The WYATT! podcast does a deep dive into those timely and critical issues that impact Gay/SGL (Same-Gender-Loving) men with a diverse set of LGBTQ movers, shakers, and change agents. The podcast is absorbing, informative, provocative–and sprinkled with sly, spicy (and sometimes a wee bit) scandalous humor! The fast-growing podcast airs on both YouTube and Spotify.
On Saturday, February 25, WYATT! welcomes Mr. Donald M. Bell, the renowned LGBTQ+ and women’s activist. Mr. Bell also is a valued and recognized resource and speaker in the area of aging–particularly in older LGBQT+ individuals. And he’s quite the YouTube star, being an integral part of the “Authentic Voices of PRIDE,” created by LGBTQ Nation, one of the community’s most respected and followed news sources.
Born and raised in Chicago, Bell was six years old in 1955 when the body of Emmett Till was brought back to rest in that city. He vividly describes that time—and precisely how it impacted him.
Donald and I fast-forward to the turbulent 1960s when his activism began to bloom and take root. He states, “The basis for my activism comes from my own personal experience. Activism is a means of survival. If we do NOT take a stand, if we do NOT have a moral position that we are willing to act upon, then we are subject to extinction.” He unpacks that.
According to this trailblazer, it was unusual to hear the word homosexual in the 1960s. “I had to come to the point in my own head where I valued myself enough to NOT think that being Negro was wrong so that I could be who I was and I’d be okay. And it occurred to me that this gay thing was the same thing. The juxtaposition of those two identities has always counterbalanced each other.”
The activist continues. “When I had problems with one, I’d get advice from the other. That’s what has brought me to where I am today.” Donald and I dissect this perspective and mindset.
Bell gives a mini-history lesson on the Stonewall Uprising. We have a rousing conversation about its impact and the marginalization of the participation of people of color—especially Blacks. Stonewall is widely considered the watershed event that transformed the gay liberation movement and the twentieth-century fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S.
Next, we segue into aging in the LGBTQ+ Community. We chat about our community being so youth-focused. States Bell, “In America, we feel that as people grow older, they grow lesser.” He expounds on that and shares how he’s working to make a difference.
And Mr. Bell advises on how to live your best life as an older Black Gay/SGL (same-gender-loving) man. This is another insightful and absorbing installment of WYATT! that you can’t afford to miss!
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