A Scholarship to Support the Educational and Ballroom Sucess of GLBT Members.

Thanks to Kamora for submitting this wonderful article on Jay Blahnik, the House of Blahnik and Mr. Humes scholarship. Read on for lots of excellent political thought. What a wonderful brother and mentor to read about in our GLBT/Queer community. Please distribute this article widely as possible.

Damon L. Humes received an Honorary Doctorate degree on August 2, 2008 for the creation of a scholarship fund and his humanitarian efforts in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. Humes, Executive Director of the Men of Color Health Awareness Project (MOCHA), is an HIV/AIDS activist, a highly sought after consultant and a Ph.D. candidate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Humes is also Jay Blahnik, a charismatic leader of the Ballroom scene— a Black and Latino GLBT subculture involving national fashion and performance arts competitions. He’s the father and founder of Ballroom collective House of Blahnik for which the scholarship is named.

Humes’ “Bayard Rustin Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters” arrives from an unexpected institution of learning. The Greatest Ball On Earth! (TGBOE), a fundraising event based on the history of Ballroom culture, created the purely symbolic degree to honor people like Humes. Bayard Rustin was an openly gay American civil rights activist best remembered as the silenced organizer of the 1963 March on Washington and Martin Luther King’s mentor. “Jay Blahnik has the qualities of Bayard Rustin,” says TGBOE producer Terrence Legend. “Like Rustin, he’s a master strategist and a tireless activist. Jay Blahnik has not only created ballroom history, he’s used his intelligence and life to improve human lives. Jay has tried a radical new approach and it seems to be working.”

Humes now has bragging rights to the House of Blahnik Scholarship’s first recipient graduating from one of the best colleges in the nation. On May 8, 2008, Ajmar Millar completed studies at the historic Morehouse, where he’s an active member of Atlanta’s Ballroom community. Millar was awarded $1000, but the generous Humes also gave a supplemental award to ballroom participant Jimmy Vincent for school supplies.According to the House of Blahnik’s Web site, www. houseofblahnik. org, the scholarship was established in 2006 to support the educational and Ballroom success of GLBT members. “The scholarship encourages GLBT community members to aspire to positions in which they are able to contribute to society and act as role models for their peers in the Ballroom scene,” says Humes. “Members of the Ballroom have often been viewed as outcasts of the GLBT community and are even stigmatized among Black and Latino GLBTs.”

Mr. Legend says he was so impressed with Humes that he’s going to use TGBOE as an ongoing campaign to help raise the profile and funds for the scholarship. “The House of Blahnik Scholarship is without a doubt one of the most important things to happen to the Ballroom, period. I don’t remember another time in history where a scholarship prize has been instituted solely to send ballroom participants to school,” says Mr. Legend. “Moreover, the scholarship was created by our very own Jay Blahnik. So often the ballroom is stigmatized but this man has made an investment toward the improvement of our youth and our future. I think many people underestimate what a powerful thing Jay has done. Now we have an actual scholarship created by someone in our community for our community. It must be respected.”

As Father Jay Blahnik, Humes is a legend of the Ballroom scene. He’s a choreographer, MC and mentor to the “children” of his house. Jay Blahnik began his career in 1994 in the House of Ebony, competing in such categories as “best face” and “runway”. For his runway style, Jay’s become an Icon, the highest plateau one can reach in Ballroom hierarchy. Jay’s rousing costumes, dramatic make-up effects and signature strut set a new standard for this category. By 2000 he founded his own House of Blahnik, and the close-nit group has created some of the most memorable moments in Ballroom history. In 2006 at the House of Blahnik ball, the group’s opening presentation was comparable to that of a Broadway musical. It’s no surprise that Jay requires his house members to be role models of responsibility.

Humes adds the honorary doctorate to his impressive list of accolades. He’s a graduate of Lincoln Universitywith a Masters of Human Service (MHS). He’s produced a CD about HIV/AIDS prevention, selling 20,000 copies. His awards include: Albert Santana Humanitarian Award, People of Color in Crisis (6/2007); Lax Scholarship, Bread and Roses Community Fund (4/2006);? Unsung Heroes of HIV, United States Conference20on AIDSNational Minority AIDS?Council (9/29/2005); Ronald T. Ramashala Memorial Award for Community Development and Consumer Advocacy, Lincoln University (4/23/05); Jon Michael Harrington Humanitarian Award, Gay Men’s Health Crisis House of? Latex Project (8/14/2004); Lax Scholarship, Bread and Roses Community Fund (8/2004); and Outstanding Community Service Award, Mayor John F. Street, Esq. (12/29/2000) .

Humes has succeeded in leaving a mark big enough for people to remember him for a long time. In 1986 Bayard Rustin claimed: “The barometer of where one is on human rights questions is no longer the black community, it’s the gay community. Because it is the community which is most easily mistreated.” Damon “Jay Blahnik” Humes understands this to highest degree.

Kamora Herrington
Mentor Program Coordinator
True Colors Inc.