Compiled by Howard Israel
"While the pictures were only supposed to serve as last week's tabloid fodder, if the women were publicly out as a couple, the shots would be one of the healthiest mainstream representations of black lesbians we've ever seen. Maybe that's why some of us keep begging her to come out of the closet, because it's exactly this kind of image that's so desperately needed."
– Jamilah King, in an article titled "It's Time for Everybody to Get Out of Queen Latifah's Bedroom," about leaked photos of Queen Latifah with her rumored long-time love Jeanette Jenkins, http://colorlines.com, Aug. 11.
"There is a disconnect and misrepresentation of the gay community. Much like African-Americans represent every color and hue on the spectrum, both in skin tone and backgrounds, so does the gay community. We are all different, representing everything and nothing in particular. Gay can be black, white, poor, rich, Latino, Asian, etc. In the same way it does not serve any minority to further alienate themselves along superficial lines, neither does it serve minorities in general to form a class system within a class system; or a caste system in which someone is always less desirable or more worthy."
– Edward Wyckoff Williams, in his column titled "Is gay the new black?," http://www.thegrio.com, Aug. 6.
"Two drag queens have taken advantage of the hip-hop popularity and have formed the first of its kind drip-drop duo, that's drag hip-hop. I believe they coined the phrase. Raven-haired Chic and blonde Sassy are two super talented, sexy, drag hip-hop artists that are breaking down stereotypes, walls and anything that gets in their way to become part of the out hip-hop movement."
– Samara, in an interview titled "Chic & Sassy – Drip Drop Queens," Adelante Magazine http://adelantemagazine.com, Aug. 2.
"The AIDS epidemic in general – its immensity and scope and general scariness smother a lot of us until we feel like we are powerless to respond at all. But when it comes to the issue of women's leadership, there's no need to think about it in that huge and abstract way. Of course AIDS would be a million times easier to fight if there were no gender inequality or stigma or illiteracy in the world, but at this moment we're simply talking about elevating voices who have the background and experience to advocate smartly for immediate, high-impact changes."
– Ryan Brown, in an article titled "Women: The missing weapon against AIDS," about a report released by the United Nations Development Fund for Women that presses for female voices in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, http://www.salon.com, July 19.
"What the question suggests is that it's impossible for a gay judge to render an unbiased opinion because the only judges who are qualified are the 'normal' ones – and those would be the straight ones. The only reason Walker's sexuality is up for debate now is that the right wing isn't happy with (him) shining the light of justice on their bigotry."
– Shay Aaron Gilmore, San Francisco attorney, quoted in a column titled "Is Judge Vaughn Walker really gay?," http://www.salon.com, Aug. 10.
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"Many black people are using arguments against same-sex marriage that have also been used to discriminate against us – so why are we using them?"
– Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell, retired United Methodist minister, in his column titled "Prop 8 and the Black Community," http://www.theroot.com, Aug. 11.
