By Melanie Nathan, September 22, 2015. The LGBTI community in Southern Africa is mourning the passing of a friend and comrade, trans activist Comrade Xolile Sane ‘Malume’ Mabuza. As the director of Rock of Hope, Malume fought courageously for the rights of LGBTI people, not only in his home country Swaziland but also across the … More Mourning Trans Activist Malume
By Melanie Nathan, September, 18, 2015. Dr. Zander Barnard, a Mr. Gay South Africa 2015 finalist and a well known doctor from Cape Town, has passed away at his home at the age of 32. According to a report at Mamba Online, Dr. Barnard graduated with an MBChB from the University of Stellenbosch and specialized … More Mr Gay South Africa 2015 Finalist Dies
A Great Champion for LGBT Rights By Melanie Nathan, August 17, 2015. It is with deep sadness that I note the passing of one of my heroes, Civil Rights leader, Julian Bond. I had the great pleasure of meeting him in 2009 in D.C., at the UAFA hearing. Among all the great things he did, … More Civil Rights Hero Julian Bond Dies
Posted By Melanie Nathan, May 25, 2015. As the nation commemorates Memorial Day, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) honors the transgender men and women who lost their lives in the line of duty and renews its call for the Defense Department to allow transgender people to serve openly in the United States … More TLDEF Memorial Day Push for Pentagon to End Ban on Open Transgender Military Service
By Melanie Nathan, January 26, 2015. On January 27, 2011, the most outspoken gay rights advocate in Uganda, at a time when the country’s Parliament was considering a bill to execute gay people, was murdered. Today the LGBTI Ugandan community and global activists around the world, remember David Kato Kitsule and his untimely passing. Kato … More Ugandan Activists David Kato Never to be Forgotten
Are we playing ball spreading the terror on behalf of ISIS? By Melanie Nathan, January 17, 2014. Today when I awoke here in California my feed was abuzz with disturbing pictures and articles of (purportedly) gay men being thrown from a rooftop by ISIS, which appears to have taken place in Mosul. The internet is … More Should we be Reporting Gay Men Executions by ISIS
Posted December 14, 2014. New York, NY— Danny Garvin, one of the most important witnesses to, and participants in, the legendary Stonewall Uprising in 1969, has passed away at the age of 65. Garvin died on December 9 in New York City. According to Stonewall historian, David Carter, the Stonewall Riots began in the early morning … More Witness to Stonewall Uprising, Danny Garvin, Passes Away at 65
Transgender Remembrance Day By Melanie Nathan, November, 20, 2014. Today is Transgender Remembrance Day. It is the day we come together to remember violence perpetrated against the transgender community, so many brutally beaten, murdered and persecuted out of hate and fear of a difference which people do not understand. The latter no excuse, and a … More Inside the gay and transgender wing at the Los Angeles County jail
By Melanie Nathan, July 14, 2014. It is with much sadness that I note the passing of South African literary giant and Nobel laureate, Nadine Gordimer. The news was made public today by a spokesperson at the law firm Edward Nathan Sonnenberg, Johannesburg. A statement released through the firm by her family confirmed that … More South Africa Mourns as Literary Giant Dies
June 16, 2014 Dr. Rockefeller Critical to Launch of Medical Humanitarian Organization in the United States Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) was deeply saddened to learn of the tragic death of Richard Rockefeller, Ed.M., M.D., who died on June 13, 2014, when the single-engine plane that he was piloting crashed outside of Westchester County … More In Memoriam: Dr. Richard Rockefeller, Founding Member of Doctors Without Borders USA
By Melanie Nathan, June 16, 2014. Good Morning, Mr Mandela , a memoir by Nelson Mandela’s personal assistant, Zelda la Grange, has lifted the veil of secrecy and mystery on the family power struggles that went on in the last few years of his Nelson Mandela’s life, and of the chaos at his funeral last … More Good Morning Mr Mandela Book By Personal Assistant Exposes Family Drama
Posted by Melanie Nathan June 6, 2014 Journalist Susan Donaldson James has encapsulated the astounding story behind a documentary film to be be shown in the U.S.A., throughout June, on the World Channel, associated with PBS, as part of series of programs for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride month. The story reflects Internet pioneer … More AOL Tech Guru Seeks Justice for Gay Brother’s Killing
Maya Angelou, a renowned poet, novelist, civil rights leader and actress whose work defied description under a simple label, has died, her publicist, Helen Brann, said Thursday. She died at her home in Winston-Salem, N.C., Brann said. A professor, singer and dancer, among other things, Angelou’s work spans different professions. She spent her early years … More Poet Maya Angelou Passes Away Aged 86
First the brutal murder of Henry Mbah, and now his love of five years, Elevis Atabong, 24, dies under suspicious circumstances. By Melanie Nathan, March 26, 2014. In 2013 we reported the story of a mob murder of a gay man in Cameroon, soon after the murder of well known activist Eric Lembembe. The murder … More Another Possible Murder in Cameroon of Gay Man
By Melanie Nathan, January 30, 2014. As a past Vice Chair of Fair Housing of Marin I wanted to post this tribute to Morrie Turner, Nationally Syndicated Cartoonist and creator of WEE PALS. WEE PALS was the first syndicated comic strip to portray characters of diverse backgrounds and to bring diversity into the world of … More FAIR HOUSING OF MARIN PAYS TRIBUTE TO MORRIE TURNER
by Melanie Nathan, January 11, 2014. A memorial honoring gays and lesbians persecuted by the Nazis during World War II has been unveiled in Tel Aviv. The memorial depicts a pink triangle, the symbol gays were forced by the Nazis to wear in concentration camps. The memorial’s dedication is in Hebrew, English and German: “In … More Gay Holocaust Memorial Unveiled in Tel Aviv
Posted by Melanie Nathan, January 06, 2014. Michael Petrelis, LGBT activist from gays without Borders, Blogger on Petrelis Files and one of the original ACT-UP co-founders, reports this heartbreaking story on his blog today. Carl Goodman, one of the original ACT-UP co-founders committed suicide in Rhode Island yesterday. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to Mario, … More Co-founder of ACT-UP Commits Suicide
By Melanie Nathan, January 04, 2014. Touted in an article as the most comprehensive report on the issue, “Crisis in South Africa: The shocking practice of ‘corrective rape’ – aimed at ‘curing’ lesbians,” is the work of Clare Carter, who left her home in New York City in 2011 to photograph South Africa’s corrective rape … More So called Corrective Rape of Lesbians in South Africa should Embarrass President Zuma
By Melanie Nathan, December 22, 2013. Maleshwane Radebe died from a stab wound to her neck after she and her girlfriend were attacked and robbed in their East Rand township shack in Ratanda. Charl Blignaut who blogged this at City Press has spent time with Inkanyiso, the visual activists documenting the ever-growing number of rapes … More Another South African Lesbian Murdered in Township
REST IN PEACE TATA MADIBA Hamba Kahle By Melanie Nathan, Dec 15, 2013. From my Facebook Status: – Tata #Madiba, Father of the Nation, has brought the world to #Qunu South Africa- 6 AM, Dec 15 – All eyes are on #Qunu as we prepare our final farewell, #TATA #MADIBA . Our Nelson #Mandela will … More Nelson Mandela Laid to Rest
Yesterday in Johannesburg, President Obama joined leaders from the United States and around the world at a national memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela. In President Obama’s remarks, he reflected on what Mandela meant to him personally, as well as to the people of South Africa, and urged all of us to … More President Barack Obama pays tribute to Nelson Mandela
“On behalf of the Nelson Mandela family, we take this opportunity to extend our sincere gratitude to the religious community for the thoughts and prayers extended to our family through prayer and meditation. Indeed our burden of pain and sorrow is daily being lessened by the outpouring of national and international grief for our father … More The Mandela Family Statement
The University of the Witwatersrand, will host a memorial service in honor of former president Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, unequivocally one of the greatest leaders of all time. Wits Chancellor, Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke will open the ceremony. Speakers include: Advocate George Bizos Dr Ahmed Kathrada Parks Tau, Mayor of the City of Johannesburg Dr Randall … More Nelson Mandela WITS Alumni MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR NELSON ROLIHLAHLA MANDELA
By Melanie Nathan, Dec 09, 2013. When I was a child I was told by my Government that Nelson Mandela was bad man, a terrorist who wanted all white people dead. They did not allow us to see pictures of Mandela, and all images of him were banned. He was serving life in prison. When … More Placing our Gay Flag for Nelson Mandela
Songs and prayers in all religious congregations all over South Africa | “As we celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela, its become the central task that we reflect on what needs to be done to sustain his legacy to ensure we do not betray what he and other sacrificed for and stood for” former President … More South Africa’s Jewish Community Mourns Nelson Mandela with Past President Mbeki
Nelson Mandela, our father has died. The man who believed in full equality for all, for everyone everywhere … One of the most remarkable human beings of all time By Melanie Nathan, Dec 05 , 2013. Our beloved Madiba, Nelson Mandela, has just died. With deep sadness we extend our condolences to Madiba’s family and … More Nelson Mandela 1918 – 2013
On International Transgender Day of Remembrance ZIMBABWE’S GALZ Pays Tribute to Naoimi Posted by Melanie Nathan, Nov. 20, 2013. We pay tribute to Naomi, Zimbabwe’s very own trans woman who championed the struggle for LGBTI rights in so many ways. She came out at a time when there was very little to no information on … More Transgender Day of Remembrance |Remembering Naoimi
Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) Observes Transgender Day of Remembrance Organization Urges New Yorkers to Reflect on All Those Lost to Anti-Transgender Violence Including Harlem Resident, Islan Nettles New York, NY, November 20, 2013- On this 15th Transgender Day of Remembrance, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) is urging New Yorkers to … More New Yorkers Urged to Reflect on Transgender Day of Remembrance
Please join us in honoring the life of Larry Nathan, who passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. “HIS LIFE OUR DANCE | FOREVER IN THE HEARTS OF SO MANY” The consecration and unveiling of the tombstone marking Larry Nathan’s grave will be held on Sunday December 08, 2013 at 10.00 am at West Park Cemetery, … More Unveiling of Tombstone for Larry Nathan
The South African political party showing up for votes is reprimanded and words are not enough as LGBTI community screams for action By Melanie Nathan, July 14, 2013. A rainbow flag flies amidst the dust as Duduzile Zozo is laid to rest. The beloved daughter and lesbian community member from Thokoza township, Johannesburg, was remembered … More Moving pictures as slain lesbian laid to rest amidst controversial memorial
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