Gay Black Radio Show to Air

Courtesy of Clay Cane

New York City is getting a new radio show that will discuss the black – and gay – experience this week. Hosting by Clay Cane, the Clay Cane Show debuts this Thursday (Nov. 10) at 11 p.m. on WWRL (1600 AM) as a progressive alternative to many of the AM slots being filled by talk (it can be streamed online). Not only is the lineup – all part of Equality Pride Radio – dedicated to issues of interest to the LGBT community throughout New York, but Cane will be among the only African-American hosts talking about issues of importance to his community. And while gay programming is nothing new on satellite radio, this is one of the first to address a minority within a minority experience.

“I am not tragically colored. And I am not tragically gay,” Cane told a blog recently, inspired by the words of Zora Neale Hurston. “When you are black and gay there is a particular duality that you live in. In my case, that double consciousness has allowed me to be as open and cosmopolitan as possible.”

When the show debuts this week, Cane – a Rutgers grad who has worked with BET, Washington Post and several gay publications – will interview Simone Battle, an X Factor contestant and singer of “He Likes Boys.” He also plans to talk to Jennifer Holliday and Lalah Hathaway in the coming weeks.

“I believe for the LGBT and African-American communities, the most important issue is equality,” Cane told The Grio, “whether it is economically, healthcare or civil rights. Sometimes there is a disconnect between the gay community and blacks. Some African-Americans think the gay community are all white men. Some gays think that all black people are homophobic. Then there is this ridiculous argument of who suffers more, which essentially amounts to ‘oppression Olympics.’ I wish we wouldn’t fall for that.”

Find out who else is hosting on Equality Pride Radio by clicking here.