Lesbian/WOC/Queer Positive Rap Song "Hell Yeah"

Rapper Jayne Dooe has released a new song called "Hell Yeah" which is unapologetic and proud of queer orientation. The song is both a celebration of women of color who are same-gender loving and all LGBT people as well as a call for peace, justice and equality!

Blog Spotlight: The Gang's All Queer

The Gang's All Queer is a blog representing queer people of color that cover news, politics, art, music, media, and design.

Blog Spotlight: Gay Persons of Color

Gay Persons of Color documents and explores the diverse vantage points of being gay and of color, and believes that they are intricate, constant, and necessary threads in the fabric of society.

Tell CVS to Unlock Access to Condoms

In CVS stores across the country, condoms are kept locked in glass cases. Public health advocates criticize this practice, saying it creates a barrier which could decrease condom use.

Even more worrisome than CVS's practice of locking condoms is where those locked cases are located: locked condoms have been found disproportionately in minority areas.

With the disproportionate rates of HIV/AIDS among LGBT communities of color, it is appalling that CVS is making condoms less accessible to those who may be uncomfortable or fearful to ask an employee to unlock the case.

Sign the Cure CVS petition and tell them to stop this discriminatory and harmful practice by unlock the cases!

"Voices Raised" - Survey for POC With LGBT Parent/Guardian of Color

Do you identify as a person of color and have or had one or more LGBTQ parent or guardian of color?

If so, this survey is for you! Take this survey and enter the raffle by Monday, April 20th, 2009. One survey participant will receive a brand new iPod shuffle as a thank you for your time and energy!!

COLAGE is a national movement of children, youth, and adults who have or had one or more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer (LGBTQ) parents. We build community and work toward social justice through youth empowerment, leadership development, education, and advocacy.

COLAGE is thrilled to announce the launch of Voices Raised, A POC led project of COLAGE, whose mission is to seek, celebrate and reflect the unique voices and experiences of COLAGErs of color who have/had one or more LGBTQ parent or guardian of color.

As part of the Voices Raised project, we are launching this survey intended for all children, youth and adults who identify as Asian-American, Bi-racial, Black/African-American, Latino/a, Mixed, Multi-racial, Native-American, Pacific Islander ,Multi-National, or people of color and who have/had an LGBTQ parent or guardian of color who identifies as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Two-Spirit and/or Same-Gender Loving.

Shared Differences Examines LGBT Students of Color Experiences in School

LGBT students of color face unique and diverse challenges regarding victimization at school, according to Shared Differences: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students of Color in Our Nation's Schools, a report released today by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

Key Findings:

Across all groups, sexual orientation and gender expression were the most common reasons LGBT students of color reported feeling unsafe in school. More than four out of five students, within each racial/ethnic group, reported verbal harassment in school because of sexual orientation and about two-thirds because of gender expression. At least a third of each group reported physical violence in school because of sexual orientation.

More than half of African American/Black, Latino/a, Asian/Pacific Islander, and multiracial students also reported verbal harassment in school based on their race or ethnicity. Native American students (43%) were less likely than other students to report experiencing racially motivated verbal harassment.

About a quarter of African American/Black and Asian/Pacific Islander students had missed class or days of school in the past month because they felt unsafe. Latino/a, Native American, and multiracial students were even more likely to be absent for for safety reasons - about a third or more skipped class at least once or missed at least one day of school in the past month for safety reasons.

Native American students experienced particularly high levels of victimization because of their religion, with more than half reporting the highest levels of verbal harassment (54%), and a quarter experiencing physical violence (26%).

Less than half of students of color who had been harassed or assaulted in school in the past year said that they ever reported the incident to school staff. Furthermore, for those students who did report incidents to school staff, less than half believed that staff’s resulting response was effective.

Native American (57%) and multiracial (50%) students were more likely than other students of color in our survey to report incidents to a family member.

Performance at school also suffered when students experienced high levels of victimization. Students’ overall GPA dropped when they reported high severities of harassment based on sexual orientation and/or race/ethnicity. Students experiencing high severities of harassment also reported missing school more often.

The report also looks at differing experiences based on the racial/ethnic make-up of students’ schools. For all groups, LGBT students of color who were minorities in their school were much more likely to feel unsafe and experience harassment because of their race or ethnicity than those who were in the racial/ethnic majority.

To download the full report, click here.

Word of the Gay: "QPOC"

"QPOC" stands for Queer People of Color and is used to discuss LGBTQ individuals in communities of color or as an abbreviated term for an organization or cause representing them.