It’s outrageous: Beenie Man and TOK regularly sing songs which advocate the murder of gays and lesbians. Those songs have contributed to the murders of Black gay men and lesbians in Jamaica including J-FLAG co-founder Brian Williamson and Lenford ‘Steve’ Harvey - the very men doing the HIV/AIDS awareness work in Jamaica! Now Beenie Man and TOK are scheduled to perform in a concert presented by LIFEbeat, a national HIV/AIDS awareness agency with substantial connections to the music industry.
NO! No Beenie Man, you can’t perform here. You call for the lynching of lesbians in your songs. No TOK, you can’t perform here. You call for the incineration of anyone who walks into a gay bar! And no LIFEbeat, your trajectory away from gayness doesn’t diminish the presence of LGBT people affected by and infected by HIV/AIDS nor does it minimize the need for diverse sexualities on all levels of your HIV/AIDS awareness work, from your organizers and volunteers to your audiences and constituents. To sacrifice Black LGBT lives in the hopes of creating more HIV/AIDS awareness in the lives of straight people is travesty and a slap in the face to Black gay men and lesbians worldwide who serve EVERYONE affected by this virus.
7/11/06
To: jcannelli@lifebeat.org, speters@lifebeat.org, apanichi@lifebeat.org, bgodwin@lifebeat.org, ewilbekin@aol.com, info@fuertegroup.com, houseinn@aol.com, futterma@aecom.yu.edu
As a Black gay man of Caribbean descent living with HIV, I find it reprehensible that LIFEbeat, a national HIV/AIDS organization, would headline not one but TWO homophobic acts who have called for nothing short of genocide of people like me in their songs - and particularly in their live performances. It’s especially reprehensible because categorically the Black gay men and women being murdered in Jamaica were THE people in the best position to raise awareness and to promote testing and treatment options in their communities. It is ridiculous and irresponsible to think that LIFEbeat can have any impact here in Brooklyn’s Caribbean communities by using these artists’ murderous hatred as a conduit for change, offering them the platform of a New York City stage from which to spew their hate.
I understand the crisis of HIV/AIDS and I know that you all are dedicated to empowering as many against this virus as you can, all over the world. I also understand that LIFEbeat has many significant ties to the music industry. Honestly, I feel as if the lives of Black gay men and lesbians are being marginalized for a convenient and lucrative business decision. For example, I’m aware that tobacco giant RJ Reynolds removed Beenie Man from a 14-city tour in 2004 due to not only to the lyrical content of his songs, but also because of his insistence to continue to perform them live. I also understand that Beenie Man has a new album coming out in August. I sincerely hope that Black gay Jamaican HIV/AIDS activists like Brian Williamson and Lenford ‘Steve’ Harvey did not die horrific deaths in order to sell more records for Beenie Man and Virgin Records. I sincerely hope that LIFEbeat (particularly the gay men and lesbians who are fiscally responsible for LIFEbeat as members of its Board of Directors) isn’t playing any role in such a dishonorable financial transaction, rationalizing a severe conflict of interest while reducing the bottom line of LIFEbeat’s mission just to make it possible for ‘formerly homophobic’ acts to make more money off OUR backs, the backs of Black gay men and lesbians who are still disproportionately affected by and infected with and dying from HIV/AIDS - the backs of Black gay men and lesbians who are on the front line fighting this epidemic in our communities.
I unequivocally demand that you immediately remove both Beenie Man and TOK from this event.
Donald Andrew Agarrat
I think a lot of people in power use HIV to earn more money and to make themselves good fame. If they don’t do anything the result would be the same.