The Mocha Lounge Black History Month Special Edition

Gay video from AfterEllen.com

In honor of Black History Month, Rob Smith hosts a special edition of The Mocha Lounge! Only instead of rehashing regular black history (which you can find anywhere else) Rob and guests Dwight Allen O'Neal (writer/creator of Christopher Street) and blogger Adam Benjamin Irby talk about the past year in black gay pop culture and what to look for in 2009.

Highlights include the success of Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom - the highest grossing gay independent feature of 2008 - and it's NAACP Image Award nominations as well as the fierceness of RuPaul's Drag Race and the diva herself. The guys also discuss the coming out of comedian Wanda Sykes, Rob's prediction that a black male celebrity will come out in 2009, a few little known facts in gay black history, plus much much more.

The Mocha Lounge is going on hiatus (or "to hiate", *thanks Adam*) for a bit, but until then check out this survey and let us know what you think of the show!

Until then, check back here at AfterElton or at mochalounge.blogspot.com for updates and older episodes. For booking/interview information or to be added to the email blast list, send a quick email to mochaloungevb@gmail.com.

See you this summer!

A Mocha Lounge Special Edition: Change, Blame, and Prop 8

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In a provocative special edition of The Mocha Lounge, Rob and Ramon take on the scapegoating of black voters in California in the wake of the passing of Proposition 8, talk to openly gay pastor Joseph Tolton in New York City about homophobia's roots in the church, and try to figure out what's next for the LGBT community in the continuing struggle for marriage equality.

Next Up: A Mocha Lounge Special Edition on Race, Spirituality, and Proposition 8

We will be joined by gay black Pastor Joseph Tolton of NYC's Rehoboth Temple for an interesting and provocative discussion about the scapegoating of black voters by those disgusted with the passing of Proposition 8, as well as the homophobia in the black community and its roots in the church. Check back soon, it's going to be a great show!

Mocha Lounge Episode 2

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In the second episode of The Mocha Lounge, co-hosts Rob and Ramon talk about Darryl Stephens' Instinct Magazine cover story, lament the absence of actual gay men on the cover of gay male magazines, and offer up an early mini-review of Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom. (Note, Logo is releasing Noah's Arc and is also AfterElton.com's parent company.)

Our two co-hosts then discuss this week's "Under the Radar" pick, cult ballroom culture documentary Paris is Burning, and talk about some sobering developments among gay men of color in the "What's New with Us" segment.

To wrap it all up, last week's inaugural "What's the Q?" is finally answered by the guys with some help from last episode's viewers, and a sure-to-be-controversial topic is brought up for discussion heading into Episode 3.

DeMarco Majors Loves The Mocha Lounge

Shirts and Skins star and sexy San Francisco Rockdogs player DeMarco Majors recently made this comment about The Mocha Lounge at DowneLink:

Thanks for checking out our show and supporting us. Through your continued support, comments about the show, blogging on Downelink, and going onto logoonline.com. This is how we will keep shows like ours on Logo and open the door for other shows like yours. It is very important that we support our shows and share our voice if we want more diverse shows on this network. Thank you both for showing luv we appreciate the both of you and wish you both continued success with your show! SF Rockdogs!!

We love you too DeMarco, and bringing more diversity to the community is definitely why we're here. Feel free to stop by the Lounge the next time you're in the NYC area!

The Mocha Lounge featured on Living Out Loud with Darian!

The Mocha Lounge was recently featured on the very influential black gay blog Living Out Loud with Darian! Thanks for the love, Darian, and please keep it coming!

You can check out the article here.

The Mocha Lounge, Episode 1

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In the first full episode of The Mocha Lounge, host Rob Smith introduces his new co-host Ramon Johnson (whom you may know as About.com's gay lifestyle writer) and kicks off the show's features.

This week's Must List discusses the fellas of Shirts & Skins, which cause Rob to Catch a Case. In What's New With Us the guys discuss the black men behind the developments regarding gay marriage in Washington DC, Massachusetts and New York (go Governor Paterson!) and tip off an upcoming panel for black gay men in NYC.

And finally the guys kick off What's the Q?, where they ask questions that they want you, the viewers, to answer. Shoe's on the other foot, fellas!