Concrete Loop is cooking up storms ! There has been quite a bit of controversy over claims of homophobic commenters attacking B. Scott, a new columnist on the blogsite. Darian Anderson made a video in defence of B.Scott which was thus posted on Concrete Loop (More about B. Scott later). Langston Hughes was brought up in the comment section of CL and YouTube as someone who was a gay black man. Another commenter dissented, arguing that Langston never officially came out and noting that Isaac Julien’s film was made from his black gay perspective, not as a biographical view of Langston.
The controversy over at Concrete Loop will not hurt the blog because the blog is very good (without the comments), entertaining and well rounded especially with the new political columnist. I think the comments hint to the pervasive homophobia that attacks the black community. Whether or not Langston Hughes was gay does not matter! He was an incredible human being and writer. Check out the quote by Langston Hughes below:
“We younger Negro artists now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased we are glad. If they aren’t, it doesn’t matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too… If colored people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, their displeasure doesn’t matter either. We build our temples for tomorrow, as strong as we know how and we stand on the top of the mountain, free within ourselves.”
Langston Hughes was a legend. However, back to B. Scott now. I think what the creators at Concrete are doing is great; they are building a news agency of sorts with diverse viewpoints on entertainment and society issues. One commenter on the blog noted that the inclusion of B. Scott promotes more stereotypes of black gay men. I don’t know what to say to this as such because is he really being a stereotype if he is just being himself ? I do think he is very over-the-top and a bit too much, but this opinion on him has nothing to do with his sexual orientation. I just find him a little excessive but I can see why he is popular and I love seeing black people succeeding, so power to him. No one should be having a go at him because he is gay. People should be looking at constructive criticism as to whether he is good for the blog in terms of reader satisfaction and how he contributes to the blog.
We still have a long way to go.
So true.
@Muze: thank you for the compliment on my blog
I see what you are saying about B. Scott, but I don’t think just because he is happy with himself that it means that he is a good social commentator.
@Orville, Colin Salmon is in that film, I need to see it.
Langston is actually in Bristol Uni so I will find more of him!
Oops the name of the name of the homoerotic poems are actually “young sailor”, “tell me”, and “joy” and “desire”. All of these poems explore gay passion and homoeroticism.
@ Aulelia, I have seen Issac Julien’s film and it was amazing! I love the movie it was so controversial in fact Hughes estate was threatening Julien about a possible lawsuit!
Langston has a famous poem called cafe 3am and it deals with homosexuality. I think the complete poems of Langston Hughes could be in the Bristol University library or the local public library. Another poem of Hughes called Hello Sailor deals with homosexual themes as well.
this blog is exceptional. must add you to my blogroll immediately. i am loving concrete loop more and more now that they are including other writers, and j.dakar is an excellent addition with his political views. i’ve been reading his words since way back. lol.
b.scott, in all his excessiveness, is, in my opinion, a wonderful example of what it means to be happy with yourself and love yourself for who you are. he is flamboyant, confident, and a bit arrogant, but that’s him…love muffin and all. lol.
that langston hughes quote…powerful. he is one that will truly never be duplicated.
great blog! glad i stumbled my way over here.
@Orville, thank you for your comment. If you have time, check out this video that Darian Anderson made. He made some great points but I was getting the impression that he was also in a way comparing B.Scott to Langston Hughes, Bayard Rustin and the magnificent Audre Lorde. Comparing him to them is a stretch to say the least.
Langston — what a great soul! I don’t know whether he was gay. Even if he was, that doesn’t take anything away from him.
Aulelia, we definitely have a long way to go in the black community. I personally believe Langston Hughes was gay. I think people should read Langston’s memoir “The Big Sea” he definitely was a homosexual. In fact, Faith Berry wrote a biography about the fact Langston had a Jamaican male lover he visited often. Langston’s poetry also alludes to homoerotic themes. Hughes never married also another biographer of Hughes Arnold Rampesad stated that he also believe Hughes was gay. I think Langston was gay and he hid his homosexuality because he feared the homophobia of the black community.