INFEMNITY™ Political News

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INFEMNITY Political News provides news, opinion, and analysis of American and global politics. Our aim is to report on information that will help readers participate in community, local, or national matters that will affect them. 



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Reflections on an Unforgettable Pride Month

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The month of June began for me with the announcement that I had been selected by Crain's New York to appear on their list of Notable LGBTQIA+ Business Leaders for 2023. I was humbled by and grateful for the honor, and thrilled that the notoriety would help to promote my production company INFEMNITY Productions LLC . Soon afterwards, an invitation appeared in my Inbox to attend New York City Mayor Eric Adams' Pride Reception at Gracie Mansion. It was my first opportunity to meet the mayor, and to inform him of my being a recipient of the Crain's New York Award. On the same day as the mayor's Pride Reception, our favorite bartender at the Cubbyhole, Kass, presented me with the Crain's New York trophy. Many of the patrons at the Cubbyhole that night might not have known that Crain's New York publishes a list of Notable LGBTQIA+ Business Leaders. Having the award presentation there was my way of bringing the news to the community, and, of course, giving a shout-ou...
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Lisa Durden and the Burden of the False Angry Black Woman Narrative

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The black person’s burden of managing white fragility is as old as slavery. Dr. Joy DeGruy speaks of this in her groundbreaking book, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome . There is a delicate balance between the comfort of maintaining a superior cast system and the guilt of protecting it. And still today, people vastly underestimate the extent to which black lives are filled with a level of racial stress that most white people are not exposed to and simply couldn’t deal with. Lisa Durden, a talk show host, pop-culture commentator, film curator and adjunct professor, went on Fox News to discuss the New York City Black Lives Matter chapter’s Memorial Day party, where they asked that if people did not identify as part of the African Diaspora, that they not attend. Durden went head-to-head with Tucker Carlson to explain why she supported the New York City Black Lives Matter chapter’s decision. Durden argued that as Memorial Day was founded by disenfranchised blacks, and as blacks continue to ...
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INFEMNITY Productions at World Press Freedom Day

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Several venues in New York hosted events in celebration of World Press Freedom Day during the week of May 1st through 5th, the most notable being the United Nations. The result of the Windhoek Declaration, which was produced at a UNESCO seminar "Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Press" - held in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, from April 29th to May 3rd 1991 - t he date of the Declaration's adoption, May 3rd, has subsequently been declared as World Press Freedom Day. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the global conference. This year, the primary focus of the conference was the war in Ukraine. Several journalists have lost their lives there. The documentary 20 Days in Mariupol was screened at the Roosevelt House at Hunter College the evening of May 1st, which emphasized the importance of getting video footage out of a war zone when Internet access has been destroyed. The producers of the film came very close to losing their lives, as well as their ...
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Jon Batiste at Cooper Union

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  Written for presentation at the Juilliard Black Alumni Association Inaugural Mixer Lincoln Center, September 9, 2023 A few weeks ago I saw an announcement of a special performance by pianist Jon Batiste at The Cooper Union Great Hall. I jumped at the chance because I wanted to present him with a copy of my memoir titled Practicing for Love . I, too, am a Juilliard grad, and my father was one of the first African-American pianists to study at Juilliard. He and Leontyne Price were classmates. He then went on to direct the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Of course, all of that history was included in the book. I stood in line for the performance, which was advertised as “A Musical Prescription,” and was co-sponsored by the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Mount Sinai Health System’s Assessment of Music Experiences in Navigating Depression (AMEND Lab) and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, the Hall’s education and social impact arm. The event began half an hour late, and th...
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Is the Nation Ready for its First Black Woman Governor?

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Stacey Abrams speaking at the Democratic National Convention The  Washington Post   describes Stacey Abrams as "a Yale-trained lawyer and business executive who writes romance novels on the side." Perhaps that definition will need to be expounded pending the results of Georgia's upcoming gubernatorial election. There is a possibility that we could be referring to Stacey Abrams as that state's first black governor and the nation's first black woman governor.  Abrams, the 43-year-old House minority leader is seen as a rising star and one of the future leaders of the Democratic Party. Although she enters the race as the favorite for the nomination, she also faces an uphill battle to the governor's mansion, and a victory would be a huge win for Democrats who haven't won a statewide office in Georgia since 2006.   Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams Honored  by Caroline Kennedy for Political Leadership Abrams is known for her willi...
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In Case You Haven't Noticed, Women Are Under Attack

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As the Supreme Court inches toward overturning Roe v. Wade, the likelihood increases that a young American woman will no longer have any control over whether or not she will carry a pregnancy to term. Her education and her career may be interrupted, her financial status and security put in peril. It seems white men are longing for a romanticized fantasy of the good ole days when they had all the power, and women were totally dependent on them. Well, they are creating a scenario where women will have to refuse to engage with them sexually. If the Supreme Court has its way, even a child conceived from rape and/or incest will have to be carried to term.  According to the World Health Organization, about 295,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2017. The Supreme Court This represents a nightmare for future generations. It is no surprise that Donald Trump, a rapist himself, has appointed Supreme Court Justices who are invested in taking away women's freedom. T...
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2023 Out Leadership OutNEXT Global Summit

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  Citi Global Headquarters in New York City was the location for the 2023 Out Leadership OutNEXT   Global Summit September 27 and 28, co-sponsored by RBC Capital Markets . To quote their website: " Out Leadership  is the global LGBTQ+ business platform CEOs and multinational companies trust to generate Return on Equality®." Hundreds of young professionals from eleven countries came to the summit that consisted of two days of panel discussions, fireside chats, lunches and cocktail receptions for LGBTQ+ leaders in business, finance, law, and the arts. Mila Jam Recording artist and Senior Advisor for Global Transgender Initiatives for Out Leadership Mila Jam  emceed, and Out Leadership CEO Todd Sears   welcomed the participants. Our own Nina Kennedy   served as a panelist for the opening session titled "Using Your Identity to Build a Meaningful Career." Other panels included "Mentorship & Sponsorship," "Advocacy & Impact," "Building a P...
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Are Gay Men Our Oppressors, Too?

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  I was so fortunate to attend the unveiling ceremony for a sign on East 68th Street in Manhattan marking the new "Audre Lorde Way" on May 10th. Writers and dignitaries were present to praise the event and Lorde herself, including the president of Hunter College (from which Lorde graduated in 1959, and where she served as a professor for many years), NYC Council Member Keith Powers, former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature and MacArthur Fellow Jacqueline Woodson, and others. To end the program before the actual unveiling of the street sign, several Hunter students came to the stage to read Lorde's essay "There is No Hierarchy of Oppressions," which, of course, got me thinking. I had just recently attended the GLAAD Media Awards a few days before, and had been struck by the numbers of drag queens, trans women performers, and gay men who walked the red carpet, as opposed to the comparatively small number of lesbians. GLAAD stands for the Gay AN...
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Hetrick-Martin Institute Honors Monica Lewinsky

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  The annual Emery Awards benefitting the Hetrick-Martin Institute took place last Thursday, November 16th, at the Mercedes Benz showroom on the West Side of Manhattan. The school for LGBTQ+ youth raised lots of money via silent and public auctions, pledges, and donations. Guest of honor Monica Lewinsky was introduced to receive her award by Rufus Gifford, Finance Chair for Biden-Harris ‘24. When Monica took the stage, she received a standing ovation. She gave a moving speech affirming her status as an LGBTQ+ ally, and spoke of understanding the kind of shame that LGBTQ+ youth live with. She, herself, lived with enormous shame while she coped with the aftermath of her affair with President Bill Clinton. She became the butt of jokes on late-night television, struggled with depression and thoughts of suicide, and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. At the time of the scandal, Monica Lewinsky was arguably the most famous woman in the world. And what was s...
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NGO CSW69/Beijing+30 Forum at the UN

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  Nina Kennedy at the United Nations During the Commission on the Status of Women's Forum over the past two weeks, I was reminded of how privileged I am to be an American. Thousands came to the United Nations to participate, and this year we were celebrating 30 years since the World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995.  During several panels I learned that some women from some countries have no rights of inheritance after their husbands deaths. In some cases, members of the deceased husband's family can kick the pregnant widow and her children out of the house. Several international foundations exist to support these women and children. In this country we hardly ever hear of the ILO Convention 190.  With 44 ratifications in five years, Convention 190 on eliminating violence and harassment in the workplace is the fastest ratified International Labour Organization's convention of the past decade. (The United States has yet to ratify the ILO C190.) There were se...
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