Dwayne Jenkins Uncensored

Interview by Cleavester Brooks

The month of June is Pride month for the Same Gender Loving community. So, I sat down with community activist Dwayne Jenkins. I consider Dwayne Mr. Nashville, because of the role that he plays in the city. He represents what every man should aspire to be in their life. We talked about any and everything under the sun. About life, love, community, and the future. So, enjoy this interview.

Life

Cleavester: Who is Dwayne Jenkins?

Dwayne Jenkins: Dwayne Jenkins is a native New Yorker that grew up as an only child in the Bronx. He is an easy-going type of guy who lives in Nashville with his partner Nathan and Cocker Spaniel Ashley. Dwayne talks to his mother at least three times a month, has three adult adopted sons, two God children, loves a variety of music, and is active in his fraternity. He is an award-winning educator and community activist that likes to smile, enjoys looking at cartoons, and not ashamed to be a fan of superheroes.

CB: What was life like growing up?

DJ: My childhood was great! My parents didn’t divorce until my sophomore year in college, so I was one of the few kids in the neighborhood to have both in the house. As an only child, I grew up hanging with my cousins a lot and we were all pretty tight and had a good time when we all got together, which seemed like every other weekend. I also had a great group of friends, both male and female at school and around the block in Parkchester.

CB: What did you want to be growing up?

DJ: I wanted to be an architect like the father on the Brady Bunch. I thought that it would be cool to design a living space the way that I wanted to. I especially liked that he was able to work from his home office most of the time allowing him to always know what was going on with the family. Once I found out that there was a lot of math involved, including measuring for this and that I quickly switch to becoming the next big music video director. Way before THRILLER and some of the other videos that had a specific plot, I could remember listening to songs and envisioning an entire story line of sorts. None included dancing, but all had a story to tell.

CB: Have you accomplish everything you wanted to accomplish in life?

DJ: No way! Earlier in life I wanted to do the basic things such as laugh, love, and travel. Having done those very early in life, I think my goals continue to shift and change with my current circumstances. A few of the new things that I want to accomplish include but not limited to losing a few pounds, paying off this last bit of debt and the mortgage.

CB: What has working for the SGL community been like?

DJ: Working in the SGL community can be challenging at times, but is also very fulfilling. My primary job as an HIV Educator at Nashville CARES, Tennessee’s leading AIDS Service Organization, has allowed me to do many things over the last 14 years. All of the other responsibilities that I have are mainly community focused and driven by passion and not payment. My participation in non-health related SGL activities and events is a major part of who I am, and I feel lucky to be able to combine each of the pieces into one “life’s work”.

CB: When did you start working in the community fulltime?

DJ: When I moved from Rochester, NY to Nashville in 1994, I immediately began to volunteer for CARES within two weeks of my arrival. I knew I wanted to be involved and help educate people on HIV/AIDS, and didn’t waste any time finding out where to go to begin. My first official day as a full-time employee working for CARES as the new Brothers United Program Coordinator was on December 1, 1996, on World AIDS Day.

CB: How did you get your start working in public serve?

DJ: As a volunteer. I use to assist with a project named Brother 2 Brother, which reached out to educate men who were incarcerated. From there, I began to help do safer sex presentations during house parties hosted by other Black Gay Men, as well as outreach tables at different community functions. Once we developed a name, logo and plan of action/mission and helped to write our first grant everything else fell into place and I was hired to carry it through.

CB: What is the greatest reward it has given you?

DJ: I have been able to meet, and befriend a lot of really good people on this journey. I have had some great mentors, and appreciate everything that I have been taught and continue to learn each day as I move forward working and living. Many of the things that I do outside of my primary job are on a volunteer basis, so working together with a group of like-minded individuals has been rewarding to me. For example, I consider many of the members of the Nashville Black Pride Planning Team to be very close friends of mine. We meet for business and do our best to provide a great event for our participants, but then we also can get together and enjoy ourselves and act a fool! Being able to do something that you love to do is a blessing. Like any job, there are good, great, bad and crappy days, but have been lucky to have a good balance to keep me focused. I’ve had so many rewarding moments it’s really impossible to think of one to share at this time. What I can say is that one of the more frequent types of rewards that I get is a simple “thank you”. Each day I go to work I recognize that I may have to tell someone that they are HIV positive, and having to assure them that their life still has meaning and purpose, and they actually get it, is a wonderful thing for each of us.

CB: What is the greatest lesson it has taught you?

DJ: The greatest lesson I’ve learned while working in the HIV field, as well as the SGL/LGBT community is humility.

Relationships and Dating

CB: Describe a romantic evening with you?

DJ: I am really an easy following kind of guy. I don’t need a lot of stuff to have a good evening with my partner. A simple movie with a snack or playing cards while listening to music works for me. As long as we are relaxed and able to have a nice conversation, I’m good!

CB: What do you look for in a guy?

DJ: Well, it is kind of hard to say. When Nathan and I started dating, I honestly wasn’t looking to get into anything serious. We were both coming out of 4+ year relationships with our ex’s and simply started off spending time with each other and really getting to know one another. I can say that both of us felt comfortable enough to discuss private stuff, and laugh at each other’s experience. I guess the main thing was chemistry, and then everything else just fell into place.

CB: When did you have your first kiss?

DJ: Wow, that is a good question. I think I was kissed by a boy when I was in the first or second grade, and then kissed a girl by the third or fourth grade. I know, it sounds like I was a little playa back in the day, but you asked (smile).

CB: Describe a date with you?

DJ: A date can be anything! I am not much for dressing up and spending a lot of money on food or paying a crazy amount to see the latest movie in the theaters. I can just as easily walk around a park, mall or any other area and be content if the company and conversation is good. The first time I asked Nathan out on a date cost me under $5. We went to the .99 cent movie; I snuck in snacks including sodas and we have been together for over 14 years now.

CB: Describe a relationship with you?

DJ: I would have to say that it is cool. I’m not much on drama, and not the type to argue about silly stuff. Like many others, I can be a little goofy at times, but for the most part I would date me!

CB: How did you meet the gentleman that you are with now?

DJ: Nathan and I met at a volunteer meeting at Nashville CARES. He and I, along with six other guys were the founders of Brothers United. After one of our meetings a group of us went out and ended up playing spin, the bottle. To make a long story short, I was asked if I was attracted to anyone in the room and quickly replied no. Nathan responded out loud by saying “damn, he didn’t even give it a second though!”, and the rest is history. As we walked back to our cars hours later, all of the others that were there told us that they knew we would become a couple.

Free Style

CB: What does the future hold for you?

DJ: I hope I can continue to laugh and love unconditionally. At home we plan on working on doing some things to the house which should be fun. Professionally, I hope to continue to education, empower and affirm people within our SGL community. I also would like to remain open to learning new things and to find inspiration for growth in a variety of different areas in my life.

CB: Favorite physical feature?

DJ: Most would assume that my Locs would be my favorite feature, but from a very early age I knew that my lips are generally one of the first things get the most attention

CB: Favorite Southern Dish?

DJ: That is kind of hard to answer. Now that I’ve lived in Nashville for 16 years, I’ve eaten a lot of different dishes that one could consider “southern”, but don’t really have a favorite. I like when my partner makes white beans and neck bones. I also enjoy catfish, spaghetti, and slaw, as well as turnip greens, macaroni & cheese, corn bread and fried chicken. Now see what you made me do, I’m hungry now!

CB: Favorite Drink?

DJ: My nonalcoholic favorites are ice tea and anything cold crunchy and fruity like a lemon berry or blue coconut slush. I don’t drink a lot, but do enjoy Irish Cream, Pina Coladas, and the occasional Sex on The Beach cocktail.

CB: Person who puts you in a good mood when you have had a bad day?

DJ: My cocker spaniel Ashley can put a smile on my face any day!

The Future

CB: What can we expect from you in the future?

DJ: I should be positioning myself to sit down someplace and rest, but I don’t see that happening any time soon. I would love to be able to retire and still be able to do the things that I like in the community. As the Founder and Executive Director of the Brothers United Network organization, I look forward on working on the reorganization and over all structure with our Board not only to increase our outreach efforts, but assist in preparing our younger members like DaShawn, who is our current YBU coordinator, for bigger and better things. I also hope to learn a lot in my new position as the Board Chair of the International Federation of Black Prides (IFBP). The IFBP is a collective of over 26 cities in the U.S., Toronto, London England and South Africa that host annual Black Pride celebrations. I am really excited to work with everyone and feel that we are growing stronger each year and providing a great service to our individual cities. As a proud member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., I expect that I will continue to remain being a financial member and work to enhance our motto of culture for service and service for humanity, as well as work alongside our fellow Greeks within the National Pan-Hellenic Council to build unity. Personally, I hope to continue to live a happy and healthy life and try my best to not to take my partner, family and friends for granted. Time is short, and each day we get to spend in each other’s company is something I look forward to doing.

CB: What do you want your legacy to be?

DJ: I hope that my legacy will be something that my family, friends and others that read something about me can be proud of. None of us want our time here on earth to be in vain and I am no different! If a majority of people remember me as a nice person who cared about others, gave back to his community while outwardly loving his partner, family, kids and community, I’m not sure what else could be said. Being interviewed by you for SGL Weekly is one of those things that will help to keep whatever good deeds that I have done on record. I am truly honored to have been asked to chat with you and share a little piece of myself with your readers.

CB: Tell me something about you that your friends may be surprised to know?

DJ: I cannot think of anything at the moment. Of course, I suspect I will think of something later after the issue is released, but such is life, I guess.

CB: How can people get in contact with you?

DJ: Well, if any of your readers would like to visit Music City, we’d love for them to attend this year’s 8th annual Nashville Black Pride celebration, “the Gr8 Escape!” You can check out our primary site at facebook.com/ nashvilleblackpride or email me directly at nashblackpride@aol.com. I am also on Facebook, and a variety of other networking sites like LinkedIn, and can also be contacted through brothersunited.com or at work through nashvillecares.org.

CB: Do you have any special message for our readers?

DJ: I would like your readers to continue to support our SGL publications, authors, films, musicians, singers, rappers, and other artist. It is one thing to be able to click on a site and check out the latest book, song or promotional video, but we also need to dig in our pockets and purchase their items when they are released! If you can’t afford to do so, you can always reach out and tell them that you appreciate their words, vision, and talent. It won’t help pay bills, but we should be the first ones to support our own. Remember, if we don’t nurture our own garden, and enjoy all that it has to offer, it will not grow, and we will have nothing to feed ourselves with.

CB: Thank you Dwayne for taking time out of your busy schedule. I wish you all the best in your future.

DJ: It was my pleasure! Thank YOU Cleavester for taking the time to chat with me for this interview. I appreciate the work that you are doing.