TROUBLE IN BLACK PARADISE

About the Book

National anti gay marriage laws join California’s voter approved Proposition 8 challenging America. Afro-American Christians launch from sidelined shadows hitting the streets, vocally backing these measures. Intense Afro denunciation of gays capture media coverage; angry images fuel America’s sensational discourse stage—they’ve become the new self-appointed representatives of global religious advocacy. Afro supporters justify opposition citing standard historical verbiage. Claimed is that no evidence of sacredly integrated gay life, or gay marriage resonates from antiquity. Intense condemnation of gays professes compassion, not “hate.” A white gay mainstream, shocked and baffled, wonders in their eyes how so-called fellow Civil Rights seeking groups could in turn condemn them. Afro religious though, vehemently reject any claim to shared Civil Rights predicament made by gays. Trouble In Black Paradise tackles this entanglement head on. Highly volatile situations are fleshed-out in a way unprecedented by impassioned literary presentation. Now, a man steeped in Civil Rights tradition through Southern Baptist family initiates a sensitive, intimate dialogue with broader Afro-Christian communities. Fundi is an educator, historian and social/cultural activist of 38 years; concurrently he’s been a practitioner of Buddhism and an openly gay Black man “coming out” in the pre AIDS era. Afro-Americans and the gay mainstream do not live in a vacuum. Troubling civil nuances impacting each cultural phenomenon reveals a strangely unused bridge. Here, decades of cutting edge social/anthropological research is finely organized, enlightening each side about one another—heroes, villains, institutions (uplifting and disingenuous) and media, all are laid bare. Exposes’ confront negligible Civil Rights participation by an entrenched Afro-Christian establishment; white gays in parallel light reveal extreme political/multiethnic disconnect. Racism and homophobia are intertwined aspects—inexplicably tying both—and find rigorous review. Trouble In Black Paradise holds unforeseen surprises with a shocking conclusion. Fasten yourself for a beginning-to-end rollercoaster ride.

About the Author

The singer, actor, dancer, author, illustrator, historian, educator, social/cultural activist, and native San Diegan Fundi, epitomizes “Renaissance man.” Civil Rights Movement immersion began in infancy with deeply involved Southern Baptist parents. San Diego’s C.E.B.I.S. (Committee to Establish Black Independent Systems) brought educator crisis training in 1974. Fundi developed culturally enhanced environments, Afro sensitive curriculum, staff training and family visits; he taught primary math, positive self-concept, Pan African/world history, African song and dance, general arts and Kiswahili language. Ndaba, an educational stage troupe (touring San Diego’s school districts) was co founded. Workshops gained national recognition. Buddhism became religiously practiced in 1974. An excruciating 1979 sexual “coming out” expanded social/historical work. Separate efforts joined rare researchers unearthing clear international evidence of socially integrated natural Gay Spirit. Gay communal investment escalated, integrating general Human Rights spectrums. 1986 published contribution hit San Diego’s Update Newspaper. The Scene, the San Diego Gay Times and Gay And Lesbian Nation featured news, reviews and weekly columns. Los Angeles based Alternative Magazine’s 1991 Boyz In The Hood movie review appeared national. Fundi co-founded P.O.C.A.S.E. (People Of Color AIDS Survival Effort) targeting San Diego’s disproportionate “ethnic” impact. A 1987 “call-to-action” Ndaba (challenging pervasive clinical detachment) galvanized response; health care workers, activists, political leaders and a Lesbian/Gay spectrum achieved full alert. Challenging stagnation and indifference (as a crucial beginning) worked! 1988 leadership in Los Angeles’ Black Gay Men’s Coalition for Human Rights and LAGADU (San Diego’s first Black lesbian/gay group) preceded 1990’s Lesbian/Gay Pride Grand Marshal honor (the first African-American male chosen in San Diego’s legacy of Pride celebrations.) Fundi’s resided in San Francisco 21 years, celebrating a 20th anniversary with life partner Thomas Longland. Moving On The Road To A Man-Song Sanctuary, his first book, is the 2008 poetic companion to this prose project.