A roundup of this week’s top Black LGBT stories (12/7/13-12/13/13).

Nelson Mandela: LGBT Rights Champion

As the first president of post-apartheid South Africa in 1996, Mandela ushered in that nation’s new constitution, which included protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation. The first of its kind.

Chapter 2, Section 9 of the Bill of Rights is clear. “Everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and benefit of the law.” This is an echo of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified in 1868. But the South African constitution goes a step farther. “Everyone is equal before the law” is defined in subsection 3.

Continue reading at The Washington Post.

NYS High Court to Review Appeal in Murder of Syracuse Trans Woman

The New York Court of Appeals will consider an appeal in the case that set convicted killer Dwight Delee free in July 2013, reports Syracuse’s CBS 5 and ABC 9. DeLee had been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the hate crime killing of Lateisha Green. The 22-year-old transgender woman was gunned down at point-blank range in November 2008 in Syracuse.

More on Rod 2.0.

New Campaign Inspires LGBT Americans to Take Advantage of Affordable Care Act

While technical problems and Republican calls for repeal have dominated recent news about the Affordable Care Act, there remains a campaign dedicated to addressing LGBT concerns about the health care reform law.

Out2Enroll, an initiative aimed at educating LGBT Americans about new coverage options made available by the ACA, launched in October with a website answering questions that may not be dealt with elsewhere, such as “Why should getting covered matter to the LGBT community?” “What if I’m transgender?” and “Can I apply for financial assistance with my same-sex spouse?”

Continue reading over at Advocate.

Will Black Woman-Directed Docs Make it to the Oscars?

Shadow & Act big ups the phenomenal work being done by black women documentarians. Out of 151 Academy Award-qualifying documentaries (admittedly a large pool), more than five were directed by black women, including Free Angela and All Political Prisoners by Shola Lynch and Valentine Road by Marta Cunningham. Jai Tigget writes, “…black documentary filmmakers – and black women in particular – are doing groundbreaking work that continues to be overlooked even within the doc and independent film space. The films listed above have been awarded and recognized widely on the film festival circuit, but many are still struggling to get mentioned on the shortlists that will push them towards serious Oscar consideration.”

Also included among the qualifying documentaries by black women, Yoruba Richen’s The New Black, about race, sexuality, and the black church.

Read more on Racialicious.

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