Don Belton, a professor of English at Indiana University, was tragically killed by an assailant who, many in his local community are concerned, may seek to use a variant of the notorious “gay panic” defense. They are also concerned that “Hateful, racist, and homophobic remarks have been circulating on messaging boards under articles about Don’s murder.” So in addition to mourning this sad event — which has unfairly ended the life of a man who had already greatly contributed to black and queer literature and culture — organizers of Justice for Don Belton are urging militancy as the story unfolds in the local and national media, and as prosecutors prepare possible charges against Michael Griffin.
Tavia Nyong'o
Tavia Nyong’o is a cultural critic and professor of African American studies, American studies, and theater studies at Yale University. He writes on art, music, politics, culture, and theory. His first book, The Amalgamation Waltz: Race, Performance, and the Ruses of Memory (2009), won the Errol Hill Award for best book in African American theatre and performance studies, and a new book, Afro-Fabulations: The Queer Drama of Black Life, is forthcoming from NYU Press in the fall of 2018. Nyong’o has published in venues such as Radical History Review, Criticism, GLQ, TDR, Women & Performance, WSQ, The Nation, Triple Canopy, The New Inquiry, and n+1. He is co-editor of the journal Social Text.
