NUBIAN KNIGHTS NETWORK: What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE? An Affirmations To All The SGL Gatekeepers Of The Universe Out There...

QUOTATIONS OF "BLACK"

"Whenever I use BLACK it relates to some history of Africans in that particular place. It’s the idea of the color BLACK as a metaphor, or as a representation of African-Americans. It’s the notion of BLACK- BLACKNESS - and all its other meanings in relation to the history of race..."

- Fred Wilson

"Most of my fortitude to continue doing the work comes from the moral outrage I feel about the injustices that Black people endure disproportionately daily."

- N. Abdul-Wakil

"In the end, what matters is not skin shade but pan-African consciousness. Loving your complexion, your nose, lips, hair length and texture, no matter what the politics or trends decide, and simply be. That's the problem with us (African folks). We're still learning how to love ourselves. So used to glorifying others and putting others first..."

- Dredlocks Tree

Sunday, April 18, 2010

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
An Affirmations To All The SGL Gatekeepers Of The Universe Out There...

As a current member (and once part of the leadership) of the Black Men's Xchange-New York (BMX-NY) throughout my 7 years (since February 2003 to be exact), I had the honor of witnessing one of the more POWERFUL dialogue sessions on Friday, April 16th, 2010. The topic in question was:

"LOVING SAME GENDER LOVE:
Fighting for Our Right to Be"

In conjunction with that I had the honor of escorting two beautiful young bruthaz (friends of mine) who are same gender loving partners for 8 years strong who were visiting New York City from Chicago. I was quite giddy that night because I was so happy to see them after not seeing them for 6 years (since a Black Pride event in Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn, New York), and I was able to bring them to BMX for their first time where they witnessed the hospitality and the deep critical thinking and cultural affirmation (CTCA) model work that we do there which always has a frame-work around unlearning "anti-Black" and "anti-homosexual" perspectives via societal conditioning...

As the night wound down Friday evening, the BMX gathering ended climatically with the following quotes (in green) below which are excerpts from a room full of POWERFUL and ENLIGHTENING Black same gender loving men when the last question was asked over and over and over...

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?

That It’s Life – It’s Beautiful –
Like A Seed Sprouting – Watch It Grow.
It’s Amazing.

Copyright © 2009 ROD PATRICK RISBROOK

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
The Affirmation Of It –
Who It Was Created By And Who It Was Created For.
When I Was Gay Identified, I Acted Out...

I Also Like The Connection To My African History.
All The Beautiful Contributions Of Our People.

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
It’s Light – Consciousness –

The Collective Brilliance Of It,

All The Sacred Secrets That We Talk About -
It Preserves Me, And It Preserves The Next Generation.

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
I Love The Freedom Of It;
The Passion, The Solace Of Being With Another Man.
It’s Healing. It Creates Community.

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
I Don't Know; I'm Still Finding Out

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
The Total Connection -
Body, Mind & Soul, And The Versatility.
If We Don’t Love Ourselves, How Can We Heal Our Community?

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
Indescribable...
I Guess There’s A Lot Less Judgment –
[It’s] A Lot More Peaceful

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
It's Ancient...

The Tenderness...

African Men Are The Most Sensitive
Human Beings On The Planet
And When You Are Able To Experience That,
It Is The Most Wonderful Delight

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
The Physicality Of The Black... Male... Body...
The Mental: Someone Who Can Understand My Daily Struggles
As A Black Man Living In Amerikkka)

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
I Love A Kiss – A Deep Kiss…

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
You Have My Experiences, My Oppression

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
You Are My Mirror

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
I Feel I Love The Variety.
We Don’t Have To Be A One-Size-Fits-All Community

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
The Independence It Gives You
[When You Declare Who You Are, Or What You Like]
That’s Something No One Can Take Away From You

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
It’s Something I Desire,
Therefore, It’s Beautiful – Unique –
Has The Creative Potential Of Finding Its Own Form.

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
[We Are] Gatekeepers...
Giving Directions And Marching Orders
To Protect And Do What We Need To Do
[For Community]

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
Personal, Private, Public

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
A Rhythm

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
As A Man,
You’re Expected To Be Strong
And Go Out There Everyday…
It’s Nice That I Can Be Strong Sometimes
And He Can Be Strong Sometimes.
I Don’t Have To Be Strong All The Time.
And He Can Squeeze Me, And Hold Me Tight.

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
If God Made Anything More Beautiful Than A Black Male,
He Must Have Kept It For Himself

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
The Duality Which Is A Mystique And Familiarity
Which Has A Special Shape And Texture

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
The Limitless Beauty And Power
And Creativity That Flows Through Us;
That Gives Us The Capacity To Heal Ourselves,
Each Other, Our Family, And The Capacity To Love
Even As We Are Told We Have No Right

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?

Wil and Lamonte On Their 8-Year Relationship

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
Carrying Wounds And Scars [As We Are],
There Is Filial (Paternal) Love,
There Is Agape (Selfless) Love –
Sometimes They Come Together –
To Embrace That And Get It Right With Each Other,
There’s A Melting Of The Soul That’s Just...
Butter

A SPECIAL THANKS to Mr. John-Martin Green for lending me his transcribed notes for some of the above quotes.

As these quotes were read back and REFLECTED to all of us, the Black same gender loving men in the room, it truly shows our capacity and capable light as GATEKEEPERS...