Cleo Manago

Cleo Manago (born September 21 1963) is an American educator, essayist, activist, behavorial health strategist and cultural expert. He has been a featured commentator on major television networks and in newspapers, and a frequent guest host - with Dominique De Prima of The Front Pageon Stevie Wonder's KJLH radio station.

Biography
The founder of two prominent, groundbreaking organizations http://www.bmxny.org/ The Black Men’s Xchange and the http://www.amassi.com/ AmASSI National Health & Cultural Centers, Manago was reared in Seattle, Washington; Buffalo, New York and the Watts and Compton areas of South Central Los Angeles.

Mr. Manago has projects in New York City (Harlem); Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Johannesburg, South Africa, and manages a cadre of volunteers and staff. Among publications featuring his works include the Black Scholar-Journal of Black Studies and Research, American Journal of Public Health, Ebony, Ebony Man, and Black Diaspora magazines. Articles on Manago have appeared in the Final Call, African Times, Los Angeles Times, Black Star News, Amsterdam News, Atlanta Journal Constitution, and several scholarly journals and books. Books include: Atonement (collected stories from the Million Man March) and Male Lust (an anthology on male sexuality). His views are presented in the bell hooks’ book: ‘We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity.’

FYI-Interview Excerpt

Please describe your current or most recent project (s). Include a brief overview of your motivation for the project and any notable challenges you encountered.

First, thank you, sincerely, for this interview. Though, I am often interviewed by a number of different sources, I do not take opportunities to engage the community for granted.

My recent projects include writing and developing a film that examines the intersection of Black male American imagery, sexuality; self and societal perceptions, and the impact of these on life in America - historically and currently. My motivation is the same as it has always been, until meaningful change occurs: improving the unity, perception, self-concept, wellness, structural and cultural imbalances Black people face, and making America aware of the importance of advancing this situation. The challenges have been the main ones always faced by non-mainstream film, acquiring the resources to get it made.

Under what circumstances did you get started as a gay activist?

I am not a gay activist. Never have been, and strongly request not to be referred to as such. I am a Black, “social architect” and visionary, a researcher, doer, cultural expert and behavior change strategist. Organizations and activities I have headed up purposely dismantle or challenge thinking that is not constructive or instructive to our community. We build community, create dialogue and motivate behavior and attitude change.

What got me started was inspired by my being naturally a very sensitive child, and inquisitive thinker from a very young age. I came from a community and family where internalized oppression, religious contradictions and the symptoms of what I learned to be racism and post-slavery trauma syndrome were rampant. I could not accept things as they were, so I fantasized until I was old enough to actualize doing something about what pained or concerned me. Those issues were more relevant to being Black in America than my sexuality. As early as 8 years of age it was quite clear that I would be falling in love with another male. As a matter of fact by age 8, I already had. There’s a popular autobiographic story I wrote called, In Love Too Early, In Love Too Late, that tells that story.

I was never interested in being a Black gay activist. I have always experienced Black gay activism as culturally dissonant or too limiting in scope to be of meaningful or transformative benefit to Black people. As a matter of fact, focus on gay identity (ID) has kept us in a state of suspended animation and non-progress. The state of this community, including; a sustained HIV problem (for 30 years now), no supportive or effective leadership, being still politically insignificant, with no strong independent institutions, to date, indicates my point. Black gay identifying youth (or Black youth being persuaded to identify as gay) and those at HIV risk, or living with it have little to no protective, educational or empowerment infrastructure or programs. This too contributes to the still high HIV infection rates, disproportionate substance use and premature death.

You are often credited as being the first to coin the acronyms “MSM” or “SGL,” how do they differ from “DL”?

To contextualize my perspective, I will add the word “gay” to your list. Hopefully, as I describe them all, how they differ will be clear. The term “MSM” (men who have sex with men) was developed in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and that it impacted a continuum of Black and Latino males who have sex with males. Not just those who identified as gay. As is still true, many Black and Latino males who have sex with males - be it based on desire, love or circumstance - do not identify with or as a gay. Nor do many have an affinity with the culture, and, in particular the politics of gay (rainbow flags, triangles, lambdas, white/European homosexual culture, parades, the interracialist media portrayals and “outing” people, etc.).

Even among many Blacks who do use the term gay it is often not a pride-driven or social change decision, but a term loosely used as opposed to more offensive terms (i.e. punk, faggot, and sissy). It was realized by “us” who paid attention that the term “gay” was limiting and alienating to a large group of males of color. Instead of judging that, for the sake of public health, a more inclusive term - MSM - was needed to capture the diversity and self-perceptions among homosexual and bisexual males (particularly of color). The goal was to create opportunity for them all to be educated and access HIV/AIDS services. But the relentless gay ID agenda, to receive funding, has always and still does divert the original public health intent of MSM.

The term SGL or same-gender-loving was created from the Black community to provide SGL Black folks with a way of referencing ourselves that articulated and highlighted “loving” as our intention. That we do and can love needed (and needs) to be noted. It often gets lost in the fog of internalized and societal oppression, disastrous relationships and more recently the Black male HIV/AIDS holocaust. The labels Gay or lesbian do not remedy much for Black people, nor do they affirm us. They do affirm white people. Despite homophobia, HIV/AIDS, Revs. Jerry Fallwell and Pat Robertson, the Christian Right or the Bushes, gays have been very successful politically, monetarily and medically as a result of their movement. On the other hand, without a gap, Black people have endured epidemics of HIV, self hate and cultural disruption that gay identity (ID) could never solve. And, it needs to be solved! Things are worst now for us, as we have relied on gay identity assimilation as a magic bullet. It has been a bullet in our foot, not to our benefit.

SGL tends to and intends to culturally affirm us as it was created by us for us, and to shake things up from the previous gay ID complacency problem that kept us in an unconstructive trance. That trance needed to be broken. I am pleased to say that SGL has definitely done that, around the world and Diaspora. I never initiate mentioning my relationship to SGL, because, it is not and should not be about me, but about SGL Black people needing to be affirmed, restored, and learn to love and respect our selves in our own image. Click for the full interview.

References and Sources

* Cleo Manago's website
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*Cleo Manago Google Search Results
*What Really Led to My Farrakhan Invitation to Speak at the MMM

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