A “beacon of light” snuffed

August 1, 2023

The killing of a young Black queer man ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

August 1, 2023

Beloved Meteor readers,

Can you believe it is August? I actually can’t. I think I have an easier time believing that aliens are here on earth than believing we’re eight months into this year.

In today’s newsletter, we hold space for O’Shae Sibley, celebrate a hijabi champion, and take a spin around the Women’s World Cup.

Boarding the spaceship,

Shannon Melero

WHAT’S GOING ON

Break my soul: O’Shae Sibley was a 28-year-old gay Black man, a professional dancer and choreographer. And on Saturday evening, while vogueing to Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” with his friends at a Brooklyn gas station, Sibley was approached by a group of men who assaulted him, first with homophobic slurs and then with a knife, stabbing him to death.

Sibley’s friend Otis Pena described him in a Facebook Live as a “beacon of light” who was “always out and loud.” According to Pena, Sibley “was just saying we may be gay, and we’re listening to our music, but there’s no hate. It’s all love—when you stabbed him. You stabbed my brother.”

It’s ironic, but not accidental, that Sibley was voguing to “Renaissance,” one of the queerest albums of 2023 and a joyous love letter to ballroom culture and Black queer joy. All it took was that joy being displayed publicly for his attackers to decide to take his life.

Unfortunately, this sort of violence is on the rise. According to a report issued by the Anti-Defamation League and GLAAD, the first three weeks of June saw 101 incidents of anti-LGBTQ+ harassment and violence—more than twice the number as during the same period last year.

In his video, Pena said, “We as a community don’t deserve this. We’re not going to live in fear. We’re not going to live hiding.” And he’s right. Queer people have always battled beatings with brashness, and they will continue to do so. But that doesn’t make it any easier to face the onslaught of violence—and anti-queer legislation. To all of our queer readers: We feel this loss with you. And we believe in your—our—joy.

You can contribute to Sibley’s memorial fund here.

AND:

“A religious school can’t be a public school, and a public school can’t be religious,” the ACLU explains. Makes sense, right? Not in Oklahoma, where the state just approved using taxpayer money to fund a “virtual Catholic public charter” school. The school will be managed by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, which means every facet of its operations and curriculum must conform to the teachings of the Catholic church. Needless to say, the ACLU is suing.
The website formerly known as Twitter and the CEO formerly known as Elon Musk are suing a research group which investigated hate speech on the site.
You may remember North Carolina state rep Tricia Cotham, who switched parties from Democrat to Republican this winter and went on to cast a crucial vote against abortion rights. Well, according to The New York Times, that may have been the plan all along.
Kimberly Mata-Rubio’s daughter, Alexandria, was one of the students killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, last year; now Mata-Rubio is running for mayor of Uvalde, Texas. “Navigating our political system has been frustrating, and I realized I needed to be the change I seek,” Mata-Rubio told The Washington Post.
Fani Willis, the district attorney set to release charging decisions for Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, revealed one (of many) racist threats her office has received, in which she is called the n-word and a “Jim Crow Democrat whore.” According to Willis, the email was “not very unique. In fact, it is pretty typical and what I have come to expect.”
Congratulations to 12-year-old Aaminah Abdrabboh of Dearborn, Michigan, who became the first hijabi ever to earn gold at the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation’s kids’ tournament.

AROUND THE WORLD CUP ⚽

Here’s what’s going on for those of us who can’t stay up until 3 AM to catch a game.

The U.S. has advanced to the knockout rounds but just barely. And people are starting to wonder if they’ve still got what it takes. Doubters gonna doubt!
Jamaica’s team, The Reggae Girlz, aren’t just here to prove a point. They’re here to make history.
Ticket sales for the Women’s World Cup are approaching 1.7 million. What’s that you said about no one caring about women’s sports?