Black Family

Out From The Shadows: 'Rothaniel' Brings Comedian’s Sexuality, Community Hypocrisy Into the Spotlight

While much of heterosexual Black America has spent the spring debating the impact of Will Smith’s slap, a quieter event has taken precedence in the minds of many Black gay men: The April 1 release of “Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel,” comedian Jerrod Carmichael’s latest HBO special and, unexpectedly, his coming out story.

Out From The Shadows: 'Rothaniel' Brings Comedian’s Sexuality, Community Hypocrisy Into the Spotlight

Lifting the Veil: Black Gay Caregivers Need Community Support

I knew I was not alone. I had spoken to other Black gay men who were caregiving, but it was not something that was often discussed openly. Caregiving can be a very solitary role, where you end up isolated, and unable to find an outlet for all the emotions that you’re experiencing. Because, for some, you are caregiving 24 hours, and unable to leave your care recipient.

I was taught growing up that men were the providers, and as a Black man, I was supposed to leave the home to earn a living to take care of my family. The emotional and physical care wasn’t something I was taught would be my burden to carry. The truth is, there was never going to be any other way this would go. My parents have two sons. We were going to have to shoulder this burden or consider a home for our parents.

Lifting the Veil: Black Gay Caregivers Need Community Support

Atlanta LGBTQ+ Couples Featured In Jamal Jordan’s ‘Queer Love In Color’

“How can you believe in something you’ve never seen?”

It’s a question that plagued a young Jamal Jordan during his formative years in Mobile, Alabama as he acknowledged his same-sex attraction as the thing that made him different from some of the other boys in the Gulf Coast community that he called home. The something that he’d never seen was queer couples of color. It would be decades after a young Jordan’s initial realization of the erasure of Black LGBTQ+ couples in mainstream media that the adult journalist would take control of the narrative in a viral story for The New York Times, and the subsequent book by the same title.

Atlanta LGBTQ+ Couples Featured In Jamal Jordan’s ‘Queer Love In Color’

This Father’s Day, Black Trans Dads Deserve To Be Seen, Celebrated

On television, the journey to fatherhood is blissfully straightforward: A few rough and tumble single years before finding ‘the one,’ welcoming a child or two, and settling down into cozy family life.

For Britt Chambliss, 33, the journey was similar up to a point. The Navy vet had restless years of self-discovery, found a wife, and even welcomed a daughter. Then he took a step toward an identity most fathers take for granted, shedding the female gender he was assigned at birth before stepping into his identity as a transgender man.

This Father’s Day, Black Trans Dads Deserve To Be Seen, Celebrated

Love Makes A Family: Black LGBTQ Couples On Their Journey To Parenthood

A decade ago lesbian moms Juana Mendenhall, 44, and Angel Mendenhall, 41, were just writing their love story. They’d both ended long-term relationships, and Angel, a flight attendant based in Ft. Lauderdale was living her best life on the beach and getting paid to travel—motherhood and a life in Atlanta with Juana, a scientist and college professor was not on her to-do list. In fact, on their first date, Angel says she wasted no time making one thing clear to the beautiful stranger sitting across from her at a Midtown Thai restaurant: “I hope you know, I will never move to Atlanta because I will never commute again.”

Love Makes A Family: Black LGBTQ Couples On Their Journey To Parenthood

Black LGBTQ+ Atlantans Reflect On Experiencing A Mother’s Love

Sunday, May 9 is the national observance of Mother’s Day. For people who are fortunate to still have a living mother or a mother who takes part in child-rearing, the day will be spent by pampering the woman responsible for giving life. While Mother’s Day is often a celebratory day, for many Black LGBTQ+ people, it can also be a day filled with the opposite emotion. Far too many Black LGBTQ+ people have faced rejection based upon their sexual orientation or gender identity. Those stories are real and must be acknowledged and told, if for no other reason, but to serve as a deterrent for it ever happening again.

Black LGBTQ+ Atlantans Reflect On Experiencing A Mother’s Love

Black Gay Director Pulls The Cover Off Homophobia, Family Secrets in ‘Thicker Than Blood’

Anthony L. Williams, writer and director of the 2017 independent feature film “Thicker Than Blood” is placing Black gay characters at the center of his work and challenging audiences to move beyond any stereotypically held beliefs in search of the truth in love that binds us all.

Black Gay Director Pulls The Cover Off Homophobia, Family Secrets in ‘Thicker Than Blood’