Kenya PM Declares Gays "Should Be Arrested"

Kenya PM Raila Odinga

The Prime Minister of Kenya Raila Odinga has attacked the LGBT community in his African country, declaring that they "should [all] be arrested."

The Times of South Africa reports:

"Any man found engaging in sexual activities with another man should be arrested," Odinga said at a rally on Sunday, in the Nairobi slum of Kibera. 

"Even women found engaging in sexual activities will be arrested."

Speaking to his home constituency, Odinga, also a member of parliament, argued that since August census results showed the national population was perfectly split between men and women, there was "no need" for homosexuality.

"This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated in this country. Men or women found engaging in those acts deserve to be arrested and will be arrested," Odinga said to cheers and laughter in the crowd.

Odinga is just joining a chorus of African politicians who are continually displaying their ignorance of homosexuality (There's no "need" for homosexuality--really? And "even" lesbians will be arrested) and blatant misogyny.

Unfortunately, the words of politicians can have real impacts on the lives of their citizens, especially if their underlings take these words to signal policy changes. Rod 2.0 reports that Kenyan gays and lesbians are terrified.

Malawi Gay Couple Pardoned By President

Good news from Malawi! The President of the country has pardoned the same-sex couple who had been convicted and sentenced to fourteen years hard labor for committing "gross indecency and unnatural acts."

The story from The Guardian

Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, were tried and found guilty of sodomy and indecency earlier this month in a move that sparked international condemnation.

But after talking with Ban today, Malawi's president, Bingu wa Mutharika, announced the pair would be freed.

"These boys committed a crime against our culture, our religion and our laws," he said after the meeting, at the southern African country's State House. "However, as the head of state, I hereby pardon them and therefore ask for their immediate release with no conditions.

"I have done this on humanitarian grounds, but this does not mean that I support this."

He added: "We don't condone marriages of this nature. It's unheard of in Malawi and it's illegal."

Ban praised the decision, but said: "It is unfortunate that laws criminalise people based on sexuality. Laws that criminalise sexuality should be repealed."

The White House Press Secrtary released a statement on the action:

"The White House is pleased to learn of President Bingu wa Mutharika's pardon of Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza. These individuals were not criminals and their struggle is not unique. We must all recommit ourselves to ending the persecution and criminalization of sexual orientation and gender identity. We hope that President Mutharika's pardon marks the beginning of a new dialogue which reflects the country's history of tolerance and a new day for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in Malawi and around the globe."

Hat/tip to Rod 2.0.

White House Condemns Malawi Homosexuality Conviction

The White House has released a statement condemning the recent conviction of a gay male couple in Malawi for "gross indecency and unnatural acts" and their sentence to 14 years of hard labor.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

May 20, 2010

Statement by the Press Secretary on Court Ruling in Malawi

The United States strongly condemns the conviction and harsh sentencing of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga in Malawi. The criminalization of sexual orientation and gender identity is unconscionable, and this case mars the human rights record of Malawi. We urge Malawi and all countries to stop using sexual orientation or gender identity as the basis for arrest, detention, or execution.

###

The couple, Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, were arrested and jailed (without bail) after having a public ceremony acknowledging their relationship last year.

In sentencing them to the maximum punishment of 14 years of hard labor, the judge said:

"I sentence you to 14 years imprisonment with hard labour each," magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwa Usiwa told the two men in a courtroom in the commercial capital Blantyre.

"I will give you a scaring sentence so that the public be protected from people like you so that we are not tempted to emulate this horrendous example," the judge added.

"Malawi is not ready to see its sons getting married to its sons."

There are 37 countries in Africa in which homosexuality is criminalized.

WATCH: ABC Covers Uganda's "Kill The Gays" bill

 

hat/tip to Joe.My.God

WATCH: new Sade video for "Soldier of Love"

Finally!! Sade's new album Soldier of Love is available in stores today. It is her first album in over a decade, following 2000's Lovers Rock.
I got mine through the power of Amazon.com.

You can see my list of Top 5 favorite Sade songs here.

90 Members of Congress Send Letter To Obama On Uganda

Kerry Eleveld is reporting over at Advocate.com that a letter signed by over 90 members of Congress has been sent to President Obama urging him to publicly denounce anti-gay legislation in Uganda and Rwanda.

Here is the text of the missive :

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We write to raise serious concerns about a grave injustice occurring in Uganda and other countries that are taking steps to criminalize or otherwise severely discriminate against their lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities. We consider this to be an international human rights issue, requiring a strong response by you and the United States.

As you are aware, Ugandan Parliamentarian David Bahati recently introduced draconian legislation in Uganda outlawing homosexuality and making “any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex” punishable by prison or even death. Late last month, the Rwandan Parliament debated but then halted plans to pass a draft revision of their penal code that would have, for the first time, made homosexuality a crime in Rwanda. Burundi has recently added a criminal provision, again in a country where consensual conduct was not previously criminalized. These global anti-equality efforts are not in keeping with international human rights precepts, nor are they consistent with your March 2009 endorsement of calls at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality worldwide. For these reasons, Mr. President, we ask you to demonstrate your personal leadership, and that of our country, in seeking to deter these legislative proposals that would legalize hate in countries with which we have bilateral partnerships.

The Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2009 is by far the most extreme and hateful attempt by an African country to criminalize the LGBT community. It would increase the penalty for "same sex sexual acts" to life in prison, limit the distribution of information on HIV through a provision criminalizing the "promotion of homosexuality," and establish the crime of "aggravated homosexuality" punishable by death for anyone in Uganda who is HIV positive and has consensual same-sex relations. Further, the bill includes a provision that could lead to the imprisonment for up to three years of anyone who fails to report within 24 hours the identities of everyone they know who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, or who supports human rights for people who are, to the government.

This reprehensible bill is not only unjust on its face: Its mere existence could provoke or legitimize violence against individuals who either are LGBT or are rumored to be LGBT, their families, and community leaders in their places of worship, residence, school, or place of business. The Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2009 even establishes extra-territorial jurisdiction which consequently endangers known LGBT citizens living abroad who may be extradited and prosecuted in Uganda.

Mr. President, we applaud Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent statement of concern about Uganda’s pending legislation. We concur with her fear that the bill would create fear, promote hatred, and potentially divide communities. We take at face value her statement that the U.S. has urged Uganda to take all necessary measures to ensure that sexual orientation or gender identity may under no circumstances be the basis for criminal penalties, harassment, or discrimination. We also applaud the recent White House statement indicating your opposition to the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda.

However, we strongly believe that the severity of the legislation under consideration in both Uganda and Rwanda requires that you do more. Sweden has indicated that it will cut bilateral assistance to Uganda should the bill be passed. Canada and the United Kingdom also have condemned the bill, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown took up the matter directly with Ugandan President Museveni at the recent Commonwealth Summit. We ask that you use all means available to seek to deter these bills from passage, and that a tangible and meaningful bilateral response be undertaken should either bill be passed into law.

Specifically, we ask that you speak out publicly against this proposed legislation to bring further attention to the issue. Also, given your popularity in Africa, speaking out publicly against Uganda and Rwanda’s proposed anti-homosexual legislation is likely to garner more concern and attention from not only African nations but internationally. We further ask that you give diplomatic weight to your call for homosexuality to be decriminalized worldwide. While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international treaties prohibit discrimination and specify that all enjoy the right to privacy, over 80 countries currently have in place sodomy laws or other legal provisions that criminalize the LGBT community. We believe that standing up for the rights of all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, reflects the fundamental precepts of our country. We would be pleased to learn what efforts you and your Administration have undertaken since March 2009 to help move other countries toward fully protecting the rights of all their citizens.

We are reaching out to you not only as our President, but as a close ally in the struggle to fight for the human rights of vulnerable minorities. Like you, we believe that human rights violations of any kind should not be tolerated, and the threatened persecution of the LGBT community in Uganda and around the world is unacceptable. As an international leader, the United States has an opportunity to prevent proliferation of hate, civil unrest and violence in Uganda, Rwanda, and other countries considering these devastating policies. We respectfully ask for your immediate and consequential help in addressing these grave dangers.

The letter was spearheaded by our U.S. Representatives Jared Polis (D-CO), Barney Frank (D-MA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

Black, Gay and Indisputably African

Today's Los Angeles Times has an interesting op-ed titled "Black, Gay and Indisputably African" by Northwestern journalism Professor Douglas Foster. The piece talks about a gay bar named Simply Blue in Johannesburg, South Africa whose very existence belies the oft-repeated claim that homosexuality is inherent un-African, with the corollary that people who are both Black and gay are actually neither.

The theme of homophobic African politicians is that gay identity is a perversion imposed on black people by white oppressors. The historical fact is the reverse, of course: Legal prohibitions on homosexuality were originally imposed by white colonial rulers. So it's no small twist in the plot that the new wave of threats to Ugandan gays should be reinforced by American religious extremists.

The proposed legislation places in stark relief the persistence of deadly prejudice. The roots of hatred can be traced to myriad traditions -- indigenous and foreign, white and black. What's more important than identifying the sources of the poison is to find the antidote. The first step is listening to the voices of African lesbians and gay men, and taking our cues from them about how to offer the most effective support.

[...]

Most of the gay refugees from all over the continent who gather at Simply Blue once felt the same way. They were migrants to South Africa not by choice but by necessity.

And now they're part of a burgeoning mass of women and men across the continent who reject the impossible, insulting, ahistorical, cruel and utterly false choice: Are you African, or are you gay?

The piece also references the excellent work of Box Turtle Bulletin and Gay Uganda in advocating against legislation to persecute homosexuality in Uganda with the possibility of the death penalty and generally drawing attention to homophobic agitation on the African continent.

White House Issues Statement Opposing Uganda Anti-Gay Bill

Intrepid lesbian reporter Kerry Eleveld finally got someone from the Obama Administration to go on record in response to the pending draconian Uganda anti-homosexuality legislation which, as currently written, could lead to the death penalty for openly gay people.

“The President strongly opposes efforts, such as the draft law pending in Uganda, that would criminalize homosexuality and move against the tide of history,” read the White House statement that came late Friday in response to an inquiry from The Advocate.

Bloggers such as Joe Jervis, Pam Spaulding and Bill Burroway have been doing excellent work keeping the Uganda legislation in the top tier of issues in the LGBT blogosphere.

Uganda Anti-Gay Bill Considered "Likely To Pass"

Uh-oh. The now-infamous anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda is apparently "likely to pass" and become law, according to Reuters.

The draft Anti-Homosexuality Bill is part of a growing campaign against homosexuals in Uganda, rights groups say. Critics say the aim is to divert attention from corruption and other political issues ahead of the 2011 national vote.

But the bill's author, lawmaker David Bahati, says the legislation is about promoting family values. "Homosexuality is not part of the human rights we believe in," he said.

Activists and political observers expect the private members' bill, which proscribes the death penalty for "serial offenders" and is still in the committee stage, to pass with little opposition and some minor changes.

Likely changes may include modifying the death penalty to life imprisonment, altering clauses nullifying international treaties, conventions and protocols that contradict the act, and removing a section about extradition.

"It's catastrophic," said Frank Mugisha, chairman of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), a local activist group.

"People are being arrested, intimidated already. What's going to happen if it's passed?"

Numerous rights groups say they will challenge the law in court if it does become law, but the real damage has alareday been mostly done. By sending the message that it is even considering the death penalty for the crime of "aggravated homosexuality" that will chill the climate for LGBT people all over the entire African continent.

Furor Over Uganda's Extreme Anti-Gay Bill Grows

The international condemnation of Uganda's proposed extreme anti-homosexuality legislation is growing. There was a meeting of British Commonwealth leaders in Trinidad and Tobago this past weekend and the Prime Ministers of Canada and United Kingdom mentioned their disapproval in private meetings with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

Gordon Brown expressed Britain's concerns about the parliamentary bill when he met Yoweri Museveni, the veteran Ugandan president, at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Trinidad and Tobago. The suggested legislation would apply to sex between gay men or lesbian women in which one person has HIV. The bill also proposes the introduction of a three-year prison sentence for anyone who knows of the existence of a gay man or lesbian woman and fails to inform authorities in Uganda within 24 hours. The British prime minister's anger was echoed by his Canadian counterpart, Stephen Harper. Harper's spokesman, Dimitri Soudas, said: "If adopted, a bill further criminalising homosexuality would constitute a significant step backwards for the protection of human rights in Uganda."

The proposed legislation includes the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice and President Barack Obama have made no public comments on the legislation.

Uganda receives an estimated $287 million in U.S. taxpayer funds annually under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Rod 2.0 and other bloggers are asking whether those funds will be withheld if the legislation becomes law. The short answer from Eric Goosby, chief administrator of PEPFAR, is no.

I'm very concerned about any decision that any country—including our own—would make to target a group that's in the population, and that's always been in the population, by excluding them from a service or passes legislation that criminalizes their behavior. Every time you do that, you push the behavior underground. It never works. Rather than minimizing the spread of the virus, it actually amplifies it.

The U.S. policy is trying to work with governments to say exactly that. I think I would do more harm than good by connecting our resources to respond to the epidemic to making them dependent on a behavior that they're not willing to engage in on their own. My role is to be supportive and helpful to the patients who need these services. It is not to tell a country how to put forward their legislation. But I will engage them in conversation around my concern and knowledge of what this is going to do to that population, and our ability to stop the movement of the virus into the general population.

This answer is unacceptable. To connect the anti-homosexuality legislation to the AIDS crisis in Uganda, which, like in the rest of Africa (and the world) is an overwhelmingly heterosexual phenomenon is shockingly ill-informed and borderline offensive.

Happy World AIDS Day!

Marriage Of Kenyan Gay Couple Sparks Debate

There's an interesting article written by Makua Matua in the prominent Kenyan newspaper The Nation which demolishes the idea that "homosexuality is un-African." Ever since the couple pictured above, Daniel Chege and Charles Ngengi, got married in October in Britain, the Kenyan media has been enthralled.

Many Kenyans have been outraged that two men of Kenyan descent would get married to each other and have contacted (and threatened) the men's relatives who still live in the rural sections of their African homeland. The wedding was a public recognition of their legally registered British civil partnership, since Ngengi is a British citizen.

Now Mr. Matua, who is the Dean of the SUNY Buffalo Law School and chair of the Kenyan Human Rights Commission, has written an incisive piece of writing intended to combat the nonsensical and virulent homophobia exposed by the same-sex marriage of two gay Kenyan men:

One common – but completely false – argument is that it is un-African to be gay. This is an absurdly vacuous claim that is internally illogical and utterly ahistorical. Most Kenyans are today indoctrinated by religious institutions, cultural guardians, and the moral police to be anti-gay. Rather than find someone to love, anti-gay crusaders find it convenient to find someone innocent to hate. Why has such a hatefully primitive and backward cosmology gone unchallenged?

Let me illustrate the seriousness of the problem by giving you a short human rights history of the last 50 years. Can you imagine a credible defence today for apartheid or the view that blacks are inferior to whites, and that the former exist solely to serve the latter?

How would you like to be declared illegal – or unworthy of existence – simply because you are black or African? Would you agree that all women and girls in your life – your mother, sister, wife, girlfriend, aunt, and grandmother – are inferior beings because of their female gender?

[...]

Modern democracy is not possible without two key interrelated principles – equal protection and anti-discrimination. Understand that it is “identity” that is afforded equal protection by insulating it from discrimination.

Historically, “identity” referred to your “state of being” – colour, sex, ethnicity, race, religion, language, marital status, national origin, political opinion, disability, and wealth or other social status.

But today “identity” is understood to include sexual orientation. That is why many countries explicitly prohibit discrimination against gays in social, political, and economic life. Others regard attacks on gays a hate crime. Civilised countries recognise gay marriages.

I have heard it said that being gay is “un-African.” Some Africans, who obviously know very little about the continent, have charged that there were no gays in Africa! The historical record, however, amply demonstrates that there were – and continues to be – gay Africans.

Let's hope that lawmakers in neighboring Uganda who are considering legislation that would punish homosexuality as a capital offense will read this article in The Nation and come to their senses.

Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill Includes Death Penalty

This news reveals a level of homophobia which borders on the paranoid and hysterical: there is proposed legislation in the Uganda Parliament which seeks to ban homosexuality and includes the death penalty as a punishment!

From the actual text of the bill courtesy GayUganda:

PART II: PROHIBITION OF HOMOSEXUALITY AND RELATED PRACTICES

3. Prohibition of homosexuality

(1) Homosexuality is prohibited.

(2) Any person who engages in homosexuality contrary to sub-section (1) commits an offense and on conviction is liable to a fine not exceeding 500 currency points or imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or both.

4. Aggravated homosexuality

(1) Any person who commits the offense mentioned in section 3 above with another person who is below the age of 18 years in any of the circumstances specified in sub-section (2) of this section commits the offense and on conviction is liable to suffer death.

(2) The circumstances referred to in sub-section (1) are as follows: -
(a) Where the person against whom the offense is committed is below the age of 14;
(b) Where the offender is infected with HIV;
(c) Where the offender is a parent or guardian or a person in authority over, the person against whom the offense is committed;
(d) Where the victim of the offense is a person with disability; or
(e) Where the offender is a serial offender.

(3) Any person who attempts to commit the offense of homosexuality with another person below 18 years in any of the circumstances specifies in sub-section (2), commits an offense and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for life.
(4) Where a person is charged with the offense under this section, that person shall undergo a medical examination to ascertain his or her HIV status.
(5) Any person who without the consent of an adult victim being under their authority or not commits the offense mentioned in this section

The bill is proposed by Ndorwa West MP David Bahati (NRM) and appears to face limited opposition in Parliament, according to press reports.

In the comments at Box Turtle Bulletin there is contact information for ways people outside of Uganda can attempt to put diplomatic pressure on the country:

In the US the Embassy of the Republic of Uganda can be reached at:

5911 16th Street, NW,
Washington DC 20011
Tel: (202) 726-7100
Fax: (202) 726-1727

A complete list of contacts (including email addresses) is here.

In the UK the Ugandan High Commission can be reached at:

Uganda House
58-59 Trafalgar Square
London WC2N 5DX
Tel : (207) 839-5783
Fax: (207) 839-8925
info@ugandahighcommission.co.uk

The US Ambassador to Uganda can be reached here:

Steven A. Browning
P.O. Box 7007,
Kampala
Uganda
Tel: +256 414 25 97 91
Fax: +256 414 259 794

A list of Ugandan Embassies and Consulates in other countries can be found here.

This story puts the situation of LGBT rights in the United States in stark perspective, doesn't it?

Celebrity Friday: Jill Scott Has A New Baby (and Ex)

One of MadProfessah's favorite singers Jill Scott delivered her son Jett Hamilton Roberts on April 20th at 4:20pm. He weighed 7 and a half pounds at birth. Gee, I wonder if they will give him the nickname "Weed"? The father was her then-fiancé Lil Jon Roberts, a drummer she had been dating since 2007 (pictured above). The two have since broken up.

She tells Essence magazine, "He (Roberts) was there (for the birth) and for a couple of days afterwards while I stayed in the hospital, but John and I are no longer together.

"When you have a baby you're dealing with a lot of emotions and I don't know how much of it had to do with us breaking up, but it happens.

"We definitely love our son and we are co-parenting and working on being friends. I have hopes for (Jett) and I'm sure his father will do his part as well."

However, Scott admits she sympathises with other single mothers, especially youngsters who find themselves bringing up kids on their own.

She adds, "My heart and prayers go out to all single mums because it's tough, and I can't imagine any teenager dealing with a baby and all those hormones raging. I can afford to have this child at 37 because I have a support system... but I don't understand how any mother does it alone.

Jill has been starring in HBO's television series The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency (based on the best-selling books by Alexander McCall Smith) which is set in Botswana (and shot on location). She has done such a good job she was widely thought to be in line for an Emmy nomination, but alas only CCH Pounder received a nomination as a guest star.

The World's First Openly Gay (and HIV+) Supreme Court Justice

Many blogs are picking up a story first reported by intrepid lesbian law professor blogger Nan Hunter about Justice Edwin Cameron being appointed to the highest court in South Africa:

In a genuinely pathbreaking act, South African President Mothlanthe has appointed Edwin Cameron, a justice on the Supreme Court of Appeal, as a judge of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa. Judge Cameron becomes the first openly gay man or woman ever appointed to a nation's highest court. HT to Robert Wintemute, who noted in an e/mail that Justice Michael Kirby of Australia has served as an openly gay member of that country's highest court, but was not out when he was appointed.

A former Rhodes Scholar who became a human rights lawyer, Judge Cameron is the co-author of several books, including Witness to AIDS, a memoir about his experiences as a person living with AIDS, and Defiant Desire: Gay and Lesbian Lives in South Africa. During his time on the Court of Appeal, he has been a leader in developing that nation's civil rights and liberties jurisprudence.

Cameron is 55 years old and has been a hero of mine for years. Congratulations!

U.S. House Apologizes For Slavery

Here is the text of the resolution (co-sponsored by a white Congressman named steve Cohen representing a majority Black district in Tennessee--Harold Ford, Jr.'s old district) that passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a voice vote on Wednesday.

"Apologizing for the enslavement and racial segregation of African-Americans.

Whereas millions of Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and the 13 American colonies from 1619 through 1865;

Whereas slavery in America resembled no other form of involuntary servitude known in history, as Africans were captured and sold at auction like inanimate objects or animals;

Whereas Africans forced into slavery were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage;

Whereas enslaved families were torn apart after having been sold separately from one another;

Whereas the system of slavery and the visceral racism against persons of African descent upon which it depended became entrenched in the Nation's social fabric;

Whereas slavery was not officially abolished until the passage of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865 after the end of the Civil War, which was fought over the slavery issue;

Whereas after emancipation from 246 years of slavery, African-Americans soon saw the fleeting political, social, and economic gains they made during Reconstruction eviscerated by virulent racism, lynchings, disenfranchisement, Black Codes, and racial segregation laws that imposed a rigid system of officially sanctioned racial segregation in virtually all areas of life;
» Continue reading House to take up apology for slavery and racial segregation

Whereas the system of de jure racial segregation known as `Jim Crow,' which arose in certain parts of the Nation following the Civil War to create separate and unequal societies for whites and African-Americans, was a direct result of the racism against persons of African descent engendered by slavery;

Whereas the system of Jim Crow laws officially existed into the 1960's--a century after the official end of slavery in America--until Congress took action to end it, but the vestiges of Jim Crow continue to this day;

Whereas African-Americans continue to suffer from the consequences of slavery and Jim Crow--long after both systems were formally abolished--through enormous damage and loss, both tangible and intangible, including the loss of human dignity and liberty, the frustration of careers and professional lives, and the long-term loss of income and opportunity;

Whereas the story of the enslavement and de jure segregation of African-Americans and the dehumanizing atrocities committed against them should not be purged from or minimized in the telling of American history;

Whereas on July 8, 2003, during a trip to Goree Island, Senegal, a former slave port, President George W. Bush acknowledged slavery's continuing legacy in American life and the need to confront that legacy when he stated that slavery `was . . . one of the greatest crimes of history . . . The racial bigotry fed by slavery did not end with slavery or with segregation. And many of the issues that still trouble America have roots in the bitter experience of other times. But however long the journey, our destiny is set: liberty and justice for all.';

Whereas President Bill Clinton also acknowledged the deep-seated problems caused by the continuing legacy of racism against African-Americans that began with slavery when he initiated a national dialogue about race;

Whereas a genuine apology is an important and necessary first step in the process of racial reconciliation;

Whereas an apology for centuries of brutal dehumanization and injustices cannot erase the past, but confession of the wrongs committed can speed racial healing and reconciliation and help Americans confront the ghosts of their past;

Whereas the legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia has recently taken the lead in adopting a resolution officially expressing appropriate remorse for slavery and other State legislatures are considering similar resolutions; and

Whereas it is important for this country, which legally recognized slavery through its Constitution and its laws, to make a formal apology for slavery and for its successor, Jim Crow, so that it can move forward and seek reconciliation, justice, and harmony for all of its citizens: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow;

(2) apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow; and

(3) expresses its commitment to rectify the lingering consequences of the misdeeds committed against African-Americans under slavery and Jim Crow and to stop the occurrence of human rights violations in the future."

Thoughts? I'm curious to see what Barack Obama's reaction is.

Nelson Mandela Turns 90 Today

Nelson Mandela turned 90 years old today.

U.S. House Passes Augmented PEPFAR Program

On Wednesday the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill by a vote of 308-116 to expand PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief, from $30 billion over the next 5 years to $50 billion.

Earlier, according to the Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report The House Rules Committee had approved a number of amendments to H.R. 5501:

• Add Lesotho, Malawi and Swaziland as PEPFAR focus countries;
• Include clean water programs in the program;
• Encourage countries to work with historically black colleges to improve their health infrastructures; and
• Expand inspector general authority

In the United States Senate, the companion bill currently contains legislation to repeal the current travel ban by HIV+ people to the United States. Blogger Joe.My.God has excellent coverage of why such a repeal is necessary with a story about how an HIV+ Canadian man was treated inhumanely just a few months ago.

Celebrity Friday: Jill Scott Gets Divorced And Big Movie Role

You go, girl! One of Mad Professah's favourites, Jill Scott, has been making a lot of news recently. Two weeks ago it was confirmed that she is divorcing Lyzel Willliams, her longtime lover (and husband since 2001), and the inspiration for one of the best songs on her debut album, "He Loves Me (Lyzel in E-Flat)."

Jill's movie career has been heating up as her romantic life has been cooling. She is co-starring with Janet Jackson and Michael Jai White in the Tyler Perry movie Why Did I Get Married. In addition, she has been cast as Precious Ramotswe, the lead role in the new Anthony Minghella (Best Director Oscar winner for The English Patient) movie, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. This movie is based on the best-selling mystery novel about the first female detective agency in Botswana written by Alexander McCall Smith. The movie also stars Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls) and Idris Elba (Transformers, HBO's The Wire). The cast arrived in Botswana on Tuesday for 40 days of shooting on location. The book is the first in a series which highlight contemporary African life in the context of the mystery genre.

Situation in Nigeria Appears Grim For Gays and Lesbians

Rod 2.0 and Doug Ireland have been doing excellent work covering the ongoing story of draconian, homophobic legislation winding its way through the Nigerian Parliament. The Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act of 2006 (pdf) would not only prohibit same-sex marriage but any expression of pro-gay sentiment in the country. As Doug Ireland calls it "the world's worst anti-gay law" on his blog:

Homosexual conduct among consenting persons in Nigeria is already a crime
punishable by 14 years in prison, a 19th century penal provision that is alegacy of British colonial rule. But the new legislation goes much, much further in terms of curbing fundamental rights of expression, association, and communication. Among the proposed new law’s many noxious provisions, it would, under penalty of a stiff prison term of five years:

— outlaw membership in a gay group, attending a gay meeting or protest, donating money to a gay organization; or even advocating gay equality in any way, shape, or form;

— outlaw hosting or even visiting a gay Web site;

— outlaw expressions of same-sex love in letters or e-mails;

— outlaw attending a same-sex marriage or blessing ceremony, screening or watching a gay movie, taking or possessing photos of a gay couple, and publishing, selling, or loaning a gay book or video.

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission has issued a report documenting the response by Nigerians to this proposed anti-gay legislation. The blog Political Spaghetti has particularly detailed coverage of the response of activists to the proposed law.