Worldfocus: Gays in Jamaica worship in underground church
I was the correspondent on this video story, which aired on Worldfocus.
Jamaica is often said to hold the world record for the most churches per square mile. There’s a public place of worship for almost everyone. Unless you’re gay. If you are, you must worship in secret.
Correspondent Lisa Biagiotti, producer Micah Fink and director of photography Gabrielle Weiss report on the secret underground church that is welcoming gay men and women to practice their faith. Reverend Robert Griffin, an American priest, leads the secret church and believes religion is at the heart of Jamaica culture of homophobia and the time has come to reinterpret the Bible for modern times.
For more information on homophobia and HIV in Jamaica, visit The Glass Closet, a multimedia project produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
Worldfocus Radio: LGBT politics and gay asylum
I produced this radio show for Worldfocus.org.
Martin Savidge hosts David Rayside and Rachel Tiven on LGBT politics and gay asylum. We begin the conversation with Jamaica, which makes up 17 of the 55 U.S. asylum cases won by Immigration Equality last year alone. We examine the metastasizing colonial and slave culture, entrenched poverty and rampant violence in Jamaica.
In 1994, former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno expanded asylum law to include persecution based on sexual orientation. Sexual orientation has been increasingly used as grounds for asylum. We also discuss how to begin the process of applying for gay asylum in the U.S.
From human rights abuses to political progress, the gay rights movement is at different stages throughout the world. We take a comparative look at the progress of LGBT politics and the gay rights movement in different countries, including the best and worst places to be gay.
Worldfocus: Violence and venom force gay Jamaicans to hide
I was the correspondent on this video story, which aired on Worldfocus.
In Jamaica, anti-sodomy laws are still punishable for up to 12 years in prison. And society is not ready to tolerate openly gay lifestyles.
Correspondent Lisa Biagiotti, producer Micah Fink and director of photography Gabrielle Weiss report on the dark side of Jamaica’s anti-gay violence and attitudes and explore the ideological beliefs that perpetuate a culture of homophobia.
Worldfocus: One island, two Jamaicas and a ‘whole heap’ of difference
I was the correspondent, writer and editor of the video story One island, two Jamaicas and a ‘whole heap’ of difference, which aired on Worldfocus on Oct. 1, 2009.
Jamaican society can be divided along class, language and culture lines. It’s rich vs. poor, English vs. Patois and uptown vs. downtown.
Correspondent Lisa Biagiotti, producer Micah Fink and director of photography Gabrielle Weiss examine the public debate that erupted earlier this year when graphic Dancehall music lyrics and images were banned from Jamaica’s airwaves. The public responses reveal the legacy of two Jamaicas dating back to the country’s slave history.
Worldfocus: Dancehall artist sings of poverty plaguing Jamaica’s ghettos
Correspondent Lisa Biagiotti reported on HIV, AIDS and homophobia in Jamaica for The Glass Closet, a multimedia project produced by the Pulitzer Center and Worldfocus. Lisa reported the signature story One island, two Jamaicas and a whole heap of difference with Micah Fink and Gabrielle Weiss.
Grace Hamilton, known as Spice, is one of Jamaica’s most prominent Dancehall artists. She and Vybz Kartel came under attack for their duet “Rampin’ Shop.” Not all of Spice’s songs are so sexually graphic. In the video below, Spice talks (and sings) about growing up in Jamaica’s ghettos.
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