Dino Thompson-Sarmiento, Fenuxe Contributor

In mid-April, the board of directors of GLAAD—the nation’s LGBT media advocacy and watchdog group—named Herndon Graddick as its new leader. A GLAAD veteran, Herndon has served as the organization’s deputy director of media programs. He has worked fervently to create an LGBT-inclusive media landscape and share stories that nurture acceptance of LGBT people and build support for equality. Shortly after being named president, Herndon graciously accepted an interview with Fenuxe.

Dino: Herndon, we congratulate you on your new role with GLAAD and thank you for taking a few moments to engage with our Fenuxe readers. I hear you’re a Southerner. Where are you from?
Herndon: Thank you, Dino and Fenuxe. I am happy to chat with you and your many readers in the South. I am originally from Mobile Bay and grew up in Montgomery, Alabama. I then attended UCLA and currently live in New York City.

Dino: Before you began your path within GLAAD, what was your work history?
Herndon: Previously, I was a producer within CNN [Graddick contributed to the creation of daily primetime news and current events programming such as “Paula Zahn Now,” “Anderson Cooper 360” and “Live From the Headlines”]. I also worked for CURRENT TV, the youth-oriented news and entertainment network created by former Vice President Al Gore. And I served as a supervising producer at E! Networks.

Dino: In what direction would you like to take GLAAD under your watch?
Herndon: I would like to see GLAAD continue to do its good work and support the LGBT community through effective campaigns promoting equality. Equality would be inclusive of employment, family, healthcare, etc. GLAAD is about culture change and fighting defamation and ensuring fair and accurate representation of the LGBT community—getting what we deserve.

Dino: Being a Southerner, you understand the challenges LGBT folks face within their families and community. What can GLAAD to do help?
Herndon: Providing effective national media opportunities—other than just the local angles to these areas—is important. I welcome feedback from these communities as to how we can help.

Dino: The “Stand Up For Ellen” campaign was extraordinary and reflects the power of the LGBT community. This example illustrates what we as a minority group can accomplish by uniting. Do you see this as a trend in having our voices heard?
Herndon: Yes. We at GLAAD have the resources and the platform to educate the country and our voices will be heard!

Dino: As the Latino community continues to grow nationally, LGBT issues within this group are becoming more and more visible. One example is the alarmingly high number of HIV/AIDS cases. What can GLAAD do to bring light to this concerning issue?
Herndon: Excellent question. GLAAD is about culture change. We think it is important to tell the story of all groups and be all inclusive. Currently we have programs in place to target the Spanish-speaking population, and we will continue to develop campaigns to bring attention to these issues.

Dino: Herndon, thank you. We look forward to you visiting us in the South. Anything else you’d like to share with Fenuxe readers?
Herndon: I would like to thank everyone for their support, and I would like to let everyone know that I welcome the community’s feedback on how we can embrace change and head in a new direction together.

What do the fabulous do when the greatest recession in almost a century comes along? They shrug their shoulders and start a business that earns them $300,000 per day.

Forbes Magazine has a fascinating profile of Fab.com, which started as a gay social networking site in April 2010, but failed in that arena and morphed into a trendy online retailer last June. The switch in focus proved fruitful, as the gay-run company brought in $1.3 million in its first month, and is projected to earn $100 million this year.

Fab.com offers steep discounts on highly original products, from hipster home décor to beet caviar, with more than 30 sales added each day.

Most encouragingly, Fab.com’s fashion section is vaster and has more diverse trends than the overpriced and artificially cool Urban Outfitters. Given the abhorrently conservative beliefs and business practices of the owner of Urban Outfitters, it’s great to have a gay-owned alternative to direct our money toward.

Calling the death of Robert Champion “nothing short of an American tragedy,” Florida State Attorney Lawson Lamar announced that charges have been filed against 13 individuals stemming from the hazing incident that took Champion’s life last November.

Champion, 22, was killed by his Florida A&M University band mates after he boarded a charter bus and was beaten as part of a hazing ritual. Champion was openly gay, but his family and prosecutors have said the hazing incident was unrelated to his sexual orientation.

“This is a homicide by hazing,” Lamar said at a press conference today. “After working closely with my homicide team, we are ready to announce the filing of charges against 13 individuals stemming from that tragic incident. The majority of those charges are hazing resulting in death, felonies of the third degree. If the defendant does not have a prior record, the maximum punishment is just right at six years.

“We’ve also filed over 20 counts of misdemeanor hazing – those involve different victims who were not seriously injured,” Lamar said.

The prosecutor declined to release the names of the Florida A&M students who will be charged “due to the fact that they are at-large.”

Lamar noted that an autopsy revealed that Champion suffered deep contusions on his chest, back, arms and shoulder as a result of the hazing, and died of hemorrhagic shock.

“In other words, Robert Champion tragically died from being beaten to death on that bus,” Lamar said.