the young people's professor

Today members of Chicago's black gay and lesbian community are outraged by the recent murders of two black gay men from the South Side. According to NBC.com , a local black gay and lesbian organization issued a press release this morning calling for a widespread "community alert." The release comes in response to the controversies surrounding the deaths of Larry Bland on Nov. 17, and Donald Young, on Dec. 23. Activists are suggesting that there might be "unspoken connections" between these two murders.

Bland, age 24, was shot in the head at 6300 S. Wood Street. His brother, Lynn Bland, has suggested that the murderers targeted Larry because he was gay. "He was the only guy in Englewood that came out. He'd tell you, 'I'm gay, your point is?," Bland told reporters.

Similiarly, Donald Young---a local and well known choir director(pictured above)---was found dead in his South Side home at approximately 7:30 a.m. this past Sunday. According to police reports, he was likely the victim of an armed robbery that may or may not have been motivated by homophobia.

From what I've gleaned from the blog of a young man who knew Donald Young, Young's funeral will take place this Saturday, 11:00 am at the Trinity United Church of Christ, 400 West 95th Street.

Tragically, Young's murder comes only days before the 1 year anniversary of the shootings at 79th and Woodlawn Avenue where six black gay men were targeted. Appropriately, a community march is planned on December 31 at 2 p.m. It will start at Taylor Funeral Home at E. 79th Street and S. Wabash Avenue, and continue on to Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church at 79th Street and S. Jeffery Boulevard. Queer black activists will be demanding widespread community support for a more thorough investigation of the sexual politics possibility underlining both Bland and Young's murders.

Yours in struggle,

Frank Leon Roberts

Posted by the young people's professor on 12/27/2007 at 3:47:00 PM | Permalink