On the night of June 24, 2004, six gay men were driven from their home in Kingston, Jamaica and brutally beaten by a group of assailants who hurled gay slurs at them.  At least one of the men is permanently disabled from the attack, having lost the use of one of his eyes.  Amnesty International confirmed that one of the attackers was the reggae artist Buju Banton.  Contrary to some reports, Banton was never acquitted of the charges; they were unsurprisingly dropped by law enforcement. 
 

Originally published at UnionYes.org

Over the past year, Labor and the local LGBT community have come together in support of each other for several causes.

Labor and the LGBT community share many common issues, including the boycott of the Manchester Grand Hyatt and efforts to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

With Keynote Speaker Pat Washington

Sun. Sept. 20  5-7PM

Tubman/Chavez Center

415 N. Euclid Avenue 

San Diego, CA 92114

Sunday morning SAME members toured through Hillcrest asking business owners to post Repeal Prop 8 in 2010 signs, generously donated by Love Honor Cherish (LA). 

by Michael Anderson
Originally published in Activist San Diego's Activist Update. Michael Anderson is a member of SAME.

In July 2008 the LGBT community joined forces with the Labor Movement when a Boycott on the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego was called for. Unite Here Local 30, Sleep With The Right People, San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (S. A. M. E.), Californians Against Hate, among numerous other local, state, and national organizations have joined in the Boycott. Almost weekly activist converge outside of the Hyatt to flier, bullhorn, chant, drum, and further disrupt the daily commerce of the Hyatt in an effort to bring attention to the exploitation of Hyatt's workers, and the hypocrisy of Doug Manchester for his contribution of $125k to Prop 8 while at the same time spending millions to advertise to the LGBT community.