Gay Black History Month

Black Gay Activists Andrea Shorter and Edwin Seth Brown talk with Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson in celebration of Black History Month. Andrea Shorter is the Deputy Marriage and Coalitions Director for Equality California. She is passionate about engaging communities of color in dialogue about gay marriage. When asked what her personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights Shorter stated, “Well given the fact that I’m LGBT, that’s who I am. I’m Afro-American, I’m lesbian and in many respects it’s a labor of not only love on my part but also I’m part of the struggle too. I want the next generation of young black lesbians and other lesbians of color to not have to live in a world where we are grappling over whether or not we can marry the person we love.” Edwin Seth Brown is Ambassador to Germany for the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA). He began his career in the arts as a modern dancer where he acquired his love for travel. He shares his experiences of growing up black and gay in urban Los Angeles in the 50’s and 60’s. “In my community being black was very difficult. I’m in my late fifties now. When I grew up as a black person you couldn’t be gay in the community because the church was very non-accepting of same-sex practices. There was such a feeling that you had to be a man just sometimes to get down the street because I grew up in South Central Los Angeles and you had to be a very strong personality not to have somebody trying to push themselves on you or bullying you. I'm lucky, I have a strong personality.” Brown is also very outspoken about the HIV/AIDS epidemic among people of color and an advocate of HIV/AIDS prevention and education.

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