Author: louie

  • Spotify Playlist: Our Pride Is A Vibe: We Been Gay!

    Spotify Playlist: Our Pride Is A Vibe: We Been Gay!

    happy pride month, y’all! pride is for us to define and redefine. if pride is spending time with your crew sitting back and watching youtube videos – that is a vibe. if pride is organizing and mobilizing with community – that is a vibe.  if pride is dancing your ass…

  • TINA TURNER

    TINA TURNER

    i dreamed about my mother for the first time in a long time last night. waking from those all-too-real dreams used to leave me wallowing in the quicksand of regret over the loss of control over things we had no control of. but not this time. i spent the rest of…

  • SALT-N-PEPA

    SALT-N-PEPA

    On November 28, 1993, The New York Times published journalist Jeffrey Schmalz’s last article, “Whatever Happened to AIDS?,” three weeks after his death due to AIDS complications. In the piece, Schmalz wrote, “…AIDS has become normalized, part of the landscape. It is at once everywhere and nowhere.” Although AIDS had…

  • Songs That Soundtracked The AIDS Crisis: LaTour’s “People Are Still Having Sex”

    Songs That Soundtracked The AIDS Crisis: LaTour’s “People Are Still Having Sex”

    By 1991, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had spent over $7,000,000 on mass media public service announcements since launching their HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention campaign in 1987. However, despite these efforts, the AIDS crisis continued to escalate, with over 120,000 AIDS-related deaths reported since 1981. In this…

  • TIFFANY MARRERO

    TIFFANY MARRERO

    oh tiffany, i have no words. just immense gratitude to have known you, shared space with you and worked in partnership with you. may we all be able to change the world for people living with HIV as you did.  i love you so. rest well. Tiffany MarreroOctober 14, 1991…

  • JACKIE SHANE

    JACKIE SHANE

    the last time jackie shane graced a stage was in toronto, canada in december 1971. after decades of swirling rumors that she had been murdered, miss shane reemerge in late 2017 with her grammy nominated “any other way”, a comprehensive double album of her musical catalog.  jackie shane’s story began on may 15, 1940 in nashville, tennessee.…

  • Songs That Soundtracked the AIDS Crisis: Jody Watley’s “When A Man Loves A Woman”

    Songs That Soundtracked the AIDS Crisis: Jody Watley’s “When A Man Loves A Woman”

    in november 1993, pop music architect jody watley released her fourth solo album “intimacy.” a departure from the r&b/dance oriented sound that was prominent on her previous albums, “intimacy” was a boundary-defying body of work that in some ways predated the neo-soul movement that would take hold a few years…

  • Transphobia Is A Sin 2023

    Transphobia Is A Sin 2023

    Today is the 5th annual #TransphobiaIsASincampaign. As we witness the continued attack on trans people, Join @theblacktransprayerbook in reminding the world of trans people’s right to thrive. “I am here to remind everyone that Trans People Are Divine. before colonization, before white supremacy we existed, and we will continue to exist long after…

  • GANGSTA BOO

    GANGSTA BOO

    My mother was the first person to teach me about female rap. It was through album and radio plays, and constant repeats, of several women femcees that enchanted me. The first artist on the syllabus was Southern female rap innovator Gangsta Boo, also known as Lola Chantrelle Mitchell. Gangsta Boo,…

  • For Christopher

    For Christopher

    christopher collins left this world in 2017. he was my first love and for years, my only love. he was an integral part of HIV prevention youth program development in philadelphia. we met in the mid-1990s. we were part of a group of black & brown queer & trans youth…

  • It’s Plenty: Songs That Got Us Through 2022

    It’s Plenty: Songs That Got Us Through 2022

    ya know we love a good playlist! and what better time to drop a new one than now. curated by GV Fellows and colored people’s time podcast, “it’s plenty” is a roundup of our fave songs of 2022 along with tunes that got us through this damn year that was 2022. 

  • Francix | Grand Rapids, MI

    Francix | Grand Rapids, MI

    I’m a Black Gay Dominican that moved to the USA in 2017. Latinx Heritage Month allows us to remember what our ancestors did so that we can thrive today. So many good customs from Latin America and the Caribbean have transcended borders and continents. For me, celebrating this month means…