The Goals Of The Minority Task Force On AIDS, 1988

The following is an excerpt from a lengthy interview I did  in 1988 with the late Craig G. Harris, who was the executive director of the Minority Task Force on AIDS. At the time the organization was located on St. Nicholas Avenue at 115th Street in Harlem.The interview took place in his office. The sound quality of the tape was not very good due to outside noise from a barking dog and a jackhammer. Here is what I was able to transcribe:

Craig G. Harris: "We are outgrowing our space and  that's a very good feeling. What that indicates is that we are going to increase staff. We'll soon be adding clerical staff, support staff. Up until this point, support staff has been volunteers. We're in the process of seeking alternative space in Central Harlem. We'll be expanding the Wednesday night dinner program. We'll be doing a lot of staff development that entails professional training for the entire staff including myself. We're going to assist the churches in functioning as communications links and support systems."

Note: MTFA's former space, located in a low-income co-op building, is now a venue for parties and other community events.

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There Are Many Gay Lifestyles

People should stop using the term "gay lifestyle" because like their heterosexual counterparts, gays and lesbians do not live cookie-cutter lives.

Lifestyle is about socio-economics, not sexuality. The many lifestyles of gays and lesbians of means are vastly different from the many lifestyles of gays and lesbians who are not so financially blessed.

People who use the term"gay lifestyle" do so as a way to deride and demonize a beleaguered, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multiracial community.

R.I.P. Natalie Cole

I own two CDs by the recently deceased Natalie Cole (1950-2015). My favorite of the two is Ask a Woman Who Knows (Verve). This CD would be among my desert island discs, those recordings I would want to bring with me if I was stranded on a desert island.

It is one of the few CDs I own that I would play from beginning to end because all 13 tracks are gems. The songs I particularly like are "So Many Stars," "The Music That Makes Me Dance," "Soon," "Tell Me All About It,"and "My Baby Just Cares for Me," which is on the final track. Her performance of this particular song is a real showstopper.

Now she has joined her father, Nat King Cole, in Heaven to perform eternal duets.