Kenya’s Gay Community Comes Out, One Story at a Time

Kenyan author Binyavanga Wainaina recently did something many gay Kenyans are too frightened to do. He came out, publically. Wainaina is one of the most high-profile Africans to do that, let alone Kenyans.

Author Kevin Mwachiro says it’s a big moment for the country and continent. Mwachiro is a former BBC journalist who wrote the new book, “Invisible: Stories from Kenya’s Queer Community.”

“I think Africa’s gay community needed a good story,” he says. “And Binyavanga’s coming out was the good story that we needed. He’s been challenging a lot of misconceptions about the gay community. He took the discussion, the perception, to another level.”

Read more over at Public Radio International (PRI).

Uganda Anti-Gay Bill Reportedly Signed into Law

Reports have begun to emerge that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday signed a bill that would impose a life sentence upon anyone found guilty of repeated same-sex sexual acts. Frank Mugisha, executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, on his Twitter page cited “reliable, but not confirmed sources” who indicated Museveni signed the so-called Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

More on Washington Blade.

Ten Quotes to Celebrate Audre Lorde’s Birthday

Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet Audre Lorde was born 80 years ago [Tuesday, February 18]. Colorlines celebrated with 10 of Lorde’s many quotes including:

Read the rest over at Colorlines.

Majority of NFL Players Would be OK with Gay Teammate: Poll Says

A recent ESPN poll suggests that the majority of NFL players would be OK with a gay teammate. NFL Draft prospect Michael Sam is poised to become the league’s first openly gay player. After the former Missouri defensive end came out to the nation during a press conference earlier this month, ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com’s NFL Nation teamed up for an anonymous survey of current players’ opinions on the news of Sam coming out. Forty-four of the 51 players polled said a teammate’s sexual orientation did not matter to them.

Continue reading on theGrio.

#COLOROFLOVE

KICK announces the launch of a new advocacy and awareness campaign, The Color Of Love Campaign, starting Tuesday, February 18, 2014. The Color Of Love Campaign increases the awareness of queer people of color’s (QPOC) expressions of love.

To increase the visibility of QPOC, [KICK encourages] the community to upload pictures of their families, partners, lovers, husbands and wives onto popular social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr with the hashtag #coloroflove. [They] will be collecting these images and sharing them on the campaign’s website, truecoloroflove.tumblr.com.

More here.