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NYC LGBT party promoter and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity member dies via 360 MAGAZINE.

FRANK WATSON’S HOMEGOING

Frank Watson, a popular NYC LGBTQIA+ party promoter and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. member, will always be remembered.


NYC legendary promoter Frank Watson, William Allen, B-Hen via 360 MAGAZINE.
NYC legendary promoter Frank Watson, William Allen, DJ BRIAN HENRY via 360 MAGAZINE.

“I first met Frank Watson in Harlem in the early days of the 2010s, I can’t recall exactly the year, but I do recall his and others like him, an ambition trending group that would change how thousands would see themselves and attempt to define a new world, even for me. It was the breaking days of the New Harlem — young energy and freedom rushed in like a tsunami.

Frank had ideas about parties and asked me a lot of questions on how to do it in Harlem and NYCwide. I had spent a few years serving as a development advisor to an emerging magazine that expressed fashion freedom and black gay pride as well as help to create the first major black comedy club in the 1990s, located in Harlem, that created substantial new opportunities that formerly was only open to a few blacks at a time. More of my story later in another article.

In the pic above, it was at one of a handful of people at Frank’s first party venture that happened to take place in Harlem, the DJ Brian Henry, on my right, a mentee who had invited me, was a recent college graduate working at Verizon and living in Harlem. Brian is now the famous B-Hen, hosting amazing block parties all across the nation and performing abroad. Back to Frank. I’ll never forget that conversation that night and the countless others, his humility, charm, and drive to make other people enjoy their lives was evident. He had a soul that couldn’t be broken and was a strong architect of much needed ventures and events that made pride beyond one day, month, or a season. He gave life to a new generation that chose to be dominant in popular culture and not in the shadows. May God grant him peace. He was a king.” — William Allen


360 MAGAZINE remembers No.1 NYC Promoter Frank Watson.
No.1 NYC LGBT party promoter, Frank Watson, memorialized via 360 MAGAZINE.

FRANK’S HOMEGOING


Date: Saturday, December 3, 2022, at noon.

Location: Monticello Middle School, 180 Clyde Ross Drive
Monticello, AR 71655

Important details to note:

If you’re coming from Little Rock on the day of, please begin your drive by 9AM in order to arrive around 11AM.

If you drive through Pine Bluff and Star City, which is via Highway 425, you will have cell reception the entire trip.

If you choose to drive there via Highway 530 South, you will NOT have cell reception for at least an hour of the drive.


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RIP JP Ramirez

RIP Julio Ramirez

Vandalism in Hell’s Kitchen

illustration by Maria Soloman for use by 360 Magazine

US Mass Shooting: Gun Violence in 2021

New York City police released a video on Friday showing two children getting caught in a shooting. The 5-year-old boy and his 10-year-old sister were rushing toward a bodega’s entrance for shelter when they heard gunshots, but they collide with another man who is also racing for cover, and all three of them tumble to the pavement.

While the children are laying between the shooter’s obvious target, the gunman continues firing at close range. Police said the shooter opened fire around 6:45pm ET Thursday in front of 1551 Sheridan Ave. The target fell on top and around the kids as he struggled to escape the gunfire.

NYPD shared in a tweet that both children were “very unfortunately not injured. However, this episode is a vivid example of how gun violence in America has been and is a major crime issue. Just a few days after the Bronx shooting mentioned, there were 10 overnight shootings on Monday, 21 June.

Countless shootings have resulted in the loss of many lives. On June 14, the Gun Violence Archive (GVA) reported 272 mass shootings in 2021. Today, just one week after, the number is now reported at 297. This week’s shootings include incidents in New York City, Missouri, California, Florida, and Chicago.

As states begin to lift restrictions on social gatherings, shootings are happening more often. Over the course of the Covid pandemic, the federal government tracked gun sales exceeding a million per week – this benchmark has not been hit since gun tracking started in 1998. According to the GVA, the number of mass shootings has increased about 40% compared to 2020 (194 cases), and 65% from 2019 (164 cases).

America’s culture of guns has now become a culture of killing. Gun violence takes innocent lives and traumatizes the communities every day.

In April, after the devastating shooting in Atlanta – taking the lives of eight individuals – President Joe Biden has announced six initial actions to address to gun violence crimes. But truly effective change is possible only through federal legislation. Biden can expand background checks and band rifles, but Congress must step up in tightening gun laws for change to be effective.