Gay black historical figures
Historical Figures of LGBTQ+ History
Barbara Jordan was born on February 21, , in Houston, Texas. After attending Phyllis WheatleyHigh School, Jordan graduated in Upon graduation, Jordan attended Texas Southern University and earned her bachelor’s degree in She then obtained her statute degree from Boston University to practice law in Houston, TX. In , Jordan began her political career and ran for the Texas House of Representatives. She lost this election and ran again in However, she clueless again, so in she decided to run for Texas Senate, instead. This time, Jordan won and became the first African American woman to be elected in that was the first African American state senator in the U.S. since On Rally 28, , she was elected President of the Texas Senate, making her the first Black female in America to oversee a legislative body. She also ran for Congress, during this time, and became the first African American in the 20th century to be elected to Congress from the South. In addition to these accomplishments, Barbara was also the first Queer woman in Congress. Nancy Earl, an edu
Each year, Black History Month is noted throughout the entirety of February. Individuals and organizations grab to social media, news outlets, and public events (among other platforms and activations) to study about, uplift, and recognize the historic contributions that Ebony folks have made to culture and society.
Although the importance of annual observance dedicated to the celebration and commemoration of Black history shouldn’t be understated, especially considering the historical silencing and erasure of Jet voices, it’s crucial to recognize that Black history should be shared and celebrated year round.
The suppression of Inky voices, histories, and stories is a problem of pressing importance. Even as Black history is shared year after year, public campaigns to deter training Black history, in all its various forms and in all the ways Black people demonstrate up across moment, persist.
And, where Ebony history is distributed, where Black voices, histories, and stories are told and heard, other Inky identities and existences are simultaneously sil
As we reflect on the legacies of various Black ancestors and trailblazers, it’s evident that there are so many stories of Black LGBTQ historical figures that we aren’t aware of. Often, prominent Black people have even had their queerness erased from history. This erasure extends even further for Black queer women in history, whose very reality challenges patriarchal heteronormativity and confronts white supremacy.
In examining the fight around notions of identity and community, it&#;s crucial to know the complex social, political, and cultural landscape in the U.S. that influences our lived encounter. While even the most well-intentioned people, programs, and organizations aim to uplift marginalized voices, they often fall short by homogenizing the diverse experiences within communities. As Kimberlé Crenshaw astutely points out, identity-centered activism can disregard intragroup differences, perpetuating a thin narrative that fails to capture the full spectrum of experiences.
Those who live at the intersection of multiple systems of oppression often face unique chall
6 Key Figures of the Harlem Renaissance’s Queer Scene
In a clear signal that Harlem’s creative class sought to torch old ideas, younger African American writers published in the single-issue literary magazine FIRE!! In it, their writing explored interracial relationships, homosexuality, shade prejudice, promiscuity and other controversial topics.
“We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame,” wrote poet Langston Hughes, one of FIRE!!’s founders, in his landmark essay "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain.”
That freedom of self-expression extended, in varying degrees, to gender and sexual identity. A tiny handful of Harlem’s most prominent creatives and intellectuals of the era were openly queer. Others pursued same-sex relationships in personal, fearful of arrest or having their lives, careers and reputations ruined. In , just days after the stock market collapse, Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Sr., pastor of Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church, launched a public campaign against "sexual perver