(Source: puzzledpantherrr)
![sourcedumal:
supermattachine:
(TW: Rape, violence, homophobia.)
morestitches:
poopsmoothie:
THIS IS WHAT THE FUCK IS UP.
ignoblebeasts:
Writing on the back of picture reads, “MAS [Men Against Sexism] member Ed Mead + Danny Atteberry (misidentified as “lovers” in CM [“Concrete Mama”, a nickname for the prison]) walk the tier of Big Red, the isolation unit at Walla Walla State Pen. 77 or 78
Ed Mead was arrested relatively early in the Brigade’s trajectory, so he spent much of his organizing time behind bars. In his close to twenty-year sentence, Mead led work strikes, filed petitions, and generally did his best to fan the flames of discontent wherever he went. This made him something of a scourge to prison administrators, who bounced him through state and federal penal systems, moving him along whenever his organizing efforts began to bear fruit.
One of his more notable efforts was Men Against Sexism (MAS), a group of “tough faggots” who forcibly stopped the buying and selling of prisoners by prisoners for the purpose of sexual exploitation [violent pimping of weaker prisoners by stronger ones] in Walla Walla. During the group’s zenith in 1978, MAS proved so effective that a feminine male prisoner could wear a dress around without threat of violence. MAS backed up their work with homemade grenades, single-shot rifles, and a willingness to die to stop prisoner-on-prisoner rape. ”Of all the political work that I’ve done,” says Mead, Men Against Sexism is what I’m most proud of. (The group effectively disbanded after a foiled escape attempt in 1978 involving Mead, several other prisoners and an array of homemade weapons.)
Yes, Mead and others actually had smuggled weapons into the prison, including a gun Mead was ready to use on at least one occasion. According to Burton-Rose, the two men you see below holding hands debated killing members of a prison gang who defied their ban on “owning”, selling, and raping other prisoners. Only under threat of death did the gang release an effeminate gay prisoner over whom they had claimed “ownership”.
woah. cool..
Wow. These men have done phenomenal work. I am very sad that that group was disbanded. They are desperately needed. Hell, I would love to see advocacy groups like these around the US.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqcboarCY51qc1dxco1_500.jpg)
(TW: Rape, violence, homophobia.)
THIS IS WHAT THE FUCK IS UP.
Writing on the back of picture reads, “MAS [Men Against Sexism] member Ed Mead + Danny Atteberry (misidentified as “lovers” in CM [“Concrete Mama”, a nickname for the prison]) walk the tier of Big Red, the isolation unit at Walla Walla State Pen. 77 or 78
Ed Mead was arrested relatively early in the Brigade’s trajectory, so he spent much of his organizing time behind bars. In his close to twenty-year sentence, Mead led work strikes, filed petitions, and generally did his best to fan the flames of discontent wherever he went. This made him something of a scourge to prison administrators, who bounced him through state and federal penal systems, moving him along whenever his organizing efforts began to bear fruit.
One of his more notable efforts was Men Against Sexism (MAS), a group of “tough faggots” who forcibly stopped the buying and selling of prisoners by prisoners for the purpose of sexual exploitation [violent pimping of weaker prisoners by stronger ones] in Walla Walla. During the group’s zenith in 1978, MAS proved so effective that a feminine male prisoner could wear a dress around without threat of violence. MAS backed up their work with homemade grenades, single-shot rifles, and a willingness to die to stop prisoner-on-prisoner rape. ”Of all the political work that I’ve done,” says Mead, Men Against Sexism is what I’m most proud of. (The group effectively disbanded after a foiled escape attempt in 1978 involving Mead, several other prisoners and an array of homemade weapons.)
Yes, Mead and others actually had smuggled weapons into the prison, including a gun Mead was ready to use on at least one occasion. According to Burton-Rose, the two men you see below holding hands debated killing members of a prison gang who defied their ban on “owning”, selling, and raping other prisoners. Only under threat of death did the gang release an effeminate gay prisoner over whom they had claimed “ownership”.woah. cool..
Wow. These men have done phenomenal work. I am very sad that that group was disbanded. They are desperately needed. Hell, I would love to see advocacy groups like these around the US.
(Source: vulgarhermeneutics)
I AM MAN: Black Manhood & Sexual Diversity
This is a very important documentary covering black masculinity and homosexuality within the black community in America - with a little insight into Africa too. Black masculinity has been constructed and deconstructed by white supremacist schools of thought as something that is a dangerous threat to the wider public. You only had to listen to the remarks David Starkey made about black masculinity on the BBC this week to know these attitudes are present here in the UK. As Dr Marc Lamont Hill rightly says even the black male body itself is considered something not worthy of dignity and respect and this is very clear in the culture of police brutality directed towards the male African-American community.
I also wanted to highlight Esther Armah’s comments on sexuality in Africa. I’m an African woman myself and I can relate to her comments about seeing young men in Africa hold hands and that not being sexualised in anyway. In Uganda boys hold hands all the time and because I have spent most of my life in London I always found it odd to see and even a bit uncomfortable because I was socialised into homophobia. I was at a dinner a couple of weeks ago and I was talking to a friend of mine from the Congo who now lives in London and then his friend came and sat down next to us. This other brother is originally from (North) Sudan and started rubbing his knee. I was asked ‘Why are you rubbing his knee??’ and the brother from Sudan read my discomfort and replied, ‘You’ve been in this country for too long’. And he was right. People always assume that the African is the violent homophobe, but as rightly pointed out in this video there are also external factors that have led to tragic cases such as that of gay rights activist David Kato being murdered in Uganda. For example, homophobia in Africa is funded hugely by fundamentalist Christian groups from America. Our legal systems that have criminalised homosexuality are also relics from our colonial past. All of these factors have to be addressed if people are going to be re-educated on sexual diversity. Sadly, progress is hindered by constant threats to black masculinity that leave a lot of black men feeling they have to affirm their manhood by living up to stereotypes in order to be accepted by their communities. Even if it leads to their emotional and physical destruction.
Please share this video and share your thoughts with me too. I’m always learning and this short documentary taught me some things.
Thank you for sharing.
I remember in 2005, opening a Kobena Mercer book and seeing a picture of two black, gay men and it blew my mind in the most amazing way. Like of course I knew black, gay men existed but from the limited exposure that I had (I was straight then), the representations were overwhelmingly white.
(Source: blackacrylic)
