Just out., May 18, 2001, Page 49, Image 49

may IB. 2001
s an African American gay man, I recall
an occasion in the late ’80s when I was
confronted with the attitude of a white
\ gay guy who looked upon the Black Film­
makers Hall of Fame with disdain. The group
was planning to hold award ceremonies in
Oakland, Calif., where I was living at the time.
The frustrating confrontation with my little
naysayer dissolved into the classic “why do
black people have to segregate themselves all
the time” argument, which I had
encountered ever since my college
days, when many white students
just couldn’t understand why so
many black students liked eating
together in the school’s dining
room. Considering absolutely no
black filmmaker ever had been rec­
ognized by the Academy Awards, I
didn’t think it took a brain surgeon
to understand why African Ameri­
cans in the industry might want to
encourage and honor their own. It
didn’t seem to bother this man that
gay people gathered in groups that
were strictly “family.”
In the early ’80s, a group of
Portland African American queers
created a group called Black Les­
bians and Gays United, affection­
ately nicknamed “Bloo Goo.” Although many
white queers might have had visions of black
people plotting ways to overthrow the white
power structure, we delighted in attempting to
outcook one another with potluck dishes and
spirited games of cards.
Not exactly the kind of revolutionary acts
that could cause the downfall of society as
we know it. The group produced a couple of
BY
RUPERT
KINNARD
In praise of AMANI
Portland black queer group
reactivates and honors
its own
columns in the earliest issues of Just Out that
could be considered “think pieces”; however,
it was primarily a social group. It also was
involved in a number of queer events for a
period of time before people became too
busy and, for whatever other reasons, drifted
apart.
Lesbians
and Gays
Easily one of the more colorful characters
to bless those gatherings was our late friend
United offered.
Amani Jabari. He was one of those people
Great kinship was reawakened during Funk
who could hold you in awe as he spoke pas­
Fest, a fund-raising dance for the No on 13
sionately to a crowd of people about political
Campaign that brought together other groups
injustices, then crack you up in a social set­
of color including Asian & Pacific Islander
ting with his sharp wit and
Lesbians and Gays, Somos Orgullo Latino/a
larger-than-life persona.
U llU k G
and the Lesbians of Color Potluck Group.
With a great need to bring back
Unlike Michael
7i /Tir H o p /
Jackson, who had to
J V L L C lla G l
that lovin’ feelin’, a new group has
proclaim himself
J a C k S O I l, W hO h a d
been meeting regularly during the
past three months. It is like a reacti­
to Proclaim
vation of Black Lesbians and Gays
the “King of Pop,” the United but has been renamed The
title of “Queen
AMANI Group in honor of Jabari,
multitudes
bestowed
Reverend Moth­
who died of AIDS in 1990.
er” upon Amani
In an effort to describe the
the title of “Queen
If you met him,
group with the letters AMANI,
Reverend M other” Afro-queers Mingling And Nurtur­
you understood
why.
ing Intimately clumsily came to mind.
upon Amani.
When Brother to
However, in the search for the meaning
Brother formed in 1992,
of the Swahili name, I found out it meant
many Portland black gay men
“peace,” so the name seems quite appropriate.
were able to rekindle much of what Black
These recent meetings have revealed how
*emuitotu1I°P'”
bestowed the
h im self
much we, as a minority within a minority,
were craving such a gathering. There’s the
transplant from New York City who has
L given up his Sunday passion for skiing
the slopes of Mount Hood on occasion;
the two fascinating native Kenyans; the
young lesbian who attended without
knowing a soul in attendance— The
AM AN I Group celebrates diversity on
levels that go far beyond race and sexu­
al identity.
In an arena where black queers might
be expected to bemoan the racism within
the gay community and the homophobia with­
in the black community, these Sunday after­
noon gatherings have been full of great food,
laughter and soulful connections that seem
reminiscent of the black queer communities in
larger cities such as Oakland, Atlanta and
Washington, D.C.
When we do share our racial experiences,
the therapeutic effects are uplifting. Instead of
relating the stories bitterly, we seem to take on
a “let me tell you how crazy these people were
to me last week!” kind of a tone and are able to
laugh with each other about it. Not only would
we like to invite other black queer folks to
contact us for the next potluck date, but we
encourage nonblack allies to pass this info on
to any lesbian, gay or bisexual African Ameri­
can you think might enjoy such a zany collec­
tion of our community’s best. JH
African American bisexuals, lesbians and gays
interested in T he AMANI GROUP can call the
Brother to Brother hot line at 503-4 17-7991.
R upert K in n a rd is the Art Director of Just Out
and the gjeeful host of The AMANI Group.
49