In great Golden Girls fashion, picture it! April 1983! A high school gym filled with about 500 small town students. I’m there giving a campaign speech for Student Council Vice President for the next year which would be my senior year in high school. Something happened during that speech that seemed like an out of body experience. At the end of that speech my schoolmates were on their feet cheering, clapping, and stomping.
B. Slade is a sanger and a showman, a shaman of soul and sound and lists himself as an “Imagineer that has released 30 albums in less than 12 years. A Prophetic Visionary with no boundaries musically spiritually or vocally. The future is now. Come aboard.”
“When I was younger, I wanted to be a vet or an architect because they are just things, jobs that people had told me about. I didn’t know about the arts or theater or Broadway. It wasn’t until I was in high school when I was kinda pushed to pick up an extracurricular activity.
In the 2017 edition of this LGBTQ-affirming faith-based issue, I had a young man answer the question “WHY DO I STAY?” In it, he spoke of power and sense of purpose he felt and still feels in being a part of the traditional church and its connection to our Culture, with a capital “C.”
I am excited and full of anticipation because we should feature SWERV’s 100th couple by the end of 2023. Many of our couples I do not know personally and have not had the pleasure of meeting them face-to-face, but this issue’s couple I certainly do know well. Tonya, or Tee as I call her, and I have been friends for over 15 years.
Earlier this year, on April 20, 2023, Unity Fellowship Church Movement’s (UFCM) Prelate, The Rt. Beatitude-Bishop Zachary G. Jones (M.Th, B.Msc.)– before its national officers, Pastors, Elder boards, and international constituents–declared a State of Emergency for our Siblings who are of Trans-Human,