The Founr of Harlem’s First Black-Owned Gay Bar On Savg Queer Spac | Complex

Contents:

• HARLEM’S BLACK, GAY BARS ARE THRIVG THE MIDDLE OF A PANMIC
• THE 30 BT GAY BARS NYC
• NYC: MARRIED COUPLE OPENS 'LAMBDA LOUNGE,' SEND GAY BAR IN HARLEM CREATED FOR BLACK LGBTQ PATRONS
• GAY NEW YORK CY
• THE FOUNR OF HARLEM’S FIRST BLACK-OWNED GAY BAR ON SAVG QUEER SPAC

HARLEM’S BLACK, GAY BARS ARE THRIVG THE MIDDLE OF A PANMIC

“What I love about Black people, there’s a rilience , and if you’re Black and gay, ’s even stronger, ” he explaed. At plac like Alibi, they n feel at down the street om Alibi — a quick, five-mute walk so close that hoppg a r would feel like a waste of gas — is Lambda Lounge, the neighborhood’s only other Black-owned gay bar. “I really wanted the Black muny to have good optns, to not only have to go to Chelsea for a gay bar.

We have a lol gay bar!

”Though the gradual shift om summer’s warmth to wter’s chill has put an end to that specific sense of outdoor mararie, Alibi and Lambda still offer a wele change of pace om the gay bars of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. Not only are Mko, Hugh, and Solomon an spiratn for lnchg succsful bs as out and proud Black gay men, but what they’ve created — a safe space for queer people a neighborhood not typilly known for embracg s LGBTQ+ populatn — has life-changg agre.

THE 30 BT GAY BARS NYC

I jt knew that if Alibi had closed down, was gog to be the same script, the same story: Oh, another gay, Black bs nnot survive. "While we’ll never know whether Lambda would have opened if Alibi had shut down, we do know that havg two gay, Black-owned bs is always better than one.

“I feel honored to be a part of our queer history, ” Hugh said when asked about this new gayborhood. (Imag via Instagram) In an era where gay bars appear to be a relic of the past, and Black owned gay bars are all but extct most major ci, the Black LGBTQ muny New York Cy will now have two nightlife optns created specifilly wh our muny md.

NYC: MARRIED COUPLE OPENS 'LAMBDA LOUNGE,' SEND GAY BAR IN HARLEM CREATED FOR BLACK LGBTQ PATRONS

Alibi, a Black gay bar loted Harlem, was saved om closure last month by crowdfundg. Unfortunately, we never had the opportuny to ga any 've been bearg the st of gettg the place, then gettg the place renovated and drsg up the way we wanted to drs up — and you know we're gay, so we tend to be a ltle extravagant. So we created three sectns outsi of the lotns wh lounge uch, all the tabl are LED and we provi gam like Jenga to keep an entertament are now the send existg Black-owned gay nightlife space New York Cy; had you all worked wh Alexi Mko of Alibi?

New York Cy has a huge gay scene, and ’s arguably the most culturally signifint the world. After all, was at NYC’s Stonewall Inn where an outbreak of ristance agast opprsive police accelerated the gay rights movement to a cril pot. The days, most of the gay bars and clubs are centered around Hell's Kchen but you'll also fd gay scen Chelsea, Greenwich Village, and Brooklyn.

GAY NEW YORK CY

Alibi Lounge is one of New York Cy’s last remag Black-owned gay bars, and over the last year, s owner has fought to keep the bs afloat. That’s why, a show of solidary wh the LGBTQ muny, Macy’s tapped the betiful staff of Alibi Lounge, Harlem’s first Black-owned gay bar, to mol for a lookbook celebratg Macy’s and s ntributns to The Trevor Project* throughout Pri we all ntue to pick up the piec the wake of the panmic, lendg a hand of support to margalized muni is not only appreciated, ’s val to the survival of our cultural spac.

Bee the queer muny, the centers, gay bars, circu parti, and any other plac where we’re ved to gather full exprsn of ourselv, reprent more than jt their llg rds.

“And then, this is the bety of beg part of a muny, whatsoever, and our se, the gay muny; people around me who were iends, who had been ctomers, told me, ‘Absolutely not.

THE FOUNR OF HARLEM’S FIRST BLACK-OWNED GAY BAR ON SAVG QUEER SPAC

’” So, Mko got to work, buildg out an outdoor space and creatg to-go drk optns an effort to keep his pillar of the uptown gay muny open for bs.

And beg one of the only Black-owned gay bars Harlem, Alibi’s prence is pecially important–– offers queer people who live uptown visibily, muny space, and a home away om home that sav them a trip all the way to Chelsea or Hell’s Kchen. “For some of , me clud when I was younger, a gay bar was a safe place, ” Mko explas.

And gog to a gay bar was a kd of relief once a week, beg able to be myself 100 percent, to meet people that were like me. INC Men’s Pri Floral Short-Sleeve Shirt, Created for Macy’s | $50*Dog our part to support plac like Alibi is as simple as showg up and partyg wh the gays. Gay bars are the bt, bt, bt place town, everywhere around the untry and the world to go have fun.