Forty years ago today, Martin Luther King, Jr., was murdered in Memphis, Tenn. He was assassinated before his work was done, but his role as a revolutionary has never been forgotten nor have some of his most famous words. There’s a lot of talk on the web today about how far we’ve come or haven’t come — and I think we both know and mostly agree with the arguments on both sides of that coin…

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Many of you may have heard about the LeBron James Vogue's "Shape Issue" controversy. Those of you who haven't need look no further than the above image.

Did the Vogue staffers really intend to present the NBA superstar as King Kong? That wasn't our impression. While we did think it queer they didn't doll him up in a suit, we just figured they wanted to make sure readers knew he's a basketball player. Are we just naive? Maybe.

Our colleague, Cord Jefferson, who has 26-years of blackness under his belt, offered this take:

The Vogue cover is inexcusable for this reason: Even if the photo was not intentionally alluding to the ape imagery of yesteryear, Annie Leibovitz and Anna Wintour, "experts" on imagery that they are, should have been able to look at that photograph and realize what sorts of feelings it would evoke in the public. At worst, the picture's racist, at best, it's evidence of glaring ineptitude.

That straight boy sure does have him some sass.

So, readers, if you're not too mad at us right now, what's your take on this James outrage?

Presidential candidate Barack Obama just completed his speech on race in America. We're still digesting his remarks, we were particularly struck by this comment:

Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze – a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns – this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.

Obama also made sure to criticize Reverend Jeremiah Wright, calling his statements a "mistake," particularly because they present our nation as "static:" "As if no progress has been made; as if this country… is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past." It doesn't have to be, said Obama, for we can change America's course, for such progress remains an integral part of the American experience: "…America can change. That is true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope – the audacity to hope – for what we can and must achieve tomorrow."

Read all of Obama's speech here.

Connecticut state Representative Jason Bartlett made history last week when he came out as a homo.

The 41-year old explained to our editor this week that while he didn't necessarily keep his sexuality a secret, he wasn't so sure how it would fit into his political aspirations: "I considered at the time, 'Well, if you're gay, that means you can't do anything political, this might limit you in terms of career.'"

Bartlett also fills us in on his home life, adopting his children, why he doubts Barack Obama's candidacy, loves Hillary Clinton and how his mother taught him everything he knows.

Read the very revealing conversation, after the jump…

[Image taken by Jeffrey Holmes at HRC's Equality awards last weekend.]

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Eternal Queerty crush Adrian L. Acosta dawned his Amnesia Sparkles wig recently to offer this brief Oscar exclamation. The easily offended may want to turn away.

We forgot about or repressed all memory of this overtly offensive Super Bowl commercial. Thankfully Mollygood's Cord Jefferson reminded us that Asian racism still exists!