New Yorker Front Cover Celebrates Black Achievement

One of the most beautiful and frameworthy magazine covers I've ever seen was the one for the February 22, 2016 issue of The New Yorker by African-American artist Kadir Nelson. It is titled "Schomburg Center, Harlem, New York" and was obviously published in commemoration of Black History Month.

The illustration is a collage consisting of images of such black icons as James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, Malcolm X, and Duke Ellington (sitting at a white piano). In the lower right hand corner are the ivy-covered building that formerly housed the Schomburg Center and the library's newest building that faces Lenox Avenue and abuts the old location.

I can't think of a better tribute to Black History Month and the role Harlem has played ( and continues to play) in the cultural life of America and the world.

A heartfelt thanks to The New Yorker  for publishing and Kadir Nelson for creating such an awesome and memorable cover.

Harlem Church's Foreclosure Auction Postponed

The sign outside Harlem's homophobic ATLAH Church had this gloating message: "WE KICKED THE SODOMITES ASS ONCE AGAIN YES WE HAVE NO FORECLOSURE WE HAVE NO FORECLOSURE TODAY."

A judge postponed the February 24 foreclosure auction until April 21, according to the Gay City News. So the church is not out of the woods yet.

Two LGBT Groups Interested In Acquiring Harlem Church

According to an article in  the Gay City News ("Sending a Message to the Hate Pastor of Harlem," February 18-March 2, 2016), homophobic pastor James David Manning's  Harlem-based ATLAH Church "has unpaid debts in excess of $1 million, including water and sewage charges owed to the city, in addition to overdue taxes and other liabilities."

The church is now in foreclosure and will be auctioned on February 24. The Ali Forney Center, an organization catering to homeless LGBT youth and the Rivers of Living Water Ministry, an LGBT church, are both interested in acquiring the property at the auction and have raised funds toward that goal.

Gay City News noted that Pastor Manning claimed that his church is tax-exempt, however he was unable to provide proof. "That particular status," reported GCN, "is reserved only for churches that use their space exclusively for public worship--Manning has mentioned that his church provides additional services as well, outside of prayer."

The ATLAH Church's messages of hate are so troubling that the church next door, Greater Bethel AME Church, has posted a sign above the door that says, "THIS CHURCH IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE CHURCH ON THE CORNER. WE SUPPORT PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA."

Pastor Manning is right when he said that payback is a bitch.

A Book For Foodies

I recently found a hardcover book entitled Holiday Book of Food and Drink (Hermitage House, 1952), a collection of articles that were originally published in Holiday magazine in the 1940s and 1950s. While browsing through the book's 22 chapters, I found articles on such food items as coffee, pasta, beer, cheeses, and ice cream. A few of the contributors to this anthology are familiar names to me--Budd Schulberg, Roger Angell, and Elizabeth Janeway.

The book contains a few recipes, food history, and food facts. Although I'm sure some of the information is outdated that shouldn't be a huge barrier to enjoying what the writers have to say or make it insignificant from an historical standpoint.

I'm looking forward to reading the book from cover to cover and writing a review of it for this blog.

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.

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.