Family of Gay Black Man Murdered in Louisiana: Police ‘Haven’t Protected and Served Us’

The family of a gay black man who was murdered in Louisiana last week is demanding justice, after they learned about the his death from neighbors who saw news reports.

McKinsley LaKeith Lincoln, 29, was found shot to death in Alexandria, and authorities are now looking into the possibility that his murder was a hate crime.

Gay City News reports: McKinsley LaKeith Lincoln’s family filed a missing persons report on the morning of May 15 after he had been gone for more than 24 hours from his home in Alexandria, Louisiana, a small city roughly 120 miles northwest of Baton Rouge. Hours after the report was filed, cops found Lincoln dead with a gunshot wound at the intersection of Louisiana and Day Street in Alexandria, but the family was not immediately informed. Instead, they said they found out about Lincoln’s death through neighbors who saw news reports about the case. Ever since, the family says they have received little communication from police, forcing them to seek out details on their own. Now the family is turning to the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) in an effort to ensure that Lincoln’s death is handled appropriately by police officers. “The police have a responsibility to ensure justice for the people of this parish,” Pamela Lincoln, McKinsey’s mother, said in a written statement through the NBJC. “They have not done enough to fulfill their oath. They haven’t protected and served us.” Pamela Lincoln added that her “openly gay” child was “the target of harassment and discrimination,” fueling additional questions about who could have been responsible for her child’s death and why.

More from the National Black Justice Coalition: NBJC contacted civil rights attorneys Benjamin Crump and Jasmine Rand and Louisiana State Representative and attorney Edward C. “Ted” James to raise awareness, ask questions, and ensure that there is a full and complete investigation into the murder of McKinsley Lincoln. Within 24 hours Alexandria Mayor Jeffrey W. Hall confirmed the Alexandria Police Department has agreed to act diligently to investigate surrounding facts and circumstances and is investigating the murder of McKinsley Lincoln as a hate crime. Members of traditional civil rights and progressive LGBTQ+ equality communities are actively monitoring the progress of the investigation to ensure that it is complete, fair, and impartial.

David Johns, executive director of the NBJC, said in a statement: “This tragic incident should be a reminder that hate crimes against Black LGBTQ and same gender loving people happen too frequently—often without the national public outcry that our heterosexual brothers and sisters receive. In 2018 alone, over 1,500 hate crimes based on bias against someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity were reported. And the violence is escalating. There was more than a 18 percent increase in these hate crimes from 2016 to 2018 and the FBI reports an 11 percent increase in anti-Black hate crimes during the same period. We should all be clear about the fact that hate crimes against people of every racial and ethnic category increased across the board after the 2016 election. Trump has escalated the violence with racist rhetoric and destructive policies designed to divide and keep some of us locked out of access to opportunity. The clearest consequences of these deleterious actions are evident in these examples of vitriol, violence, and death. The National Black Justice Coalition stands with the family of McKinsley LaKeith Lincoln in calling upon Jeffrey W. Hall (318-449-5000) and the Alexandria Police Department (318-449-5099) to conduct a complete and full investigation into the murder of McKinsley Lakeith Lincoln. Not one member of our beautifully diverse community should experience violence, discrimination, or be murdered as a result of who we are or how we show up in the world. Each of us has a role to play in ensuring that we create a strong and inclusive community.”

The post Family of Gay Black Man Murdered in Louisiana: Police ‘Haven’t Protected and Served Us’ appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Family of Gay Black Man Murdered in Louisiana: Police ‘Haven’t Protected and Served Us’

HRC Mourns McKinsley LaKeith Lincoln, Black LGBTQ Person Killed in Louisiana

The Human Rights Campaign is deeply saddened to learn of the death of McKinsley LaKeith Lincoln, a 29-year-old Black LGBTQ person killed in Alexandria, Louisiana, on May 15. Media reports identify Lincoln as an openly gay, cisgender man. Police are looking into the possibility of a bias-motivated crime. HRC is monitoring this case for more information about Lincoln’s life and this crime.

Family reported Lincoln missing on May 15, and just hours later, local police found Lincoln dead of a gunshot wound. The police did not inform the family, who found out about the tragic death of their beloved child and sibling through news reports. Lincoln’s family, joined by the National Black Justice Coalition, are calling for a complete and thorough investigation. Police are also investigating the case as a possible hate crime.

“A criminal investigation into the unfortunate death of Mr. Lincoln is being conducted,” an Alexandria Police Department spokesperson told Gay City News. “All aspects of any criminality are being considered to include the possibility of hate crime involvement. So as to not jeopardize the integrity of the investigation, no information regarding any potential suspects or persons of interest will be released at this time.”

“Time and time again, we have seen Black people, LGBTQ people, and especially Black LGBTQ people violently killed for living their truth,” said Tori Cooper, HRC Director of Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative. “The Human Rights Campaign is standing with Lincoln’s family and friends in mourning today, and joins advocates and the National Black Justice Coalition in demanding a thorough investigation in this case, and into why Lincoln’s family was not informed of their loved one’s death.”

In November 2019, ahead of Transgender Day of Remembrance, HRC Foundation released “A National Epidemic: Fatal Anti-Transgender Violence in America in 2019,” a heartbreaking report honoring the transgender and gender non-conforming people killed and detailing the contributing and motivating factors that lead to this tragic violence — a toxic mix of transphobia, racism and misogyny. Sadly, 2019 saw at least 26 transgender or gender non-conforming people fatally shot or killed by other violent means. We say at least because too often these stories go unreported — or misreported.

There are currently very few explicit federal legal protections for LGBTQ people. At the state level, LGBTQ people in Louisiana are not explicitly protected in employment, housing or in public spaces. Sexual orientation is covered under the state’s hate crimes legislation, but not gender identity. Nationally, despite some marginal gains in state and local policies that support and affirm LGBTQ people, recent years have been marked by anti-LGBTQ attacks at all levels of government.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-mourns-mckinsley-lakeith-lincoln-black-lgbtq-person-killed-in-louisiana?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

On ‘She-Ra’ and ‘Killing Eve,’ Lesbian Subtext Drops the Sub

Two very different shows put female love and attraction at the center.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2020/5/21/she-ra-and-killing-eve-lesbian-subtext-drops-sub

This empowering chat between two bottoms on Grindr will restore your faith in humanity

Too often Grindr can feel like a battlefield where men tear one another down instead of lift one another up. Occasionally, however, good things do happen on that little orange grid.

An empowering chat between two bottoms on Grindr has gone viral for all the right reasons.

Twitter user @dps_moira recently shared a screenshot of the conversation along with the caption, “I really hope he is doing OK.”

The discourse went as follows:

Bottom #1: Hi. Are you a top?

Bottom #2: No, sorry.

Bottom #1: Never, never ever apologize for being yourself. That’s how the straights kept us down for a hundred years.

The tweet quickly went viral, receiving almost 100K likes and 17K retweets. Evidently, Bottom #1’s message of encouragement and staying true to oneself was just what the world needed to hear right now.

And now, the responses…

That’s the most wholesome answer to a rejection apology I ever seen.

— Magenta Moorg The Hairy Witch (@MagentaMoorgate) May 18, 2020

What an amazing individual. I feel warm and fuzzy reading this.

— Dax and Guro (@Guro_Monster) May 18, 2020

You should have sucked it up and topped him after that

— Petey Plastic (@PeteyPlastic) May 18, 2020

Aggressive kindness at its best

— Daniel Chesick (@tweetfrommaseat) May 18, 2020

pic.twitter.com/NZHMA7M228

— Boi (@RandomGuyXoXo) May 18, 2020

God why can’t I find nice people like that on Grindr. All I get are bots and aggresive pieces of shit.

— Remix (@RemixRaveAD) May 18, 2020

Date him anyway. You’ll figure something out.

— Yachirobi (@yachirobi) May 18, 2020

i’m voting him for president

— (@InGoddamnMilk) May 18, 2020

hope he found his top

— Luke (@patheticowboy) May 18, 2020

Dude wish him the best

— El cerillo (@Ramirogodofpar1) May 17, 2020

We hope both of these bottoms found their tops, and that they all live happily ever after.

Related: 25 tweets that perfectly define bottom culture

www.queerty.com/empowering-chat-two-bottoms-grindr-will-restore-faith-humanity-20200521?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

‘Crime Against English’: Trump Says He Tested ‘Positively Toward Negative’ for COVID-19 (WATCH)

On Thursday, President Donald Trump attempted to explain the results of his latest test for COVID-19, and it didn’t go well.

Trump was responding to a question about how much longer he’ll be taking the dangerous, unproven malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.

“I think it’s another day. I had a two-week regiment of hydroxychloroquine. And I’ve taken it just about two weeks. I think it’s another day. And I’m still here, and I tested very positively, in another sense, this morning. I tested positively toward negative, right? No, I tested perfectly this morning, meaning I tested negative … but that’s a way of saying it, positively toward the negative.”

Reactions below.

The post ‘Crime Against English’: Trump Says He Tested ‘Positively Toward Negative’ for COVID-19 (WATCH) appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

‘Crime Against English’: Trump Says He Tested ‘Positively Toward Negative’ for COVID-19 (WATCH)

HRC Staff Celebrate Pansexual Visibility Day 2020

Post submitted by HRC Bi+ (Bisexual, Pansexual, Queer and Fluid) Employee Resource Group Co-Chairs Madeleine Roberts and Ryan Carey-Mahoney

May 24 marks Pansexual Visibility Day — a day for our community to uplift, elevate and celebrate those who identify as pansexual. Pan people’s sexuality can often be erased when they are assumed to be either gay or straight, or when their pan identity isn’t taken seriously, so it’s essential to make sure that we uplift the voices of pan people.

Being pan can mean different things to those who use it. For some, it describes someone who has the potential for emotional, romantic or sexual attraction to people of any gender, or no gender, though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way or to the same degree.

Some people use pansexual as the sole term to describe their sexuality, while others use pan in addition to other words. It is also often considered part of the overall bisexual+ community and can be used alongside a number of other terms in this family such as “bi,” “queer” or “fluid.”

In honor of this important day, we asked HRC staff — all of whom are members of HRC’s Bisexual, Pansexual, Queer and Fluid Employee Resource Group — to share what pan visibility means to them.

“Discovering my pansexuality meant discovering my self worth. I had spent so much time vacillating between a few identities that didn’t quite seem to fit me, and the energy that took began to take its toll on my mental health. When I discovered the meaning of pansexuality, I knew I had found that thing I was missing. It not only brought me community, but a sense of self and confidence that I had been missing. Pan people are real, visible and here to stay.” — Tucker Hull | Member Services Coordinator | Pronouns: he/him/his

“Pansexual visibility to me is all about shouting from the rooftops who you are and boldly claiming your identity. As pansexual people, our sexualities are often judged by the gender of our current or most recent partner(s), which sometimes makes it so that I don’t feel I fit in when I’m in queer spaces because I don’t conform to the mainstream, gay- and lesbian-centric understanding of our community. I also love being pansexual as a non-binary person because I’ve never felt that my sexuality and gender were at odds with each other, throughout all stages of my gender journey. For me, by constantly reminding folks that I am pansexual when they try to label or assume that I am something I am not, I break down our very binary understanding of what it means to be LGBTQ.” — Pallavi Rudraraju | Youth Well-Being & Time to THRIVE Coordinator |  Pronouns: they/them/theirs

“Andrea Gibson wrote, ‘Commit to loving yourself completely. It is the most radical thing you will do in your lifetime.’ As a proudly bi+ person, finding community with my bi+ family and larger LGBTQ family has been part of my journey to loving myself and others more fully. This community is beautiful and I hope all of us can get to a place where we embrace all of who we are. That is our gift and our resistance.” — Matilda Young | Writer | Pronouns: she/her/hers

“Each time the media celebrates a pansexual coming out story, a young closeted kid breathes a sigh of relief knowing there are people like them out there in the world. These stories provide a wave of hope and inspiration to help others live their authentic lives. Pansexual visibility is power. Pansexual visibility saves lives.” — Chantel Mattiola | Associate Director, Major Gifts and Leadership Giving | Pronouns: she/her/hers

“As co-chairs of HRC’s Bi+ ERG, we are committed to lifting up all of the identities under the bi+ umbrella, including pan — not simply because of our roles, but because of our humanity. Every person deserves to be seen and heard as they are and today, our pan siblings need that more than ever. It’s on all of us, LGBTQ-identified or ally, to put in the work to ensure pan people are visible … today and every day.” — Madeleine Roberts and Ryan Carey-Mahoney | HRC staff and co-chairs of HRC’s Bi+ ERG | Pronouns: they/them/theirs and he/him/his (respectively)

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-staff-celebrate-pansexual-visibility-day-2020?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

LGBTQ+ People of Color Face Severe Economic Hardships in the Pandemic

A new study released by the Human Rights Campaign shows that queer people of color are more likely to lose their job amid the current health crisis. 

www.advocate.com/health/2020/5/21/lgbtq-people-color-face-severe-economic-hardships-pandemic

How sports helped this triathlete get sober and come out to his wife and family

Mark Turnipseed is an openly gay triathlete, coach, and father. In a powerful new essay published by Outsports, he writes candidly about his struggles with addiction and how sports allowed him to overcome his demons and accept his true identity.

Turnipseed explains that growing up in a Southern Baptist household in Georgia required him to hide who he was all throughout his childhood.

“I started lying about my preferences around age 5, when the things I seemed to like weren’t the same things other boys liked,” the 33-year-old writes.

“Out of shame, I started to force myself to like ‘boy things,’ like baseball and boxing gloves. But then it got really confusing when I started to have crushes on my friends.”

Eventually, Turnipseed left George to attend college in Montana.

“Unfortunately, my lies followed me and I ended up choosing methods to avoid the pain those lies caused that took me into drug and alcohol addiction,” he reflects.

For the next 15 years, he abused drugs and alcohol.

Over that time, he became suicidal, received multiple DUIs, and nearly died after overdosing. He also married and woman and had a child in hopes of achieving what he thought would be a “normal” life.

“I liked who I had become on the outside–seemingly straight with a beautiful wife and a baby,” he writes. “On the inside, I kept sliding back into relapses because of the inner conflicts I had been so keen on hiding. I was so used to living this way, I thought it was normal.”

Then in 2018, someone at his gym casually suggested he participate in an upcoming triathlon. It was a chance meeting, but after the conversation was over, something inside Turnipseed clicked. A little voice asked: “How long are you going to keep lying to yourself with all this?”

That’s when he decided to make a change.

“I decided to do something different to see what I could become,” Turnipseed writes. “I had no idea this decision would bring me to where I am today.”

Shortly after that, he began training for the triathlon.

“What I didn’t know is that triathlon would push me so hard to accept many things about myself and each time I accepted one of these things I felt better, not worse.”

The training was grueling and required him not only to push himself but to accept his limitations, both physically and mentally.

“I began realizing I was learning more about acceptance then I was about triathlon. I was learning to accept all of my weaknesses in both character and sport.”

Eventually, he was able to admit to himself that he was an addict and work on getting sober. He did. Then came the even harder work.

“Now it was time to let it work for my sexuality, so that I could finally be free.”

Coming out was not easy, Turnip says, and was not without many tears.

“Owning up to my lies had some serious consequences, for myself and others,” he explains. “My wife and I cried endlessly over the truth. My coming out was far from rainbows and pink clouds.”

He continues, “Ultimately, we have begun accepting that to show our son a life of integrity we must be willing to live our truths no matter what the consequences. To show him, and others, the importance of living this way is to potentially steer one clear of the horrors I had to live through before coming to terms with who I am.”

Today, Turnipseed says he feels free for the first time in his life.

“I finally feel confident and complete in my own skin,” he writes. “I don’t have a fear overshadowing my every move, inhibiting me from facing and conquering challenges.”

He adds, “I can finally look people in the eye without trying to hide.”

Scroll down for more pics from Turnipseed’s Instagram page…

www.queerty.com/sports-helped-triathlete-get-sober-come-wife-family-20200521?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

#AM_Equality: May 21, 2020

HRC AND PSB RELEASE DATA ON THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON LGBTQ COMMUNITIES OF COLOR: This new research builds on prior data showing that LGBTQ people are disproportionately impacted economically by the pandemic, and shows that LGBTQ people of color are more likely to have become unemployed due to the virus, are more likely to have had their work hours reduced, and more likely to have asked for delays in paying their rent or bills. The data shows that:

• 38% of LGBTQ people of color have had their work hours reduced, compared to 29% of white LGBTQ people, and 24% of the general population
• 22% of LGBTQ people of color became unemployed, compared to 14% of white LGBTQ people and 13% of the general population
• 19% of LGBTQ people of color have asked for delays in payments on bills, compared to 14% of white LGBTQ people and 12% of the general population
• 14% of LGBTQ people of color have asked for delays in rent payment, compared to 8% of white LGBTQ people and 7% of the general population

More from HRC.

“This new data, showing that LGBTQ communities of color are facing the severe economic consequences of this pandemic, is unfortunately not surprising,” said HRC President Alphonso David (@AlphonsoDavid). “We know that multiply marginalized populations are at an increased risk of contracting the virus and suffering its effects — vulnerable communities are facing higher death rates than the general population across the country. We must acknowledge that these communities, particularly LGBTQ people of color, face systemic biases that are placing them at greater risk. Understanding this data is the first step towards addressing these injustices as we build towards recovery.”

MORE THAN 100 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS URGE TRUMP ADMIN TO COLLECT SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY DATA ON COVID-19 PATIENCE: HRC has called attention to the disproportionate impact the virus has had on marginalized communities and has called for more inclusive data collection for years. LGBTQ people are more vulnerable to the health risks of the virus. They are less likely to have health coverage, are more likely to smoke and have asthma, and have a variety of chronic illnesses. More from Nico Lang (@Nico_Lang) at NBC.

HRC MOURNS MCKINSLEY LAKEITH LINCOLN, BLACK LGBTQ PERSON KILLED IN LOUISIANA: HRC is deeply saddened to learn of the death of McKinsley LaKeith Lincoln, a 29-year-old Black LGBTQ person killed in Alexandria, Louisiana on May 15. HRC is monitoring this case for more information about Lincoln’s life and this crime. More from Gay City News.

THANKFUL THURSDAY — **TODAY AT 3 P.M. ET** HRC’S ALPHONSO DAVID TO JOIN CHASTEN BUTTIGEIG FOR INSTAGRAM LIVE: Submit questions by responding to the tweet below.

Looking forward to a great conversation with @chasten on #COVID19‘s impact on the LGBTQ community, @HRC‘s work around the 2020 election, and more. Tune in tomorrow on Instagram Live at 3PM ET. t.co/Jr6OYdQyxm

— Alphonso David (@AlphonsoDavid) May 20, 2020

NEW REPORT SHOWS THAT ACCEPTANCE IS KEY TO REDUCING RISK OF SUICIDE TO LGBTQ API YOUTH: The study by the Trevor Project shows that when Asian Pacific Islander (API) LGBTQ youth are accepted by their friends, their risk of attempting suicide dropped by more than 50%. More from NBC.

• HRC and the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) developed a guide for LGBTQ APIs: Coming Out: Living Authentically as LGBTQ Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.

NEW WEEKLY AT-HOME ACTIVITY FOR THOSE QUARANTINING WITH YOUTH: Each week while most students are out of school due to COVID-19, HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools will offer a book and a related activity adapted from our teacher lesson plans for parents to use with children at home. More from HRC.

IN THE STATES

DISGUSTING — MEMORIAL MURAL AT SITE OF PULSE SHOOTING DEFACED WITH WHITE NATIONALIST MATERIALS: More from The Advocate.

MINNEAPOLIS MAN CHARGED FOR ATTACKING LOCAL NEWSCASTER FOR PERCIEVING HIM AS LGBTQ: Vennie Jerome Williams, 39, was charged Friday with third-degree assault and harassment with the intent to injure after police said he threw something at KSTP-TV journalist Matt Belanger. More from NBC.

GET CULTURED – Entertainment, arts and sports news!

BROADWAY POWERHOUSES VIRTUALLY PERFORM SONGS FROM HAIRSPRAY: More from The Advocate.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEgIJLlBFUI&feature=emb_title

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

TRANSPHOBIC LAW PASSED IN HUNGARY: The bill defines one’s gender as the sex assigned at birth, blocking any trans person from updating their legal gender marker. More from The Guardian.

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

Remezcla reports that fans of rapper Bad Bunny (@sanbenito) are hosting an online course, and donating the proceeds to help food banks and undocumented workers

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!

www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-may-21-2020?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed