Yasmin Nair

Ryan White’s mother speaks at Center

Post author By Yasmin Nair
Post date July 2, 2008

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), the latest statistics on HIV indicate that the populations at greatest risk for new infections are African-American men who have sex with men, and African-American women. This is a marked shift from the early years of the epidemic, when HIV/AIDS was perceived—and stigmatized—as a white gay men’s disease.

On Books and Publishing

Bash Back! makes point at parade

Post author By Yasmin Nair
Post date July 2, 2008

Chicago’s annual Pride Parade is a popular spectacle for queer Chicagoans and their straight allies. But even its most ardent supporters often wonder if Pride, meant to commemorate Stonewall, has retained its insurgent and activist roots. This year, a new group named Bash Back! decided to reclaim some of what it feels is the original spirit of Pride: protest, critique and anti-assimilationist politics.

March highlights Boystown tensions

Post author By Yasmin Nair
Post date July 1, 2008

The Coalition for Justice and Respect organized a “Unity March Against Racism and Harassment” in the Boystown area. This was the latest such event in Chicago to address the tensions that have pitted youth of color against police officers, condo dwellers, and business owners.

Chicago Chronicles Prison industrial complex Queer Politics, Culture, and History Race, Sex, Gender, and Sexuality Reporting

Groups address police brutality

Post author By Yasmin Nair
Post date June 25, 2008

Chicago recently became a finalist in its bid to host the 2016 Olympics. An umbrella group of local activist organizations and Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) is using this media attention to highlight Chicago police brutality. At a June 19 press conference outside Mayor Daley”s office and an evening community forum at the Broadway United Methodist Church in Boystown, the group argued that Chicago did not have a right to host the Olympics given its record on police brutality, especially towards members of the LGBTQ community. Sponsors of the events included queer groups Amigas Latinas, Equality Illinois, and Gay Liberation Network.

On Books and Publishing Race, Sex, Gender, and Sexuality

Terrance Dean’s Hiding in Hip Hop: On the Down Low in the Entertainment Industry—from Music to Hollywood

Post author By Yasmin Nair
Post date June 25, 2008

Does simply being out solve the problems of an industry that makes enormous profits while paying pittances to some?

Hiding in Hip Hop: On the Down Low in the Entertainment Industry--from Music to Hollywood by [Dean, Terrance]

On Books and Publishing

Blair Mastbaum’s Us Ones in Between: A Novel

Post author By Yasmin Nair
Post date June 25, 2008

The strange conclusion is a fitting end that may well be another beginning.

On Books and Publishing Queer Politics, Culture, and History

David Trinidad’s The Late Show: Poems

Post author By Yasmin Nair
Post date June 11, 2008

What can we say, after all, about relationships that are not bound by conventional notions of love but are nonetheless as intense as this, and which are denied the language of sentiment?