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).