Author E. Lynn Harris dies at age 54

The openly gay, best-selling author E. Lynn Harris died earlier this morning while on a book tour along the West Coast. The tour was in promotion of his eleventh novel, “Basketball Jones“, the story of a player in the NBA and his gay lover. While the cause of death is still unknown, his personal assistant did say that the Harris’s health had recently declined. Further questions, however, went unanswered. The celebrated author, known best for his books centered on life as a gay, black man, was 54 at the time of his death.

Born in Flint, Michigan, E. Lynn Harris moved around a lot, finally finding his home and settling down in the South. As a student at the University of Arkansas, he become the school’s first male cheerleader and was, till his dying breath, a giant Razorbacks fan. Later in life, Harris returned as a visiting professor in the school’s English department.

Best-selling author E. Lynn Harris has died Entertainment Weekly - Missy Schwartz -
Online blogs report Atlanta author E. Lynn Harris has died Atlanta Journal Constitution
Flint-born author E. Lynn Harris dies at 54 MLive.com
E. Lynn Harris Dies of Heart Attack Advocate.com
Author E. Lynn Harris dies at age 54 Baltimore Sun

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Michael Jackson Memorial Confirmed For Staples Center July 7

LOS ANGELES — Organizers and representatives for the Jackson family have confirmed memorial services for Michael Jackson will take place Tuesday (July 7) inside the Staples Center. The announcement ended days of speculation about how the King of Pop would be memorialized.

Fans will be able to attend after registering for free tickets at StaplesCenter.com beginning Friday morning, and registration will run until Saturday evening at 6 p.m. On Sunday fans will be notified and receive information on how to pick up tickets on Monday. The registration process is elaborate and has caused the site to crash once already — but the Jackson family insisted on a process that was democratic and fair, taking into consideration the many fans expected to arrive in Los Angeles for the memorial.

“It was our wish to allow as many of Michael’s fans to be a part of the memorial, and we wish to thank everyone for their support and understanding at this difficult time,” the Jackson family said in a statement.

Only 17,500 tickets will be given away, with 11,000 entrants able to go inside the arena and the remaining 6,500 ushered just across the street to the Nokia Theater where the proceedings will be simulcast. There are no guarantees for fans who register online and only 8,750 people will be selected randomly by a computer-generated program. Each selected fan will receive two tickets and two wristbands.

No further details regarding the service were announced. At a press conference held outside of the Staples Center, Jackson family representative Ken Sunshine said the plans are still being developed. Sunshine said he hopes the ticket process is handed with “dignity” and that tickets not be resold or counterfeited.

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ARTS IN THE CITY – Cambridge Chronicle

ARTS IN THE CITY
Cambridge Chronicle, MA
30-PLUS LESBIAN RAP — Thursdays, 7-8:30 pm, Women's Center, 46 Pleasant St., Cambridge. Free weekly open discussions with topics. For information, call 617-354-8807. THE TRIBE PRESENTS … — Thursdays, 8 pm, Cantab Lounge, 738 Mass. Ave., Central Square. …

‘We still teach hate,’ says mother of murdered gay man

GARY — Judy Shepard doesn’t forgive the men who killed her son, but she doesn’t blame them, either.
Shepard, at Indiana University Northwest on Wednesday night to talk about the torture and murder of her son, Matthew Shepard, said she gets “the forgiveness question” a lot when she talks to groups.
Mostly, she’s just confused by the thought, but what she knows for sure is that the two men who brutally murdered Matthew — Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney, who are serving life sentences — weren’t taught any better.
Thus, Shepard has made it her mission in the almost 10 years since his death to teach everyone possible that hate is a learned behavior that needs to be stopped.
“We still teach hate; it has to be a conscious decision to not go there,” said Shepard, invited to speak by IUN’s Center for Regional Excellence and Merrillville High School’s Socially Together and Naturally Diverse organization.
At times comical, Shepard described her home state of Wyoming as “not a hateful place at all,” but it is 96 percent white, with the rest of the 500,000-resident population either Native American or Latino. Even after the murder, Wyoming still hasn’t passed hate-crime legislation that includes lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual specifics, though Laramie, where the murder took place, has an ordinance against it.
Indiana also doesn’t have hate-crime legislation specific to the LGBT community, either, and she pointed out it likely won’t happen until something is passed at the federal level. Nevertheless, she remains hopeful. See ‘We still teach hate,’ says mother of murdered gay man
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