After nine years of reporting on the LGBT community from the perspective of an out woman of color living in North Carolina, Pam Spaulding announced today that she will discontinue her blog Pam's House Blend July 1.
Spaulding is a veteran activist and prolific blogger whose Blend received numerous awards for powerful, in-depth reporting and commentary, often highlighting intersections of the fights for LGBT and racial equality.
"All good things must come to an end, even after numerous awards and accolades, it’s time to acknowledge that I cannot continue to run on fumes alone," writes Spaulding. "If I cannot produce material at the frequency or with the same level of quality, enthusiasm and effectiveness, it’s really time to close the doors to this coffeehouse — and work to ensure it continues to have a life as an archive, a snapshot in our digital political history."
In a matter-of-fact post with just a hint of sadness, Spaulding cited her ongoing health struggles with chronic pain conditions and rheumatoid arthritis eating into her energy and ability to carry on as the Blend's primary content producer, in addition to her full-time "offline" job.
Reflecting on the impact of citizen-run blogs like hers in the mainstream media and even on beltway Washington politics, Spaulding offered a brief retrospective.
"I brought the perspective of a black lesbian living in the South to the dialogue — broadcasting a voice certainly not represented in the power structure of the LGBT movement," explains Spaulding. "It was the first major blog to feature a transgender contributor, and it was important to me to bring talent to the blog from under-represented regions and voices."
Starting July 1, Pam's House Blend will be converted to archives, and Blend contributors Autumn Sandeen, Alvin McEwen, and Laurel Ramseyer will continue to write for the Blend's parent site, FireDogLake, which began hosting the Blend in 2012.
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