You Can Attend The Culture & Sexuality Conference In Toronto Today & Tomorrow Just Show Up & Register!

Hello everyone, last night, I attended the gay black men’s summit it is located at 300 Jarvis Street in Toronto at the Ramada Hotel.  You just have to walk south of the  intersection of Carlton and Jarvis Street and you will see the Ramada Inn.

I suggest anyone that wants to attend the conference should just  show up and register. You don’t have to register online just show up! Yes, many people just “showed up” at the summit last night!

Last night, the summit started and it was wonderful!

There were African dancers performaning a dance a the conference but I thought this was odd, and not appropriate for the conference.  The African dancers were wearing grass skirts and I thought it did not connect with the audience. I thought the African dancing was tacky and noticed there was a paucity of the African voices at the conference.

However, I thought the “voguing” performance by a group called the “House Of Monroe” was excellent.  Does anyone here remember Madonna’s “Vogue” dance from the 1990s?

If you remember “voguing”, also remember that Madonna “copied”  this dance from the black gay & Latino scene in New York City to make money!

Madonna did not give credit to the black gay and Latino men for “creating”  the “voguing” dance but she sure didn’t mind making money off of it!

The House of Monroe, these wonderful young black gay men dancers they brought “voguing” back to the black gay community because our commuunity was the one that “started” the dance!

I have never been in a room with so many amazing  black gay men in all my life! I just felt so positive, so inspired, so proud to be a black gay man!

Rinaldo Walcott he is a professor at OISE he opened the conference and then Courtney MacFarlane a Toronto black gay activist he talked about “why” the summit is so important! Gay black men from across Canada are attending the summit.

I just want to say anyone that wants to  attend the summit today it continues today March 27th 2010 and it ends on Sunday March 28th 2010. All you have to do is show up and listen!

There was a lot of discuss about the intersection of “racism”, “sexism”, and “homophobia” and how this affects our lives as black gay men.

For instance, I really enjoyed the question and answer session. The public just talked! Black gay men talked about the frustration, anger, dealing with the racism in the mainstream LGBT community in Toronto and the homophobia in the black community.

One black gay student he talked about the “racism” he experienced at a sociology lecture at the University of Toronto. Another black gay man from Ottawa he wanted to start  start an HIV & AIDS group specifically for black gay men in Ottawa. However, “the system” told him no!  One black gay man from Vancouver, he said he wished Vancouver’s black gay community was more “organized” like Toronto’s black gay community.

Meanwhile, there was discussion   about the  generational problem in the black gay men’s community between the  “older” black gay men and the younger black gay men generation.

I felt that the panel last night was too Caribbean dominated. My question is, where were the African activists? I also felt that the panel did not like the criticism of the panel about the generational problem.

I also want to point out, there were other races present in the audience of the summit. I saw South Asian men, I saw East Asian men, I even say some white people, and black women at the summit.  “Everyone” is welcome, but of course, the summit is discussing black gay men’s issues. I do feel thes summit is a form of progress though, it is a step in the right direction.

Schedule For Today and Sunday For The Black Gay Culture Of Sexuality Conference At 300 Jarvis Street Ramada Hotel In Toronto.

DAY TWO – March 27th
Time	SESSION TYPE		SESSION TYPE	Room
9:00–10:00AM	BREAKFAST
9:30 –10:00AM	REGISTRATION
10:00 – 10:15AM	WELCOME			Ballroom ABC
10:15–11:15AM	PLENARY		Presentation Challenges and Success – Mobilizing Black GBTQ people in Quebec.	Ballroom ABC
11:15 – 11:45AM	NETWORK BREAK
11:45AM – 12:45PM	BREAKOUT		Workshop Loving me, Loving you: Self-esteem and GBTQ men	Ballroom A
			Facilitated Discussion Understanding and Resisting Oppression, Marginalization and Alienation	Essex Lounge
			Facilitated Discussion Transmen in Black Communities	Metro
12:45-1:45PM	LUNCH and the second ACCHO HUMANITARIAN AWARD CEREMONY
1:45-2:45PM	BREAKOUT		Facilitated Discussion Black GBTQ people and Popular Culture	Ballroom A
			Facilitated Discussion Homosexuality, Spirituality and Religion	Essex Lounge
			Panel Discussion Crossing Borders: Immigration and Settlement Issues for Black GBTQ people	Metro
2:45 – 3:15PM	NETWORK BREAK
3:15 – 4:15PM	PLENARY		Panel Discussion Young, Black and Queer: Raising our Voice and Claiming our Space	Ballroom ABC
END OF DAY TWO

DAY THREE – March 28th
Time	SESSION TYPE		SESSION TYPE	Room
10:00–11:00AM	BREAKFAST
10:30 –11:00AM	REGISTRATION
11:00 – 11:15AM	WELCOME			Ballroom ABC
11:15–12:15PM	BREAKOUT		Workshop Enhancing the Sexual and Emotional Wellbeing of Black GBTQ youth	Metro
			Facilitated Discussion Black and Gay in the Workplace	Essex Lounge
			Facilitated Discussion Hot, hot, hot! Black GBTQ men and safer sex	Metro
12:15 – 1:15PM	LUNCH
1:15PM – 2:15PM	PLENARY		Panel Discussion Our Global Challenge: Black GBTQ people and Human Rights	Ballroom ABC
2:15 – 2:30PM	PLENARY		Closing Remarks & Thank You	Ballroom ABC