I had no idea as I would learn later through my work in HIV & AIDS prevention & education, that most of those young African American boys and trans-women would report that the majority of their clients are middle aged White men.Īt first I thought little of it. Recognizing this was some sort of sexual innuendo that I had no interest in, I grabbed my food and walked out of there.Īt this point, I did not know that the Spring Street Arby’s and the subsequent area around the club 708 is a space where many sex workers, most of them African American boys & trans women, are solicited.
I asked “Can I help you?” and he just stared at me and licked his lips, then he flashed me several dollar bills. I was sitting in Arby’s eating a grilled cheese, and from nowhere this middle aged White man, maybe in his 50-60′s, comes and stands above me, lurking down upon me a like a parasite longing for new blood. My first real experience with this was when I was at Arby’s in Midtown, years ago, after I had just moved to Atlanta. Black men as well as women were raped by their White captors during slaveryĪFRICANGLOBE – In my experience, it’s been one of the most unspoken taboos in both gay and African American communities: White men’s consumption and fascination with Black male bodies.
