Although Frank Ocean is clearly the R&B man of hour, don’t expect to find his album at your nearest Target. The big box chain as decided not to carry Ocean’s CD. Target says its because the album was already released digitally, not homophobia. Do you believe them?
I’ve spent the last week treading in the liquid of a queer-flavored ambivalence, trying to determine why the Anderson Cooper and Frank Ocean coming out announcements mean less to me than other people. I have seen enough episodes of Coming Out Stories and foolishly subjected myself and my partner to the awkward anti-climax of telling my father […]
The winds of change offered us another subtle and elusive breeze on the 4th of July as the nation celebrated another ironic Independence Day. Undoubtedly, many of you have already heard of Frank Ocean’s beautiful tumblr post announcing that his first love was a man. In delicate prose laced in a humble font sans serif, […]
If I could speak to him directly, I would say “Frank Ocean you have become revolutionary.” Every person that breaks normative ideas of sexuality and gender becomes a revolutionist. These paradigm shifters become life changing for every little boy that grew up wanting to put on a ballerina dress but couldn’t because of the fear […]
R&B singer and Odd Future member Frank Ocean came out of the closet yesterday, writing a poetic blog in which he admitted that his first love was a man. Ocean’s admission is relatively unheard of in mainstream Hip Hop. His bravery is truly inspiring.
I lost a really good friend recently. The last time I saw him was six months ago. He was starting a new job and in really high spirits but something was different. He wasn’t his normal, cheerful self. There was a calculated manner in which he answered my probing questions. He made it clear that […]
Mollie Judith Olgin, age 19, and Mary Christine Chapa, age 18, were both shot in the head last weekend. While say they do not know if the young couple’s sexuality motivated the crime. Still, a senseless tragedy.
14 year-old Kardin Ulysse is now blind in one eye after a brutal, homophobic assault by bullies in the cafeteria of Roy H. Mann Junior High School in Brooklyn. His family plans to sue the city for $16 million, and want his attackers to face hate crime charges.
(I Learned By Watching You) I. Last week, I submitted a news story to the BYP concerning yet another case of bullying. Joel Morales, a 12-year-old from East Harlem, hanged himself because he had grown tired of relentless harassment from other students. I forwarded the story just a few weeks after having sent an update regarding the FAMU […]
North Carolina voters ban same sex marriage, Obama comes out in favor of it, and while gay rights issues remain immediately timely and thoroughly heated, America’s corporations have not failed to find a money-making opportunity out of it. Target launched a line of gay pride t-shirts and will donate up to $120,000 of proceeds to […]
When Queen Latifah signed on to perform at Long Beach, California’s gay pride parade, many figured she would finally seize the opportunity to come out. And she did…sort of. Does it matter if Queen Latifah explicitly comes out or not?
Every week, the BYP collects the top news stories about black youth from across the country. Check back every Monday for a new roundup of headlines about young black America. This week, “Oakland schools’ black male students at risk,” “Sun’s racial hypocrisy is showing again,” and more!
