Morris Singeltary brings a message of hope & love to black men struggling with HIV

Name: Morris Singeltary, 42

Who he is: Spectacular HIV activist, peer educator

What he’s contributed: Singletary brings a message of hope and faith to black men dealing with HIV by reassuring them that there is support for them, both from their own community and, despite what they have been told from the conservative preacher set, from God as well.

Why we’re proud: You have to have a lot of charisma to hold your own onstage with Beyoncé and JAY-Z, and Singletary has plenty to spare.

Singletary was among the black LGBTQ trailblazers who presented the power couple with GLAAD’s Vanguard award last March. He told the audience that he was inspired by “Beyoncé’s unending work ethic and her unending love for her fans and her kids to gain inspiration” for his own work as an HIV activist and educator.

Singletary wowed the crowd with his enthusiasm. “Beyoncé and JAY-Z concerts are like world peace is happening – it’s gay, straight, black, white, and everyone is dancing and singing together,” he said. “Those concerts are a place where everyone is safe and accepted. Could you imagine if the world was one big Beyoncé and JAY-Z concert? What a wonderful world that would be.”

But Singletary also spoke to his own experience that night. “I stand on this stage- the largest LGBTQ stage out there- knowing that you can be a little Black boy in Atlanta, and go to Church, and know that God still loves you – with or without HIV,” he told the audience.

Singletary was chosen to be a presenter because of his work with the COMPASS (COMmitment to Partnership in Addressing HIV/AIDS in Southern States) Initiative. The initiative, a 10-year, $100 million partnership with community-based organizations working to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the South, is funded by Gilead Sciences, the maker of the PrEP treatment Truvada.

Singletary’s journey to the stage that night wasn’t an easy one. “The very first thing I ever heard about HIV is my mom saying, ‘This is the punishment that gays get from God for being gay,’” he told the online platform them. ” I heard that when I was six years old.”

Singletary was diagnosed as HIV positive in 2006. His health was precarious–he was hospitalized twice and his mother was told that he may only have months to live. When he did recover, he fell into substance abuse. Eventually, he found an online support group and got sober. Because he lost his old job, he turned to a new career as a peer educator for Clayton County, part of the Atlanta metro area.

The 9-to-5 job soon became 24/7 activism. Singletary started a Facebook Live stream called #hivandme, for black men who were in the church.

“When the church comes across a young man that’s LGBTQ, you can be a sinner, you can be a drug dealer, that’s ok — but to be a same-gender-loving man or woman, then your sin is the worst,” Singletary said. “I had to be the example of God loving a black queer man with HIV.”

Singletary also started a Facebook group, PoZitive2PoSitive, where he hosts live chats about thriving with HIV. His activism caught the eye of Gilead, which was looking for someone in the Atlanta area for the COMPASS Initiative.

“The COMPASS Initiative has allowed me the opportunity to show that you can be a Black boy with HIV and love God and know God loves you,” Singletary told them. “That pushed me to be a stronger activist. I always said before then that I never wanted to be the black face of HIV. But the fact is I have HIV, I’m doing well with HIV, and I have a platform that people listen to.”

As for the future, Singletary says that “I want to move my activism to a bigger level where people can see it more.” There’s no question that a lot of people could be helped by a message of support and love–or that Singletary is the perfect person to deliver it.

www.queerty.com/morris-singeltary-brings-message-hope-love-black-men-struggling-hiv-20190617?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

John Oliver Makes Case for Trump’s Impeachment: WATCH

John Oliver explained the impeachment process and made his case for it in a 20-minute segment on Last Week Tonight.

Said Oliver: “[I]t seems the president obstructed justice, then obstructed justice again to obstruct the investigation into his obstruction of justice. It’s ridiculous. … I know that this might seem like a legal technicality, and a couple of phone calls that didn’t go anywhere, but here’s why this really matters: But for Don McGahn, Trump might have stopped an investigation into himself. And if a president can shut down an investigation, he can basically do anything with no consequences. It’s a big, big deal.”

“Every asshole succeeds until they finally don’t,” Oliver continued. “18 months before he resigned, Nixon had sky-high rating approval of 67 percent. Harvey Weinstein was winning oscars until one day he definitely wasn’t. James Holzhauer was stealing all of Alex Trebek’s money until one day someone finally put a stop to it.”

“I can’t guarantee that impeachment will work out the way that you want it to,” added Oliver, “but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing. Because if nothing else, we’d be standing by the basic, fundamental principle that nobody is above the law.”

He went on: “For any Democrat whose main concern is that pursuing impeachment could be the reason they lose in 2020, please relax. It’s just one of many ways the Democrats could lose. Maybe Trump is caught on tape saying the n-word, but then two weeks later, Elizabeth Warren accidentally calls a veteran a veterinarian, and people get twice as angry about that. There’s so many ways that this could go wrong.

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John Oliver Makes Case for Trump’s Impeachment: WATCH

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: June 17, 2019

CONGRESS MUST PASS SPEIER AMENDMENT, PROTECT TRANS TROOPS: The appropriations amendment, introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), would would prevent further implementation of Trump’s ban on transgender people in the military by eliminating funding for it. Said Sarah McBride, HRC National Press Secretary (@SarahEMcBride). “The Trump administration’s ban on transgender troops goes against medical experts, military leadership, budget analysts, 70% of the American people, and the U.S. House, who passed a resolution in March condemning Trump’s attacks on transgender service members.” More from HRC.

BIPARTISAN OPPOSITION TO ANTI-LGBTQ JUDICIAL NOMINEE MATTHEW KACSMARYK CONTINUES TO GROW IN THE SENATE: More from SF Gate.

Bipartisan opposition to Trump’s dangerous nominee Matthew Kacsmaryk is growing in the Senate. Kacsmaryk has a radical anti-LGBTQ agenda and isn’t fit for the bench. t.co/YEi65XaKcE

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) June 15, 2019

HORRIBLE — KNOX COUNTY, TENN. SHERIFF DELIVERS SERMON SAYING LGBTQ PEOPLE SHOULD BE EXECUTED: Protesters have since shown their support for the LGBTQ community. Read more from WBIR.

Statement from me on this disturbing news out of Knox County: pic.twitter.com/7PS4Vqz5Ct

— Nick Morrow (@NRMorrow) June 14, 2019

MUST WATCH MONDAY — YOUTUBER DANIEL HOWELL COMES OUT AS GAY IN EMOTIONAL NEW VIDEO: More from Inside Edition.

ARREST MADE IN MURDER OF DALLAS TRANS WOMAN; POLICE INVESTIGATING WHETHER TWO OTHER VIOLENT DEATHS CONNECTED: Kendrell Lyles has been arrested for the murder of Muhlaysia Booker, and Dallas police are working to see if there’s a link with the recent deaths of Leticia Grant and Chynal Lindsey. More from NBC Dallas Fort-Worth.

REP. JENNIFER WEXTON (@RepWexton) CONTINUES TO BE A STRONG SUPPORTER FOR LGBTQ PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY: More from The Washington Post.

TRANSGENDER CATHOLICS RESPOND TO VATICAN’S ANTI-LGBTQ STATEMENT: “I’m hurt by the Catholic Church every single day,” said Colleen Fay of Mount Ranier, Md. “They want me and they don’t want me.” The Vatican’s statement objects to the demonstrable and irrefutable reality of transgender and intersex people. More from Vox.

MINNEAPOLIS CHURCH THAT WELCOMES THE LGBTQ FAITHFUL MAY BE VOTED OUT OF DENOMINATION: The Evangelical Covenant Church is voting to involuntarily remove The First Covenant Church of Minneapolis from its roster, asserting the pro-equality stance is “out of harmony” with the church. More from Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

SHAMEFUL — EMAILS REVEAL AUTHOR NICHOLAS SPARKS REFUSED TO ALLOW LGBTQ STUDENT CLUB AT SCHOOL HE FOUNDED: Get the exclusive from Tarpley Hitt (@tarpleyhitt) at The Daily Beast.

TRANS WOMEN SHARE WHY THEY STILL CELEBRATE FATHER’S DAY WITH THEIR FAMILIES: More from WEKU.

“MY LITTLE PONY” TV SHOW TO FEATURE SAME-SEX COUPLE: “My Little Pony has always been about friendship and accepting people (or ponies) that are different from you. So it just felt like something important to do,” said writer and producer Michael Vogel (@mktoon). More from BuzzFeed.

PRIDE MONTH ROUNDUP

GRITTY SHOWS OFF HIS MASCOT AND ALLY SKILLS AT PHILLY PRIDE PARADE: More from OutSports.

I love LOVE. �� pic.twitter.com/pvqpksL56Z

— Gritty (@GrittyNHL) June 9, 2019

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

U.N. INDEPENDENT EXPERT ON LGBTQ ISSUES RECOMMENDS MORE DATA COLLECTION TO UNDERSTAND LGBTQ LIVED EXPERIENCES: More from United Nations News.

MEXICO CITY INTRODUCES LGBTQ-INCLUSIVE SCHOOL UNIFORMS POLICY: Students in Mexico’s capital city will now be allowed to choose which uniform they would like to wear — skirt or pants. More from Human Rights Watch.

READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!

Billboard reports on Eugene Lee Yang (@EugeneLeeYang) coming out as gay in a moving music video; The Boston Globe reviews “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous,” the story of a gay Vietnamese immigrant and his mother; The New York Times reports on its annual New Rules Summit, featuring HRC’s Sarah McBride; Datebook reviews LGBTQ books for Pride month; MediaPost shares a new GE commercial featuring a same-sex couple; The Daily Beast interviews Broadway’s Michael Urie (@michaelurie) on the 50th anniversary of Stonewall; The Washington Post gives an overview of LGBTQ rights in Latin America

Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to #AM_Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!

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Trump Flips Out, Ejects Chief of Staff from Oval Office for Coughing During Interview: ‘I Don’t Like That, You Know’ — WATCH

Donald Trump interrupted his interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos to eject Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney from the Oval Office for coughing, as revealed by a new clip of last week’s interview circulating online. Trump then demanded a retake of his remarks.

A clearly irritated Trump points his finger, shakes his head, declaring, “He’s coughing in the middle of my answer. I don’t like that, you know, I don’t like that. If you’re gonna cough, please leave the room. You just can’t, you just can’t cough.”

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Trump Flips Out, Ejects Chief of Staff from Oval Office for Coughing During Interview: ‘I Don’t Like That, You Know’ — WATCH

This Latinx Millennial Helped Destroy Montana’s Anti-Trans Law

Champion of Pride Zuri Moreno used empathy and communication to move his state in the right direction.

www.advocate.com/exclusives/2019/6/17/latinx-millennial-helped-destroy-montanas-anti-trans-law