Keith Boykin, Political Commentator

b. August 28, 1965

“I'm not on a show with a pink triangle or rainbow flag—which means that being gay is just a part of who I am.”

Keith Boykin is a political commentator, a New York Times best-selling author and a veteran of two presidential campaigns. He is the editor of The Daily Voice and has appeared on CNN, MSNBC and BET.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Boykin became politically focused working on local campaigns while in high school. At Dartmouth he was the editor of the daily newspaper and graduated with a B.A. in government.

After college, Boykin worked on the Dukakis presidential campaign. Thereafter, he attended Harvard Law School and continued working on campaigns, including the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton. Boykin worked as special assistant to the president and served as President Clinton’s liaison to the LGBT community.

In 1994, Boykin became the executive director of the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum and completed his first book, “One More River to Cross: Black and Gay in America.” In 1997, he served with Coretta Scott King and the Rev. Jesse Jackson on the U.S. presidential trade delegation to Zimbabwe.

Boykin wrote two other books, “Respecting the Soul” (1999) and “Beyond the Down Low: Sex, Lies and Denial in Black America” (2005). His work shed light on AIDS, internalized homophobia and black men on the “down low.”

Boykin is a commentator on major political talk shows. In 2004, he starred on Showtime’s “American Candidate” and hosted BET’s “My Two Cents.”

Keith Boykin is working on a fourth book, “For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Still Not Enough.” He lives in New York City.

Bibliography

• "Keith Boykin, Author, Beyond the Down Low." Gothamist. 8 June 2011.
• “Keith Boykin - TV Host/Author/Speaker.” Keith Boykin. 8 June 2011.
• Malmgren, Jeanne. "The way he sees it." St. Petersburg Times Online. St. Petersburg Times. 8 June 2011.

Websites

• Keith Boykin, Official Website
• The Daily Voice

Books

• One More River to Cross: Black & Gay in America (1997)
• Respecting the Soul: Daily Reflections for Black Lesbians and Gays (1999)
• Beyond the Down Low: Sex, Lies, and Denial in Black America (2005)

Tom Ford – Clothing Designer/ Film Director

b. August 27, 1961

American fashion designer and film director. He gained international fame for his turnaround of the Gucci fashion house and the creation of the Tom Ford label before directing the Oscar-nominated film "A Single Man".

Tom Ford his partner, journalist Richard Buckley, have been together since 1986.[19] Buckley was the former Editor in Chief of Vogue Hommes International. Buckley was diagnosed with cancer in 1989 and after his recovery the two moved from New York to Italy.

He was named at number 14 on the DS list of the "50 Most Influential Gays", 2011

Knocking on fifty’s door, Tom Ford isn’t letting age prevent him from exploring his talent in many different directions. He gained international fame for his turnaround of the Gucci fashion house and the creation of the Tom Ford label. Then he directed the visually and emotionally stunning story of a gay man in the Oscar-nominated film A Single Man in 2009.

Tom has been with his partner, journalist Richard Buckley, since 1986. But most importantly, that man knows how to make us look bloody good in a suit.

“Gay men make better designers,” he says. Damn right we do!

27 August: Tom Ford Fashion Designer/Filmmaker

Fashion Designer/Filmmaker
b. August 27, 1961

“All I’ve done my entire life is fulfil my destiny.”

Tom Ford is a prominent creative entrepreneur whose accomplishments—first in the fashion world and later in the film industry—have earned him worldwide acclaim.

Born in Austin, Texas, Ford grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At 17, he moved to New York to study art history at New York University, but was smitten with fashion and design. He graduated with a degree in architecture from what is now Parsons The New School for Design.

His first foray into fashion was in Paris, where he interned for Chloe. He worked for American designer Cathy Hardwick next, before moving on to Perry Ellis.

Ford moved to Milan in 1990, where he served as Gucci’s head women’s designer. Two years later, he was named design director. In 1994, he became creative director of Gucci's Italian label. Ford is credited with turning around the historic fashion house in his short time at the company. In 2000, he was granted new responsibilities at sister label Yves Saint Laurent, where he served as the creative director for YSL Rive Gauche and YSL Beaute.

In 2005, Ford left Gucci and formed his own fashion brand, TOM FORD. Two years later, his flagship store opened in New York. By the summer of 2010, TOM FORD had opened 20 more stores worldwide. In addition to his remarkable financial success, Ford has won many prestigious awards, including five from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Ford’s lifetime ambition, however, was to make a film. He says, “I guess I’m just one of these people who when I decide I’m going to do something, I just do it.” In 2009, he wrote, produced, financed and directed “A Single Man,” an adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 novel. The movie centers on a gay man’s mourning over his partner’s tragic death. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for numerous awards, including a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for Colin Firth.

Ford lives with his partner of more than 20 years, journalist Richard Buckley, in their London, Santa Fe and Los Angeles homes.

Roger Karoutchi, French government minister

b. 26 August 1951


An increasing number of openly gay men and women are reaching cabinet office in many European countries. Roger Karoutchi, in France, is just the latest:

From  Pink News :

The French Secretary of State for Parliamentary Relations has revealed he is gay in an interview ahead of the publication of his autobiography.

Roger Karoutchi is a close personal friend of President Nicholas Sarkozy and a former MEP and Senator.

"Yes, I have a life," he told AFP.

"I'm neither living a lie, nor flaunting anything. I discuss it naturally.

"I have a partner and I'm happy with him. As I'm happy, I see no reason why I should hide that."

Mr Karoutchi becomes the first openly gay minister in France.

Stephen Fry – Writer/ Broadcaster/ Actor

b. 24 August, 1957

“I suppose it all began when I came out of the womb. I looked back up at my mother and thought to myself, ‘That’s the last time I’m going up one of those.’”

21 on the DS list of the "50 Most Influential Gays", 2011:

Actor, author, broadcaster, Twitter addict … Stephen’s credentials goes on longer than his witty monologues. He’s narrated all the Harry Potter audiobooks, hosts quiz show QI, has penned best-selling autobiographies, and was one half of comedy double-act Fry and Laurie. He’s also fought a long battle with bi-polar disorder and suffered a nervous breakdown in 1995 while appearing in the West End. But he’s an inspiration as he’s come through the other side stronger and better than ever. When asked when he first acknowledged his sexuality, he quipped: “I suppose it all began when I came out of the womb. I looked back up at my mother and thought to myself, ‘That’s the last time I’m going up one of those.’” Currently, he’s dating stage actor Steven Webb.

 Books:

Moab Is My Washpot 
The Fry Chronicles. 

Liar
Revenge: A Novel
Hippopotamus 


The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within 

Rev Jimmy Creech, Methodist minister and gay activist

A Methodist Churchman who was dismissed from service after conducting a formal blessing for a union of two men in Chapel Hill.

In April of 1999, Creech celebrated the holy union of two men in Chapel Hill. Charges were brought against him and a church trial was held in Grand Island, Nebraska, on November 17, 1999. In August of 1998, the Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church ruled that the statement prohibiting "homosexual unions" was church law in spite of its location in the Social Principles. Consequently, the jury in this second trial declared Creech guilty of "disobedience to the Order and Discipline of The United Methodist Church" and withdrew his credentials of ordination.

Since the summer of 1998, Creech has been travelling around the country to preach in churches and to speak on college and university campuses, as well as to various community and national Gay Rights organizations. Currently, he is writing a book about his experiences of the Church's struggle to welcome and accept lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. ,He is the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Soulforce, Inc., an interreligious movement using the principles of nonviolent resistance, taught and practiced by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., to confront the spiritual violence perpetrated against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons by religious institutions.

(Read the full bio at LGBT Religious Archives)

Jimmy Creech

A Methodist Churchman who was dismissed from service after conducting a formal blessing for a union of two men in Chapel Hill.

In April of 1999, Creech celebrated the holy union of two men in Chapel Hill. Charges were brought against him and a church trial was held in Grand Island, Nebraska, on November 17, 1999. In August of 1998, the Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church ruled that the statement prohibiting "homosexual unions" was church law in spite of its location in the Social Principles. Consequently, the jury in this second trial declared Creech guilty of "disobedience to the Order and Discipline of The United Methodist Church" and withdrew his credentials of ordination.

Since the summer of 1998, Creech has been travelling around the country to preach in churches and to speak on college and university campuses, as well as to various community and national Gay Rights organizations. Currently, he is writing a book about his experiences of the Church's struggle to welcome and accept lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. He is the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Soulforce, Inc., an interreligious movement using the principles of nonviolent resistance, taught and practiced by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., to confront the spiritual violence perpetrated against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons by religious institutions.

(Read the full bio at LGBT Religious Archives)