A while ago, sometime in late 2008, I decided that I wanted take on an ambitious personal project: to talk with as many other queer people of color bloggers as possible and to post the interviews here at Clips N' Chips.

At the time I was just beginning to follow several blogs that were written by other queer people of color, and I was simply awe-struck by the range of stories, backgrounds, and perspective that were being told to the world essentially; and I wanted to chronicle as much of those stories, perspectives, and backgrounds as possible, even if its just for myself.

And I knew who wanted to start off with too. Manny's Blog, Queer Kid of Color, was one the first that I started reading, almost religiously. He is a very talented and skilled person, who had a really interesting way of projecting his thoughts on the issues that affected the things important to him. He is a very passionate individual, who has really accomplished a lot, and devoted himself to his intellectual trade. And like me he is very opinionated, in a good way; so I knew if I asked him, and he accepted, I would not be disappointed. And I wasn't. In fact I was blown away by his articulation of his ideas, and I think you will too.But I'm going to stop stroking his ego now if he is reading this.

Some background info on Manny: His blog, Queer Kid of Color, is widely read; he currently makes YouTube shows with his friend Les (which can be found here); has hasdarticles published in national magazines, such as POZ. And with all of this finds time to study, because he is a college student.

A bit of background to how the interview process went: unlike conventional interviews there is no instant dialog, I sent Manny these questions and had him provide his response. So if the transition to the next question seems unresponsive that's why. Also there isn't a question about President O. because the questions were sent out before the election, but I'm really sure Manny wouldn't mind doing a follow-up.

Without further delay, here is the first of many, hopefully, interviews with a special blogger:

Clarence: How would you describe the queer community today?

Manny: The words “queer community” are very contradictory. I don’t believe we’re operating as a community. Not while we are unable to accept and appreciate the diversity in our community. We also need to take the time to recognize that we are a collective struggle and we must vast together in that struggle.

Clarence: How would you describe the Black community?

Manny: The Black community is still a very forgotten demographic. We have the highest high school drop out rates, HIV rates, and pregnancy rates. The social ailments we've inherited as a result of our social history is enormous. I'm baffled at the fact that some people think that because we've elected a bi-racial president that we're now living in a post-racial era and that the culture of poverty that we've inherited as a result of that social history will somehow disappear. Unless the words “forgotten demographic” becomes universal language we will never progress. We need to continue to increase and heightened awareness about the social ailments in our communities and that requires participation and help from every member in our community.

Clarence: As a Queer Kid of Color how would describe the Queer Black Community?

Manny: The what? What the hell is a Queer Black Community?

I’m unhappy with the state of the Queer Black Community. I think even those who aren’t Queer or Black can see that we have a lot of work to do. Our silence is deafening. We’re not shouting loud enough for visibility, for equality, for recognition. I think that many Black queer men have really become comfortable with the place that we are at now – a place of no virtue and a lot of misunderstanding. We support homophobic artists, we tolerate bigotry, and we allow queer organizations to create agendas that do not suit us. We have a lot of work to do – drop the beats and beads and lets get to work.

Clarence: In any of the above demographics do you feel welcomed and accepted, and if not why do you think that is the case?

Manny: That's a loaded question. I don't think that being welcomed and accepted is less of a demographic thing than it is an individual thing. I think by default I have to be accepted into these communities because my identities are molded in them, however acceptance is a relative thing. A heterosexual Black person may not accept me the same way a Black queer person does. A white queer person may not accept me the way a Black heterosexual person does. Then there's the topic of what component of your identities fits in with your individualized communities – so it's a complicated subject matter.

Clarence: What are its [Queer Black Community] strengths and weaknesses?

Manny: One of the greatest weaknesses in the Queer Black community is that we're tolerant of other people's intolerance. The people who share the pigment of our skin bash us in church, music, media and excludes us from policy and legislation that effects us. The weakness in that is that we feel as though we don't have any political pull to change any of that, but we do. As a Black queer man who knows how to make noise it will be irresponsible of me to sit by and do nothing. I'm an advocate because I want to make a significant contribution to society and part of that includes advancing the queer community.

Then there's the topic of superficiality and the way we create categories and boxes – as though we need to be commodified. I'm not going to precisely say what I mean or what system caters to this within the Black Queer community, but I'm sure a lot of people reading this interview can guess what I'm talking about and read in between the lines. I just don't understand the shallowness that comes with having to “reduce” yourself to being boxed. And as a member of the Black Queer community we've come to accept the sub-labels.

As far as strengths go one thing about the Queer Black community I admire is that we've created a tight network of support. I think the ballroom scene is one of the community's greatest assets. You're able to build alliances and partnerships with all these different people within that structure and it's often easy to find support.

Clarence: What are some changes that you would like to see in the Black community as it relates to Queer people of color, and the same in regards to the Queer community?

Manny: I would really like the church to start addressing homophobia and start speaking out against HIV/AIDS. I think once we can get to how influential the church is when it comes to the Black community and addressing homophobia we can start seeing some changes in the way we’re isolated and shunned by the people who history and blood we share. As for the Queer community, well, we need some leadership. The queer men and women who hold significant visibility need to stop swelling on their egos and sleeping on their comfortable pillows and get up and actually do something. There also exists the perpetuating of stereotypes and norms that society has placed on us that I think we need to end. We also need to recognize that we aren’t straight and stop bending to heteronormative ideologies.

Clarence: What are the misconceptions out there about Queer people of color?

Manny: I think one of the greatest misconceptions is that our community is smaller than we let on to be. This of course could change if a lot more people of color “come out” of the closet.

Clarence: I've been reading your blog for a while, and I know you are a passionate fiscal conservative, how does that mesh with others in the Black and Queer community?

Manny: It doesn't faze me whether or not it meshes with the Black or the queer community. I haven't really taken the time to evaluate what people think about my conservative positions.

Clarence: Why does fiscal conservatism appeal to you?

Manny: Fiscal conservatism appeals to me because it saves money. It really is that easy. The best example I have is Regan and how he knew exactly how to regulate our economy, or rather deregulate. There were significant job increases, tax decreases, and more money in the pockets of Americans, because he reduced the size of government and reduced inflation. I think that there exists this belief that fiscal conservatism is a republican thing or a hardcore conservative issue – it's not. George W. Bush is a horrible fiscal conservative, Bill Clinton a great fiscal conservative. You can still be a fiscal conservative and be fiscally responsible and be of whatever political stripe.

Clarence: I've also seen that you are a fan of Noah's Arc, and many within the Queer People of Color Community have considered the series the community's answer to Sex and the City and Girlfriends. Do you agree? And why does the series appeal to you?

Manny: I watch and support Noah's Arc because it’s groundbreaking. When Noah's Arc came on there was this relief in our community that finally our stories are not only be told, but are also being shared with the nation at large. Noah's Arc shut a lot of people up. By that I mean it showed that there is more to us than sex and fashion, we actually lead productive and different lives. We're not at all one dimensional people.

I wouldn’t consider it Sex and the City and Girlfriends, because by doing so it feminizes the show and emasculates the characters. I mean seriously, does any of the characters on Noah’s Arc resemble any of the rich white straight women on Sex and the City? I think not.

Clarence: Do you think young queer people of color have role models to look up too, and
what exactly do you think the impact is of those role models, or lack thereof?

Manny: It all boils down to what I was saying earlier about how our visible queer men and women need to get up and organize. The great community leaders however I can think of are people like Keith Boykin who is politically active and has had a role in a lot of the way people view the Queer Black community. I was his assistant for a bit for his television show on BETJ and I can tell you that he is very authentic and his compassion and caring is real. Then there are people like Rod McMullon and Darian Aaron who use the blogging medium to reach people and Patrik Ian Polk and Maurice Jamal who are role models because they’re making socially conscious entertainment that addresses the need of Black gay men. Jasmyne Cannick, Pam Spaulding, and Angel L. Brown are also three of the gay community’s most visible lesbians and they’re my role models because they’re fierce in the way that they hold their ground, they know how to make noise and excite people. The impact of all these men and women are essential, because ultimately we follow their lead. I think right now Nathan Seven Scott is perhaps the most visible community activist and I albeit the most creative in his approaches to reach people.

Clarence: The Center for Disease Control reported that almost 50% of Queer men of color have contracted HIV. What is your initial reaction to such a statistic? And do you think the communities involved, (Queer, Black, and Queer Black) have done an appropriate job of advocating prevention.

Manny: The statistics are not shocking figures to me. I wouldn't be surprised if the stats are actually greater. I know a lot of queer men of color who are afraid of getting tested. Trust me, the figure is a lot higher. I can’t believe we tolerate this shit. We should be mad, we should be outrage, we shouldn't be so nonchalant about this stuff.

Personally, I’m becoming more involved in HIV/AIDS. I’m reading the literature, I’ve worked at POZ Magazine, I’ve been in the process for two years to get my HIV/AIDS campaign implemented, and I’m on the advisory board of an up and coming HIV/AIDS campaign. I’m also working on an independent study for my college where I profile Black and Latino gay men and how the HIV pandemic has affected them. I've been recruited by a professor at my school to lead a couple of workshops and focus groups as a resource for her film and my school has even offered to pay for me to attend an AIDS conference, because they recognize how pivotal this issue is to me as a Black Queer man. And I’ve enrolled myself in a course at school where I get to design school curriculum and I’m going to undertake the task of writing HIV/AIDS curriculum for non-formalized settings.

Are our communities doing an appropriate job of disseminating information? Of course, but there’s something that we aren’t looking at. We have to find the root of this problem, we have to understand how the psychology of place, the Black gay psyche, how our environment, and how invisibility and neglect, all factors into our sexual health. These are the types of things that organizations aren’t studying and the sort of factors that are severely under funded and under researched. It isn't so much that Black gay men don't understand the severity of the disease, it's that the people who are doing the research – not necessarily the prevention - don't understand the implications of being a Black gay man.

Clarence: Switching to specifically the Black Community, one variable that has always been brought up is the lack of fathers, some 70% of Black Children are born into a single-parent household. Some have gone so far as to speculate that gay Black men are a cause of absent fathers. Do you think as a member of the Black community that the lack fathers have a profound impact on the lives of Black men and women?

Manny: When we look at the statistics we see that father-less children are more likely to runaway, join gangs, end up in jail, and drop out of high schools. Fathers need to learn how to take responsibility for their seeds. Just talking about this pisses me off. Growing up without a father was extremely difficult for me, not having a father figure in my life was psychologically damaging. Of course growing up father-less has a profound impact on a child; two parents can teach you better than one parent could ever.

Clarence: John McCain said that education is the civil-rights issue of our generation, and particularly in the Black communities education, or to be precise lack thereof, has a profound impact the community. As a conservative what would be your remedy for the situation?

Manny: We need to take on a culture of accountability. I'm a firm believer of the proverb “it takes a village to raise a child.” We are all majority stakeholders in the way our educational system operates. Our parents, teachers, students, politicians, community leaders, our neighbors, we hold a stake in what an investment in good education should be. If a politician doesn't introduce education policy and legislation what is he doing in office? If a teacher can’t teach we need to evaluate the principles and approaches we use to hire great educators . If parents can’t help their children with homework, because of their own inability to read or write, we need to find some methods to help them that include incentives because we recognize the value of parenting, schooling, and going to work.

But then there are those who question their ability to learn or blame the odds against them for their faults when it comes to getting an education. My father has been imprisoned most of my life. That’s not a surprise to people when I say that. It isn’t surprising because it’s become normal. My mother came to the United States with a dollar and a dream: to have her kids be the best possible template of success that they can be – and she knew that that included a solid foundation and a good education. I grew up in the housing projects of Bedford Stuyvesant surrounded by homophobia, which literally had me drop out of two high schools, drugs were being sold in my hallways, female friends getting pregnant and male friends becoming drug dealers. I grew up in a culture of poverty too, but at the mercy of motivation and perseverance I'm in college and have already accomplished a lot. So you can’t tell me the odds are stacked up against you when there exists success stories all around you. Or when you could afford to buy Jordans and Bapes, but can’t afford to buy a book.

I remember this one woman was so elated to have her son graduate high school and the boy couldn’t even read on a 12th grade level. Graduating with a high school diploma and not being able to formulate a sentence is education at its worse. There’s something wrong with the way our educational system operates when we accept a culture of mediocrity. Education reform is something I’m getting into also. I’m concentrating in Urban Studies and Political Science and what I essentially want to do is focus on the way urban economics effects education in inner city communities.

Clarence: One thing that I am always struck by is the role religion plays in the Black community, do you think this is a virtue or vice?

Manny: The role religion plays in the Black community is both a virtue and a vice. Black folks are legendary for living by the bible example by example and often times that leads to ignorance and narrow-mindness. But there's something about the church that keeps us together, our faith often time is stronger than the circumstances and hardship we face as Black people.

Clarence: Now switching the queer community, one major critique that often comes up about the queer community is that it is driven predominately by sex, and guys (and women, though we do not hear much about them generally) looking for sex. Particularly such sites like Manhunt, Adam4Adam, and Craiglist. Do you think this is a problem in the queer community or just gay people doing gay things, to put it bluntly.

Manny: I believe men are just sexual creatures by nature.


Clarence: I've read on your blog that you have not an adherent proponent of the current crusade for marriage rights for LGBT people. Do you think the rally for marriage equality is as big of deal as some in the queer community make it out to be?

Manny: How big of a deal marriage equality is to any of us is a personal issue. Some people value marriage equality more than others. Until this day I get heat over that blog posting. I meant to say that marriage equality isn’t something I shout for. Of course getting married would be nice, but it isn’t on the agenda right now. I have a mother who is a cancer survivor and people like her having access to affordable health care is something I’m more concerned with. I have two younger sisters in high school, I'm more concerned about their schools serving them right.

I also think this fight for same-sex marriage adapts a lot of federalist philosophy. If marriage equality was fought on a national level I'll be more incline to stick behind it and be more of a proponent, but the fact that it's being fought on a federalist and separatist level does nothing for me.

Clarence: I know many queer non-white persons are asked to do this, and I know it can be annoying, but if you had to prioritize your identities how would you order them and why?

Manny: I don't make a habit out of prioritizing my identities. In fact I intentionally refer to myself as a “Queer Black man” or a “Black Queer man”. I think that allows me to value both of my identities without having to favor one over the over.

Clarence: Did I leave anything out?

Manny: You're an amazing man.

/End

Oh, isn't he adorable!