs our help in bringing attention to this unspoken and often stigmatized illness. We hope in the wake of this decision that those who came forward and spoke out will now come forward again to do something positive for the Caribbean American community and help bring attention to the devastation this disease has wreaked in that community so awareness, prevention and healing can follow.

A more disingenuous statement you aren�t likely to read. Nowhere do they acknowledge their own failure to understand the community they were attempting to reach. Nowhere do they acknowledge the stupidity of inviting to perform known homophobes who have openly sung lyrics calling for mutilation and murder of gays, and by whose actions mutilations and murders of gays have actually occurred on the island of Jamaica. Nowhere do they recognize that had they bothered to step outside their own lofty corner offices and spoken with real people affected by HIV/AIDS, they might have been able to head off all of this mess.

Instead, they make suggestions that the cancellation was precipitated by the actions of a �select group.� That select group, in fact, numbered in the hundreds, was international in its outrage, and included folks from all walks of life. They use the age old tactic of hinting that violence might have taken place if the event had gone on. BULLSHIT. In short, they refuse to accept the full blame for screwing this whole event up in the first place by their own mismanagement.

A coalition of Caribbean American activists have also been actively working behind the scenes on this issue and released the text of a letter of their own shortly afterwards.

John Canelli
Executive Director
LIFEbeat
630 Ninth Avenue: Suite 1010
New York, NY 10036

Mr. Canelli:

LIFEbeat�s deliberate decision to have Jamaican artists Beenie Man and TOK headline your July 18 �Hearts & Voices� benefit concert has already provoked the outrage of many. As you are well aware, these are two of the most protested Caribbean artists as a result of virulently homophobic lyrics in their recent music that calls for the mutilation, murder or genocide of Gay and Lesbian people. Homophobia causes AIDS, and LIFEbeat�s decision to showcase these artists undermines Caribbean HIV prevention efforts. The offensiveness and disregard of this action towards a Caribbean community whose vulnerability and stigmatization are at the core of its risk for HIV, and the bad faith it creates for LIFEbeat and its work, undermine any possible benefit inclusion of those artists might have.

Your response to the harm your action does Caribbean GLBT communities, who are disproportionately affected by HIV, needs to go significantly beyond current calls for cancellation of these two acts. As Caribbean community leaders and activists diverse in race, gender and sexual orientation, we have come together to insist that LIFEbeat organize a new concert targeting our communities, this one with a distinctly GLBT-affirming message and artists. This would be consistent with your mission to use the power of music in the healing work of fighting HIV. We are also demanding that you apply the proceeds of such an event towards the fight against homophobia in Jamaica, by contributing them to the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, AllSexuals & Gays.

We strongly believe these are minimal measures and first steps LIFEbeat must take to undo the damage you have done to HIV prevention for one of the most vulnerable Caribbean populations. We will continue to mobilize Caribbean stakeholders around this effort and to collaborate with you in accomplishing these goals.

Finally, the community of Black gay bloggers released the following to the press:

For Immediate Release

Media Contact:

Jasmyne Cannick, jcannick@sbcglobal.net
Colin Robinson, 917-482-9014
Keith Boykin, keithboykin1@aol.com

Black Gay Bloggers Win Victory; LIFEbeat Cancels Anti-Gay AIDS Concert

Los Angeles/New York (July 12, 2006) �Black lesbian and gay bloggers are declaring a small victory in the fight against homophobia today.

After a 48 hour protest against LIFEbeat, the music industry�s AIDS organization, and its decision to use homophobic reggae artists Beenie Man and TOK, LIFEbeat today released a statement that it is canceling its concert. LIFEbeat cited �the possibility of violence� as the reason for canceling the concert and not the use of anti-gay reggae artists.

�While we are extremely pleased that our efforts paid off, we want to make it perfectly clear to LIFEbeat and others, that no threats of violence were ever made against LIFEbeat�s staff and board of directors, nor the concert,� commented Jasmyne Cannick, activist and blogger. �Our campaign was simply to educate LIFEbeat about the history of the performers that they choose and to make them aware of the recent murders of gay people in the Caribbean. We did this through emails, blogging, phone calls, and faxes from all over the world.�

Author Keith Boykin added, �LIFEbeat still fails to address the issue of homophobia and its connection to the spread of HIV/AIDS.� He continues, �While we support the mission of LIFEbeat to educate our youth about the dangers of HIV/AIDS, we cannot support the use of blatantly homophobic recording artists to achieve that mission.�

�LIFEbeat has basically chosen to cop-out and blame us for their ill-considered decision to use these artists in the first place,� commented D.C. blogger Terrence Heath.

The concert was scheduled to take place at New York�s Webster Hall on July 18. Activists are now calling on LIFEbeat to move on with a new concert using gay-friendly artists and to donate the proceeds to J-FLAG, The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays founded by the late Brian Williamson who was murdered for being gay in 2004.

“This would be the first time a protest of these artists raised money for us,� said Karlene, co-chair of J-FLAG. �The international protests have helped build awareness and accountability back here. Artists who perform homophobic or hate songs must be sent a strong message that their acts are inhumane and will not be tolerated. But it�s even better when this can result in support for our difficult and under-financed work to counter this hatred where these musicians live.�

A complete list of the Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender bloggers who participated in the campaign against LIFEbeat appears below.

Bejata link
Keith Boykin link
Republic of T link
Pandagon link
Clay Cane link
Jasmyne Cannick link
Journey Into Light link
Frank Leon Roberts link
A Burst of Light link
Blabbeando link
J’s Theater link
FemmeNoir link
AnziDesign link
PlanetOut’s Politics and News link
GreasyGuide link
Troy Notorious link
thebrotherlove.com link
Woubi-Yossi Collective link
Just My Thoughts link
Obsidianbear link
The 7 Magazine link
The Larry Lyons Experience link
Simply Fred Smith link
Every Shut Eye Ain’t Sleep link
Novaslim link
Front Porch Storytellin link
Taylor Siluw� link
Bialogue link

In deciding to cancel their event and from the choice of words used in their press statement, it is clear that LIFEbeat still fails to understand and is unwilling to acknowledge the shortsightedness of their own actions. By doing so, they call into serious question their own credibility. Did they consult any gay Caribbean people living with HIV/AIDS before planning this event? Does this organization have a consumer advisory board made up of PLWHAs, or was this a group of record execs talking solely amongst themselves?

When outsiders attempt to create programs without community buy-in, particularly those involving socially marginalized populations like gays and people living with HIV/AIDS, you are bound to face resistence. Let us hope that in the future LIFEbeat will expand the circle of voices they listen to before attempting to offer what they think is best for the community.

The press conference scheduled for Thursday will go on as planned. Blogger activists, Caribbean groups, the HIV/AIDS community and elected officials, will all be in attendance.

ADDENDUM

The New York AIDS Coalition, a state-wide association of HIV/AIDS service providers, also issued a press release with their views on the event and its cancellation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 12, 2006
CONTACT: Joey Pressley, Executive Director
(212) 629-3075

New York, NY � The New York AIDS Coalition (NYAC) expresses relief that LIFEbeat has chosen to cancel �Reggae Gold�, a music event that would have included two musicians who have a track record of dangerously homophobic music lyrics. The artists, BeenieMan and TOK, have songs that contain lyrics calling for the mutilation, murder and genocide of gays and lesbians. The event was scheduled for July 18, 2006 at Webster Hall.

While LIFEbeat �did the right thing� and canceled an event that would have given a platform and audience for musicians who promote violence and discrimination towards gays and lesbians, LIFEbeat did not cancel the event graciously. Instead, LIFEbeat chose to blame AIDS advocates for the cancellation, issuing a statement that the �possibility of violence� was the reason for cancellation. NYAC is not aware of any threats of violence and is deeply saddened by LIFEbeat�s decision to blame the AIDS community. In reality, public outrage at LIFEbeat�s decision to invite homophobic musicians to perform placed pressure on LIFEbeat take action.

NYAC Executive Director Joey Pressley stated, �LIFEbeat has a reputation as an organization that is helping to reduce HIV stigma and raise awareness, particularly among young adults, about the risks of HIV. I am thankful that they chose to cancel an event, targeted to young adults, which would have given a platform for musicians whose music promotes violence against LGBT people.� Mr. Pressley went on to state, �Homophobia and stigma continue to be major factors contributing to the transmission of HIV/AIDS and have no place in an event dedicated to raising awareness of HIV. We welcome the opportunity to work with LIFEbeat and to have an honest conversation about the role of homophobia in contributing to HIV infection.�

According to the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS,) homophobia is a significant cause of HIV infection. As stated in their 2006 annual report on the global AIDS epidemic: �Vulnerability to HIV infection is dramatically increased where sex between men is criminalized. In Jamaica, men having sex with men can be convicted of a crime and sentenced to jail.� The report goes on to state, �Criminalization and homophobia severely limit the ability of many men who have sex with men to access HIV prevention information, commodities and treatment and care. Faced with legal or social sanctions, men having sex with men are either excluded from, or exclude themselves from, sexual health and welfare agencies because they fear being identified as homosexual.� In addition, other groups such as Human Rights Watch have documented the direct relationship between homophobia and HIV transmission, such as a report they issued on homophobia in Jamaica and its ties to HIV infection.

�LIFEbeat would have sent the wrong message to gays and lesbians everywhere had they chosen to organize an event where musicians who advocate violence towards homosexuals were given a forum to promote their music. While I am glad that they chose to cancel the event, I am also somewhat troubled that they chose to place blame on AIDS advocates for their decision to cancel the event. The AIDS community was merely challenging their selection of two notorious gay bashers for their HIV awareness concert �, stated Joey Pressley.