Guest editorial by Rev. Irene Monroe Dec. 1 was World AIDS Day! However, here in the U.S. you would have scarcely known. Much of the focus was, and still is, on developing countries. There was no reportage of it in key newspapers like the Boston Globe and the New York Times. None of the major television […]


Guest editorial by Rev. Irene Monroe Alec Baldwin has done it again??caught on camera in a cussing tirade hurling anti-gay epithets at the vulturous paparazzi on his heels. This time Baldwin’s accused of spewing out the phrase, “c-ksucking f-g.” Baldwin doesn’t deny using the word “c-ksucking.” Some argue his admission is merely because he can’t […]


A guest post by Kevin C. Peterson At the very center of Lee Daniels’ The Butler is the poignantly resonating reminder of the country??s enduring conversation about race–its many complicated tensions, variations, contradictions and resolutions. The movie, which opened in Boston-area theaters last weekend, is a compelling meditation loosely based on the long career of […]


Guest editorial by Rev. Irene Monroe When Sue O??Connell, the publisher and editor of the Boston-based LGBTQ newspaper “Bay Windows,” which I also write for, penned her piece ??Sharing our experience: White gay men and black men have more in common than they think?? a firestorm erupted. Evidence of  the conflagration was not only seen […]


By Maggie Clark, staff writer for Stateline Most states evaluate new legislation for how it might affect the economy or the environment, but what about measuring a law??s effect on minorities? Earlier this month, Oregon became the third state to require racial impact statements for any changes to state criminal laws or sentencing codes. Any […]


Guest editorial by Rev. Irene Monroe The nation is once again divided alone the fault line of race. In a perceived 2013 post-racial society, however, William Faulkner’s prophetic quote “the past is never dead. It’s not even past” of the last century have come back to haunt us in this century. Faulkner’s quote haunts us […]


Guest Editorial by Rev. Irene Monroe Black Pride reaffirms our identity. And it dances to a different beat. What started out in Washington D.C. in 1990 as the only Black Gay Pride event in the country has grown to over 35 gatherings nationwide. Each year celebrations start in April and continue to October. Over 300,000 […]


Guest editorial by Rev. Irene Monroe The professional sports world has been waiting for a Jason Collins moment?? a gay athlete currently playing in a major league to come out publicly.  What you may not know is that the subtext is that it was hoped the moment would star an African American male. The African […]


Guest editorial by Rev. Irene Monroe This week, April 8- 12, marks the 27th annual observance of Holocaust Memorial Week. The week is about remembering not only the 6 million Jews murdered but also remembering the millions of allies, martyrs and victims who survived Nazi Germany’s reign of brutality. The enormity of the mass slaughtering […]


Dear Leaders: Boston Mayor Thomas Menino??s decision to not seek re-election presents a profoundly unique and opportunistic occasion for the city??s black community. Not since the mayoral candidacy of Mel King in 1983 has the black community been strategically positioned to substantively sway the policy direction of the city. Because Boston??s black community??which includes African-Americans, […]