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August 6, 2010
Tokes Osubu
by Cristina Gonzalez
Isolation, fear, distrust, homophobia, ignorance and HIV/AIDS. These are just some of the opponents New York City-based Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD) has fought for almost 25 years. Today, under the leadership of Tokes Osubu, GMAD’s executive director, the organization continues to provide health and social services to black gay men—a population often stigmatized in their own communities because of their sexual orientation. Osubu is battling to change that. Here, he talks about how GMAD has dedicated its past, present and future to the cause.
What is Gay Men of African Descent?
We are a group of community-conscious individuals who have formed an organization to help educate and promote public awareness about the special health needs of the black male. We are fighting for access to effective care and treatment through grassroots education efforts, community organization and mobilization. In addition, using a combination of modern and traditional healing methods, our local health projects are doing what doctors, hospitals and technology alone cannot—raising the level of health care in underserved communities.
How did GMAD start?
Gay Men of African Descent was the brainchild of the Reverend Charles Angel, who recognized black gay men’s need for a safe space away from the tough, difficult and homophobic terrain in which many of us live. The Reverend Angel’s vision was to create a place where gay black men and their friends could meet without being harassed, and where those who were still struggling to accept themselves could be supported in that effort. The first meetings, called the Friday Night Forum, served as more than just a place to discuss issues. The forum was home to a lot of people who did not see themselves reflected in their neighborhoods, their churches or even in their families. GMAD provided the opportunity for many of its members to better understand what it meant to be black and gay, and how to navigate the potential “rough currents” created by coming out.
What is GMAD’s mission?
Almost 25 years since its founding, GMAD continues to be home for a new generation of black gay men who are coming out earlier. Our mission is to empower them through education, advocacy, health and wellness promotion and social support. GMAD does this by being a F.R.I.E.N.D. and providing Flexibility in daily interactions, Respect for every individual, Integrity through communication, Empathy and compassion, Networking and cooperation, and Dependability in professional performance.
Another huge issue that GMAD targets is the feeling of isolation that many black gay men experience. Because we live in a hetero-dominant culture, any whiff of being different is frowned upon. For many in the black gay community, feelings of isolation and alienation or of being harassed is borne of a perception that if one’s sexual orientation were known, there would be adverse consequences. For others, those feelings are triggered by real experiences. This has been a constant in the history of our community, and it has been compounded by the AIDS epidemic, which has been used as a weapon to justify intimidation, discrimination and often violence against members of this community.
How did you become involved with GMAD?
I first visited the United States in December 1989. One of the first questions I asked my lesbian cousin was what there was to do other than sightseeing. She told me that many black gay men started their weekend at GMAD’s weekly discussion group. That Friday, she walked me over to the center where the group was meeting and introduced me. There must have been more than 50 black men in the room. It was the first time I had been in a room full of black gay men, and it left a lasting impression on me. I was very impressed by the level of participation and love in the room. Every year after that, I visited New York City twice and built on my initial GMAD experience by adding to my network of friends and acquaintances. In 1994, five years after my first visit, I finally relocated there.
How does GMAD represent the community you serve?
GMAD serves black gay and bisexual men and others who engage in homosexual behavior but do not identify as gay. Our staff is made up of gay men, bisexual men and heterosexual women, young and old. HIV prevention and care is an integral part of our work. We work to ensure that the needs of those living with HIV are understood and respected. Every effort is made to include HIV-positive individuals in everything we do. The drive for diversity and representation helps keep conflict to a minimum as our work tends to be informed by people’s real-life experiences.
What types of services does GMAD provide?
GMAD offers a broader framework for understanding how multiple health problems interact in particular settings. GMAD runs the Intensive Prevention Project, which is the only state-funded program that provides mental health services exclusively to black gay men. On a daily basis, we also conduct outreach at various locations—for example, bars and clubs—where the outreach team provides our constituents with educational materials and safer-sex items.
Currently, our advocacy efforts are centered around educating health care providers about issues that face black gay men and how they can best serve us. There have been too many instances where the focus of care has been on HIV to the exclusion of other conditions, simply because the primary care person found out that the client was gay. We have been working with these physicians on how to make their work environments more welcoming to black gay men and how to ask questions without intimidating the client.
Recently, we also started operating a food pantry called HOPE (Helping Other People Eat). The food pantry assists clients who cannot afford to eat full nutritious meals because they lack resources. Also, for over a decade, we have provided HIV counseling and testing. This is done in-house and in a mobile unit that visits different parts of the city where black gay men are known to congregate or socialize. And GMAD is the local lead organizer for Campaign to End AIDS, which is a national grassroots mobilization effort to focus attention on the AIDS epidemic.
What do you see in GMAD’s future?
We are nurturing new relationships and filling the void of not having a black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning and Intersex (LGBTQQI) Center. GMAD is committed to reducing the incidence of health disparities among minority males by delivering comprehensive health education and support to underserved African-American men in metropolitan New York City. Our ultimate goal is to make men’s health matter and to effectively combat the prejudice and stigma gay men experience
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