Cleo Manago: The Most Dangerous Black Gay Man?

[onpatrol98]

Cleo Manago: The Most Dangerous Black Gay Man?
By Irene Moore

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/irene-monroe/cleo-manago_b_1280272.html

Cleo Manago is despised by some in the LGBTQ community. Descriptors like "homo demagogue," contrarian, separatist, and anti-white are just a few that can be expressed in polite company. But to a nationwide community of same-gender-loving (SGL), bisexual, transgender, and progressive heterosexual African-American men, Manago is the man, seen as a visionary game changer and "social architect" focusing on advocating for and healing a group of men that continues to be maligned and marginalized: brothers.

"Without an understanding of the deep hurt that Black men have around issues of masculinity and their role as a man, you can't hope to eliminate anti-homosexual sentiment in Black men," Manago wrote in his recent article "Getting at the Root of Black 'Homophobic' Speech," in which he castigates GLAAD for demanding that CNN fire Roland Martin for misconstrued homophobic tweets. "There has been no national project to address the psychic damage that White supremacy has done to Black men. But there is always some predominantly White institution waiting, ready to pounce on a Black man for behaving badly."

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Interesting Article about Cleo Manago. I just said a few days ago I hadn't heard of him. Now his name seems to be all over the place.

[msongs]

1. I quit blaming other people for my personal problems years ago, made live much easier nt

[onpatrol98]

2. Blaming others...

Did Cleo blame someone else for his personal problems? What personal problems did he have? Like I said in another post, I don't know much about him, yet. But, I don't think I've read anything about him having personal problems. Or, is it that you don't believe Cleo's concerns have merit?

[Number23]

3. Every post from you is a non-communicative drive by

with no purpose whatsoever. And always the first post in the thread too.

I have no idea why you feel compelled to post in this forum if this is the way you choose to communicate.

[JustAnotherGen]

6. Thanks

I thought I was the only one who noticed that . . .

[Number23]

4. DAMN that was interesting

As a queer separatist organization, many LGBTQ African Americans applaud BMX for being unabashedly queer and unapologetically black. But the terms "queer" and "gay" are not descriptors Manago and his organization would use to depict themselves. That would be "same-gender-loving," because terms like "gay" and "queer" uphold a white queer hegemony that Manago and many in the African-American LGBTQ community denounce. As a matter of fact, he takes credit for having coined the terms "men who have sex with men" (MSM) and "same-gender-loving" (SGL).

That is absolutely fascinating. I have heard and read quite a bit from black gays that are disenchanted (to say the least) with the overall gay rights movement. Jasmyne Cannick is another example but there are countless others. But I have never heard that some black gays actually refer to themselves in completely different terms in order to differentiate themselves from white gays. That is interesting and this is the first I've ever heard of it. Though, given the history of this country, this is certainly nothing new. Black folks have been creating our own terms and culture to describe ourselves for centuries.

At this point, if he can raise the profile of black gays and lesbians and increase awareness in both communities of their individual and particular struggles, I give him nothing but props. He seems like a very smart and organized brother.

[nofurylike]

5. excellent piece! thank you for posting that, onpatrol98!

i'm just reading through now, but will comment more asap.

thank you!