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Black love Web site promotes unity in African-American community

By Darice Jones

DETROIT – Irrepressible passion alongside visions of a more inclusive dialogue within the African diaspora drove Detroit activist/writer Terry Howcott to spend sleepless nights developing an innovative online space for black people to engage.
That website, http://www.terryhowcott.com launched July 4.
Crushing barriers between Same Gender Loving (SGL) black people and the wider community is one central theme of the site. "I have strong relationships with black hetero-attractional folks who talk about their dilemmas in being supportive of black Same Gender Loving people. I wanted to make provisions for a community coming together under one roof," Howcott said.
That "roof" is a collection of online pages where black people can read and respond to issues of urgency within the diaspora. Countering negative representations of interactions between black people, Howcott said, is key. "There's enough out there depicting us victimizing one another, and I wanted to further expose the reality that many of us live together, are great neighbors together, work together and agitate for justice together down here on the ground," Howcott said. Before looking outward, Howcott revealed how her own feelings of isolation stirred her awareness that something was missing from the current landscape of black online exchange. "I was feeling a shadow of invisibility," Howcott said. "My essays and articles were getting great recognition from people across the country, but these people weren't aware that my contributions were those of an SGL sistah." Many people, she added, assume everyone is "hetero-attractional."
Difficulty in relationship-building across the emotional borders of whom and how people love, Howcott added, results from negative socialization. Thwarting the exploitation of discord within black communities is essential to the work of facilitating reunion and critical discourse. She believes www.terryhowcott.com will promote a broader black appreciation for distinct life experiences. "While we (Black people) stay the same, and sometimes digress, we are being taken full advantage of as a people. People are making big money from our divisions – and many of them look like and even talk like us," Howcott said.
"I certainly stand ready to present as an interrogator and analyst, because the more of us there are, the more real ideas emerge that can catapult us out of immobility and stagnation." A new level of unity is necessary, according to Howcott, for a healthy and liberated Black community to emerge. "We've been emotionally ransacked into believing some of us can accomplish authentic justice without others of us," she said. "People still aren't getting that the cure for diabetes may be lodged in the brain of a Black Same Gender Loving 18-year-old who just got kicked out onto the streets by an oblivious parent."
Despite her role as coordinator of a coming together among black people that is anything but virtual, Howcott stresses that if the site is successful in the least, it will always be a collaboration of great black creators. "I had a committee of special people who have supported me and sometimes even guided me in the early months before the site launch, Howcott said. "Their presence was like the sun to a flower." Almost completely community funded, the site clearly represents an idea of forward movement that is shared by many people. Howcott is working as a conciliator for an inclusive black community. "Collaboration will be the critical thrust of the site. I'm going to need writers and poets and other thinkers to really help me with this venture to give it depth and breadth."
Howcott's Web site is as much visual as it is verbal, requiring the support of photographers and artists alike, she added. "The section of the site called 'Claiming the Whole Beloved Community,' is a "dynamic gallery" of photos that depict black couples and families in all our splendor," she said. "Photos there interchangeably exhibit the beauty of black SGL families-couples and hetero-couples-families."
Energized by the potential for seeing more holistic interactions among black people, Howcott is unmoved by the idea that some people might oppose her efforts. "Sure, there are always going to be people who are turned off. But I hope the rational among us will at least begin to start thinking about how impossible it is to resurrect our communities in the divided state we are currently in," Howcott said. "You generate happy communities by letting people be – staying out of the way of what makes them tick."
Already passionately throwing her own ideas of potential solutions for black community issues in the ring, Howcott continued, "You give people a level playing field so we can excel, you raise us up to our rightful place – and you sit back and watch us produce a "harvest for the world." The site represents for Howcott one seed she is planting, among many. Her vision goes beyond online dialogue. "After a year or so, we'll rally a group of folks to plan the first annual 'Broad and Black' family reunion," Howcott said. "Hopefully we can host something like that in the city of Detroit."
Having finally enjoyed the fruits of her labor – the launch of the site – Howcott's excitement is palpable and focused. Her parting remarks are about "those constant overnights when I was up until five and six o'clock in the morning – listening to the birds sing – so exhausted my fingers couldn't hit nary another computer key. My love for Black folk kept me awake to see this project through and do them good and proud."

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