Post on 13-Jan-2015
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Gay Men of African Descent at 25: A New Exhibit at New York Public
Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
By: David Eric Foaney
On Wednesday, February 1, 2012, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library
premiered Gay Men of African Descent at 25: A History in Words and Images. This is an exhibition that celebrates
the groundbreaking organization’s 25th Anniversary. GMAD at 25 was sponsored by Time Warner, Inc. who pro-
vided the initial funding for New York Public Library’s LGBT Initiative, with additional support from M.A.C. AIDS
Fund, the Arcus Foundation, and Friends of the LGBT Initiative.
Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD) was founded in 1986 by the Reverend Charles Angel. A Pentecostal preacher,
who, by 1986, had contracted the AIDS virus. Angel had recognized the need for black gay men in New York City to
form coalitions that would address and combat homophobia and racism, as well as the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In the
ensuing years, the fledgling organization, which began with volunteers, grew to encompass a paid staff and a vari-
ety of programs. Its focus would also evolve from political advocacy into a supportive agency that provides a social
space that nurtures black gay men. Today GMAD is dedicated to improving the quality of life within the New York
In This Issue
New Exhibit at NYPL’s Schomburg Center P.1 Announcements P.2
The Role of Librarians in Social Media (Part 1 of 2) P.3 2nd Annual Read and Seed Program P.3
The AAMLA President’s Message P.4 Men’s Health Literacy Initiative P.5
AAMLA’s Organizational Structure P.5 ALA’s Emerging Leaders Program P.6
African American Male Librarians Association The Quarterly Journal of AAMLA
ISSUE 06 June 2012
Gay Men of African Descent at 25 - Continued From Page 1
City black gay community by effectively fighting the
triple threat of AIDS, homophobia, and racism
through education, advocacy, health and wellness,
and social support.
The exhibition and panel discussion were co-curated
by Dr. Kevin McGruder, former Executive Director
of GMAD and current Scholar-in-Residence at the
Schomburg Center, and Steven G. Fullwood, Project
Director for the Black Gay & Lesbian Archive at the
Schomburg Center. Both are longtime supporters of
GMAD.
“At the opening reception people from the GMAD
family of early members were really pleased to see
the exhibition, because it included images of other
early members, some of whom have passed away,
but perhaps even more because the Schomburg is
such a symbol of the African American community,”
McGruder said. “The hosting of the exhibition signi-
fies that gay men of African descent are not at the
periphery of the community, as is often suggested,
but central to it in the same way as other people of
African descent.”
GMAD at 25 is the first ever exhibition of a black gay
organization at the Schomburg, or anywhere else,
said Fullwood. “I think it’s vital that the institution’s
history was celebrated here in this community,” he
said, “given the Center’s remarkable and unparal-
leled history in collecting and preserving black
LGBTQ culture and history.” Fullwood mentioned
that the organization’s records are also housed at
the Schomburg.
Opening night of the exhibition featured a reception
and panel discussion about GMAD’s past with for-
mer and current GMAD officers and members in-
cluding Kevin McGruder, Kevin Coleman, Bonnie
Harrison, Reggie Shuford, George Bellinger, Jr., Bish-
op Zachary Jones and Tokes Osubu.
Senator Bill Perkins, along with Harlem historian,
Michael Henry Adams, were on hand to present
a proclamation to GMAD in honor of its anniversary
and the organization’s accomplishments. Over 300
people came out to celebrate the historic event.
“Even today there are some people who are sur-
prised that some people who are black and gay are
willing to identify themselves as such,” said McGrud-
er who believes the exhibition provided a teachable
moment. “The fact that the exhibition is not in a
"gay" space, but in an area that can be visited by
anyone who visits the Schomburg challenges the ex-
pectation that those who are black and gay should
be ashamed and seek to hide who they are,”
McGruder added.
The exhibition is currently on display in the Manu-
scripts, Archives and Rare Book Division, and will up
until August 31, 2012.
Online AAMLA Membership Application Can be Found at the following URL: http://150.216.68.199/aamla/
Mr. Gerald D. Jackson has built an AAMLA
Facebook page. Here is the URL: http://www.facebook.com/AfricanAmericanMaleLibrariansAssociation. Please “Friend” AAMLA on this social network-ing site.
Alan Bailey (North Carolina) is the recipient of
the AAMLA's Outstanding Service Award for his past work on the AAMLA newsletter, from 2010-2011. Mr. Bailey will be receive his award next month. AAMLA really appreciates his time, effort, and service in the past and present.
Announcements
The Role of Librarians in Social Media (Part 1 of 2): Teaching the Black Community to Capitalize on the Social
Networking Site Twitter! By: Don P. Jason III, Editor-In-Chief of the AAMLA Newsletter Social networks are currently revolu-
tionizing the way people around the
world interact with one another. Afri-
can Americans have become one of the
fastest growing groups to adopt online
social networking sites, with Twitter
being the black community’s social net-
working site of choice. According to a
Huffington Post article titled “Why Are
African Americans More Likely To Join
Twitter?” by Bianca Bosker, “African
Americans are more likely than whites
to use Twitter -- and the gap is grow-
ing” (1). This article goes on to cite the
Pew Internet and American Life Project
when it states that “during a six month
period… the share of African Americans
on Twitter nearly doubled from 13 to
25 percent, while the proportion of
whites on Twitter edged up only slight-
ly, from 5 to 9 percent” (1).
The same Pew Internet Study found
that “African Americans are also far
more active Twitter users: 11 percent
visited the social media service daily,
compared to 3 percent of whites” (1).
Finally, an ABC News article titled, “Is
Twitter Disproportionately Popular
Among Black Users?” by Ki Mae
Heussner cited Edison Research, a mar-
keting company, when it states “African
Americans make up about 24 percent
of Twitter users, which is nearly double
their representation in the U.S. popula-
tion”(1). The above said, it is clear that
African Americans have a definite pres-
ence on Twitter and that this presence
is only growing.
However, in order to make sure that these
new African American social network users
are utilizing Twitter and other social network-
ing sites safely and advantageously, librarians
and information professionals must get in-
volved.
First, librarians and information professionals
must use social networks to proactively reach
out to the black community and anticipate its
needs. Next, information professionals need
to teach black businesses and organizations
to use social networks to promote programs
and services that benefit the black communi-
ty. After that, librarians and information pro-
fessionals have an obligation to convince the
The 2nd Annual Read & Seed Program
black community to use social net-
works to branch out and integrate
themselves into the overall cyber
community. This encourages mem-
bers of the black community to use
these sites in productive ways that
can advance their academic and pro-
fessional goals.
Librarians and information profes-
sionals can use social networking
sites such as Twitter to anticipate
the needs of member of the black
community. One Twitter feature
that allows information profession-
als to perform this outreach is men-
Literacy Nation in conjunction with the African American Male Librarians Association is
proud to announce our 2nd annual “Read & Seed Program.” The theme is “Read to a
Child for Children’s Week.”
The program aims to empower Black males across the country to join our efforts to
promote literacy among our youth. In honor of Father’s Day we are requesting that all
fathers give one (1) hour of their time to read to a child or group of children between
the dates of June 10-17, 2012.
For more information please visit http://
www.literacynation.com/Home.html or contact Rich-
ard E. Ashby, Jr. by phone at (646) 721-1358 or via
email at richardashby@literacynation.com
Greetings! First of all, I would like to thank all of the African American Male Librarians Association (AAMLA) mem-bers that have/are contributing to our association. Without you there is no AAMLA. In addition, I’d like to thank everyone that has become an active participant in a committee. We have been doing a great deal of brainstorming which is of great benefit to AAMLA. In addition, I would like to propose that we continue to support each other as our organization continues to grow. I believe that AAMLA is something special! Last-ly, I would like to congratulate Jesse Cleary and Bobby Walters on their re-cent job appointments. Jesse will be working as a full-time Librarian at Oak-land Community College beginning in the fall of 2012 and Bobby is currently working as a full-time Librarian at the University of Kentucky. Both employers knew of Jesse and Bobby’s contributions to AAMLA, and it may have helped them secure their new positions at the afore-mentioned academic libraries. Kudos to both of you and best of luck!
P.S. Remember it’s all about coopera-tion, not competition!
Sincerely, Alonzo W. Hill AAMLA President
AAMLA President’s
Message
The Role of Librarians in Social Media– Continued From Page 3
tioned in an article found in the journal,
The Reference Librarian, titled “Making
Twitter Work: A Guide for the Uninitiated,
the Skeptical, and the Pragmatic” by Va-
lerie Forrestal. The article states that
“Twitter search alerts essentially allow
[librarians] to use Twitter as a ‘proactive’
reference tool. For example, [librarians]
can be notified if someone uses the terms
‘research,’ ‘paper,’ or ‘writing’ on Twitter
within a mile of [their] location, giving [the
librarians] an opportunity to respond to
the poster with research options at the
library”(148).
This is a concrete example of librarians
using social networking to venture outside
the walls of the library. By using this
Twitter feature librarians will be able to
help African American students as well as
other students from the community with
homework, research projects and papers
without these students ever having to set
foot in the library. Thus, a student getting
off the school bus and tweeting to a friend
about the science project that is due next
week can elicit a helpful response from a
librarian who might offer assistance in the
form of resources that the student can use
in the local library or online.
In addition to being a great tool for proac-
tive reference social networking sites like
Twitter are a great way to advertise and
market programs and events for free. Li-
brarians and other informational profes-
sionals have used these sites to promote
the library’s programs and services since
these sites went live on the internet sever-
al years ago. That said, librarians can teach
black businesses and African American
community organizations to use these sites
to reach out to members of the black com-
munity in new ways.
While social networking sites can be used
to market and advertise events, librarians
and information professionals can teach
African Americans to utilize social net-
working sites for professional and aca-
demic reasons. Statistical research analyz-
ing the black community’s use of social
networks is presented in Cheryl Pearson-
McNeil’s Cincinnati Herald article, titled
“New report highlights Blacks’ use of so-
cial media.” The articles states that “28
percent of African American social net-
working fans engage in giving advice or
their opinions on entertainment” (1). This
was a sentiment echoed by the Huffington
Post’s news articles cited earlier in this
article. The Huffington Post cites infor-
mation from the Pew Internet Study,
which found that “gossip updates and
celebrity news were two of the driving
forces behind African American young
people’s use of social networking
sites” (Bosker 1). In addition, the ABC
News article cited previously also states
that “Twitter offered a segregated experi-
ence where black users stayed to them-
selves” (Heussner 1).
All and all, librarians and information pro-
fessionals can facilitate integration of so-
cial networks. They can teach the black
community to reach out to people of
different ethnic and racial backgrounds,
online. These professionals can teach the
black community and young people to
value what these groups have to say. Also
library and information professionals can
teach African Americans, especially black
youth, to use these social networking
sites for academic and professional pur-
poses. For instance, when on Twitter, in-
stead of following a dozen celebrities,
why not follow a university that offers
college scholarships to black youth or fol-
low a local business that offers intern-
ships to black high school students.
Students can even start following pro-
fessionals that live in their communi-
ties in an effort to start surrounding
themselves with business-minded
people who may turn out to be men-
tors in the future.
Men's Health Literacy Initiative: National Men's Health Month
By: Bobby Walter, AAMLA Membership Officer
National Men's Month is celebrated each
year in June. In the recognition of
NMHM, Bobby Walter (AAMLA) Men's
Health Month Literacy Outreach Project
Coordinator, has implemented an out-
reach and a community of practice pro-
ject.
This year's project promotes health litera-
cy and awareness for adult men and teen
boys within the communities of Frankfort
and Lexington, Kentucky.
Ms. Nkechi Amadife (Community Mem-
ber), Ms. Dantrea Hampton (Community
Member), and Mr. Raphael D. Jackson
(AAMLA) assisted Bobby Walter with dis-
tributing literature to individuals, church-
es, community organizations, YMCA, bar-
ber shops, and agencies within the state.
The effort is to educate families about the
importance of living healthy and happy
lives.
NMHM is promoted by the Men's Health
Network (NHN) in Washington, D.C.
"Health literacy is the ability to read, un-
derstand, and act on healthcare infor-
mation", according to the Center for
Health Care Strategies, Inc. Health pro-
motion is the process of enabling people
to increase their health and well-being.
Printed publications and electronic re-
sources are related to men's health issues
and some generic health concerns. The
African American Male Librarians Associa-
tion members are encouraged to get in-
volved this month by organizing a men's
health literacy activity or outreach pro-
gram within his state.
AAMLA appreciates the generous dona-
tions of pamphlets, brochures, and book-
lets from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health
and Family Services.
Here are some activities/ideas:
(1) Men's health book display.
(2) Present an educational event, such as
a men’s health presentation.
(3) Healthy cooking demonstrations.
(4) Ask a local nurse, doctor, or health
educator to give a lecture on men’s health
at your workplace, church, community
group, senior center, health department,
etc.
(5) Set up a table at a store, restaurant,
hallway at work, gym, library, community
center, etc. with brochures and infor-
mation on men’s health and Men’s Health
Month.
(6) Write an opinion article about men’s
health and how it affects the entire family
and submit it to your local newspaper.
(7) Distribute health brochures that focus
on the health of men and their families.
AAMLA’s
Organizational
Structure
The African American Male
Librarians Association
was founded in Flint,
Michigan by Alonzo W. Hill
on August 28, 2010.
OFFICERS FOR 2010-2012
President: Alonzo W. Hill,
M.L.I.S. (Michigan)
Vice President: Michael E.
Owens, M.L.I.S.
(Oklahoma)
Secretary: Raphael D.
Jackson, M.L.S. (Kentucky)
Treasurer and Webmas-
ter: Richard E. Ashby, Jr.,
M.L.S. (New York)
Public Relations: Marcel-
laus A. Joiner, M.L.S.
(North Carolina)
Membership Officer: Bob-
by Walter, M.L.I.S.
(Kentucky)
Historian: Derek Mosley,
M.L.S. (Louisiana)
Editor-In-Chief of the
AAMLA Newsletter: Don
P. Jason III, B.S. (Ohio)
The American Library Association
(ALA) is now accepting applications
for the 2013 class of Emerging
Leaders. Details on the program
criteria as well as a link to the ap-
plication can be found on the
Emerging Leaders Web page
(http://www.ala.org/
educationcareers/leadership/
emergingleaders). The deadline to
apply is August 3, 2012.
The program is designed to enable
library workers to get on the fast
track to ALA and professional lead-
ership. Participants are given the
opportunity to work on a variety of
projects, network with peers and
gain an understanding of the ALA
structure and wide range of activi-
ties.
Individuals who are considering
applying to the program should be
under 35 years of age or be a new
library professional of any age with
fewer than five years of experience
working at a professional or
paraprofessional level in a library.
They should also be able to attend
both the ALA Midwinter Meeting
in Seattle, Wash. (Jan. 25–29,
2013) and the ALA Annual Confer-
ence in Chicago (June
27–July 2, 2013). Ad-
ditional criteria can
be found on the
Emerging Leaders’
Web page (http://
www.ala.org/
educationcareers/
leadership/
emergingleaders).
An ALA division,
round table, ethnic
affiliate, state chap-
ter or school library
media affiliate will sponsor near-
ly all of the selected applicants.
Each sponsor will contribute
$1,000 toward expenses of
attending the ALA Midwinter
Meeting and Annual Conference
($500 for each conference).
Sponsorship is not required for
participation in the program.
A list of sponsoring units is in-
cluded as part of the online appli-
cation. Applicants can indicate on
the application which groups
they want to consider them for
sponsorship. Applicants may also
check with various state associa-
tions and/or state chapters to
find out if they are participating
and how to apply for their spon-
sorship.
American Library Association Accepts Applications for the
2013 Class of Emerging Leaders – Deadline Aug. 3, 2012
No more than one person from
any institution will be selected
for participation in the program
in any given year.
For more information, visit the
Emerging Leaders Web page
(http://www.ala.org/
educationcareers/leadership/
emergingleaders) or contact the
program coordinator, Beatrice
Calvin (bcalvin@ala.org).