"Black men loving black men is the revolutionary act" - Joseph Beam
"Black men loving black men" - what does this mean to me, a young, heterosexual, Christian, middle-class, ivy-league educated black man who is oriented in the hip-hop tradition? Moreover, why do I care about these words from a black LGBT activist?
For starters, I am an ally - (according to this http://geneq.berkeley.edu/lgbt_resources_definiton_of_terms) "someone who advocates for and supports members of a community other than their own. Reaching across differences to achieve mutual goals." I'm also a feminist, i.e. someone who strives for equal rights and opportunities for both genders.
More personally, I recently learned that my Uncle Tyrone (who passed away when I was 12) was gay. Aside from my father and my grandfather, Tyrone Monroe was my strongest male influence - a gay black man. He was the one who took care of me when my parents were busy, helped to develop my creative capacities, and taught me the importance of friendship/loyalty. I'm going to have more to say about my Uncle Tyrone and Beam's words later, but for right now, two things: (1) I love and miss him (2) he was here 2 love.
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