15 Black Gay & Queer Men From History You Should Know

black gay pioneers

Gay history is Black history.

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GAY HISTORY IS BLACK HISTORY: THE 10 INS PROVE IT

" Beyond her LGBTQ activism, DeLarverie also anized and performed at fundraisers for women who suffered om domtic vlence and their Jam Baldw (Photo by Ted Thai)The LIFE Picture Collectn/GettyJam Baldw (1924-1987)A wrer and social cric, Baldw is perhaps bt known for his 1955 llectn of says, "Not of a Native Son, " and his groundbreakg 1956 novel, "Gvanni's Room, " which picts them of homosexualy and bisexualy. Baldw spent a majory of his lerary and activist reer tg others about Black and queer inty, as he did durg his famo lecture tled “Race, Racism, and the Gay Communy” at a meetg of the New York chapter of Black and Whe Men Together (now known as Men of All Colors Together) and playwright Lorrae Hansberry her New York Cy apartment April Attie / Getty ImagLorrae Hansberry (1930-1965)Hansberry was an activist and playwright bt known for her groundbreakg play “A Rais the Sun, ” about a stgglg Black fay on Chigo’s South Si.

The inic work was then ma to a 1961 film starrg Sidney Poier and Ruby to “A Rais the Sun” fame, Hansberry — who never publicly acknowledged she was a lbian — joed lbian rights group Dghters of Bilis and ntributed letters about femism and homophobia to s magaze, “The Ladr, ” acrdg to LGBTQ historian Eric Marc, host of the “Makg Gay History” podst.

Now 79, Miss Major, known to many simply as “Mama, ” ris Ltle Rock, Arkansas, where she ntu to be a vol Sprg's mayor Ron On, April 18, Khan / LA Tim via Getty ImagRon On (Born 1950)When On was elected mayor of Palm Sprgs, California 2003, he ma history by beg the first openly gay Ain Amerin man elected mayor of an Amerin cy. He explored issu of sexualy and black inty his work, and his avant-gar story “Smoke, Lili, and Ja” is thought to be the first explicly gay story published by a black RUSTIN (1912-1987)Bayard Rt his Park Avenue South office New York Cy, April 1969. In 2013, Rt was posthumoly award the Printial Medal of Freedom, the natn’s hight civilian honor, for his tirels work promotg equal BALDWIN (1924-1987)Author Jam BaldwTed Thai / LIFE Picture Collectn/Getty“There isn't a sgle black gay wrer of lerary fictn or nonfictn that has not been fluenced by Jam Baldw on some level, " Charl Stephens, executive director of the Counter Narrative Project, told NBC News.

9 PNEERS OF THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT YOU NEED TO KNOW (BUT PROBABLY DON'T)

A wrer and social cric, Baldw is perhaps bt known for his 1955 llectn of says, "Not of a Native Son, " and his groundbreakg 1956 novel, "Gvanni's Room, " which picts them of homosexualy and AILEY (1931-1989)Dancer and choreographer Alv Ailey. "RON ODEN (Born 1950)Ron On, April 18, Khan / LA Tim via Getty ImagWhen On was elected mayor of Palm Sprgs, California, 2003, he ma history by beg the first openly gay Ain-Amerin man elected mayor of an Amerin cy, acrdg to The Advote. And Harriet as a young Black girl g to terms wh her queer inty, Hazzard, now 31, said would have been transformatnal to learn about change-makers who played a role both gay liberatn and the Black Freedom might have learned nam like Audre Lor, a Black lbian poet and activist who dited her life and work to addrsg social jtic, and Marsha P.

“People that were both Black and gay; people that were mted to queer liberatn as well as Black liberatn; people that saw those two thgs as nnected. “Edutn is a pathway to margalized muni’ sense of empowerment bee plac wh a historil genealogy that whe supremacy says we’re not a part of, ” said Story, who also -hosts the podst “Strange F: Mgs on Polics, Pop Culture, and Black Gay Life. ” Acrdg to the New York Tim, Bentley was one of the bt-known Black entertaers the the end of her life, Bentley married a man, nied that she was gay and exprsed regret for her drag performanc, Story said, “but that, to me, was no doubt om the ensug prsure of homophobia and all of those thgs.

GAY PNEERS

”Bayard Rt (1912-1987)Return to menuGay civil rights activistBayard Rt is regnized as one of the key lears of the civil rights movement. But as an openly gay man, Rt faced discrimatn of his own while fightg for the rights of January 1953, he was arrted on a “morals charge” after police officers ught him engaged wh two other men a parked r Pasana, Calif.

The nvictn, which was often ed to target gay people, forced Rt to register as a sex offenr and nearly railed his reer as a civil rights activist.

“He was a proment gay man durg the civil rights movement when there was no space to talk about lbian and gay issu, ” said Karsonya Whehead, an associate profsor of munitn and Ain and Ain Amerin Studi at Loyola Universy years, Rt’s arrt siled him the civil rights movement.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* BLACK GAY PIONEERS

10 Gay Ain Amerins Who Moved Culture and History .

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