Blues and Gospel Singer Gwen Avery Dies at 71

Gwen Avery, singer/songwriter/musician, has died at the age of 71. Avery was best known for her composition “Sugar Mama”, which was featured on Olivia Records’ groundbreaking collection, Lesbian Concentrate, in 1977. Originally slated to release a solo album on Olivia, she toured with her labelmates Linda Tillery and Mary Watkins on the Varied Voices of Black Women Tour, which also featured poet Pat Parker and Vicki Randle providing supporting vocals and percussion.

Avery stood apart in the Women’s Music Movement: a woman of color who understood the connection between her grandmother’s juke joint and the women’s music movement that Olivia Records was at the center of. Avery was quoted as saying “I dressed differently. I would wear satin suits and platform shoes with an afro with neckties and beautiful silk shirts. They were wearing plaid shirts and blue jeans.“ In an interview with the San Francisco Gate in 2002, she maintained that “the same issues of race and classism that confounded the early feminist and gay rights movements also infected the women’s music scene. I’ve always felt like a warrior or soldier. I’ve learned to deal with separation, isolation in the crowd, rejection in the abandonment.”

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Angel Haze, Azealia Banks Fed Up With an Industry That Preys on Black Talent

Angel Haze did an interview with Hypetrak recently where she talked about everything from her childhood to her admiration for Kendrick Lamar’s performance at the Grammy’s. She also opened up a bit about why she thinks there are so many female rappers in hip-hop right now.

Azaelia Banks pointed that out last week on Twitter when she called out the structural inequity that’s at the heart of her repeated album delays. The Harlem rapper begged to be dropped from her label, Universal, and then wrote on Twitter: “I’m tired of having to consult a group of old white guys about my black girl craft. They don’t even know what they’re listening for or to.”

Continue reading over at Colorlines.

UPDATE: No Indictment Yet in Marco McMillian Murder Case

There is an update to the case against the man accused in the brutal slaying of Marco McMillian, the charismatic and successful 34-year-old fundraising executive who was running for mayor of Clarksdale, Mississippi. McMillian was gay. So far, a grand jury has not returned an indictment for first degree murder against the suspect Lawrence Reed. A new grand jury was ordered to hear the case on January 31, reports the Clarksdale Press Register.

Via Rod 2.0.

I Went to Futuristic Queerness with Sistah Sinema And I Loved It

Imagine sinking into a comfy sofa, wearing pajamas and watching movies with your close friends in a living room. Sistah Sinema distills this precise mood in their public screenings of films produced by queer women of color. Founder Isis Asare fondly recalls early Sistah Sinema gatherings — friends meeting at houses to watch films like The Aggressives, a documentary about New York City lesbians. This became a weekly dinner tradition and has since grown into a massive film screening movement that encompasses over 11 U.S. cities and counting.

Read more at Autostraddle.com.

President Obama Nominates Judge Darrin P. Gayles to the Federal Bench

President Obama has announced the intent to nominate four judges to the federal bench in two different U.S. District Courts in Florida. Among the list of nominees are Judges Beth Bloom and Darrin Gayles, who both currently serve on the Miami-Dade Circuit Court and were chosen for the Southern District Court of Florida. If confirmed by the Senate, Judge Gayles would become the first Black, openly gay male to serve on the federal bench.

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