Nicknamed “Diamond Calv,” he was the first Black man to w the Mr. Ameri ntt. As a gay man, he said, he also felt bigotry over his sexual orientatn.
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THE PROFSNAL ATHLETE WHO CAME OUT AS A GAY MAN— 1989
As a gay man, he said, he also felt bigotry over his sexual Lerhandler/Associated PrsChris Dickerson, who as the first Black man to w the Mr. Universe petn, was also gay, which was known bodybuildg circl but which he did not often publicly discs at the height of his reer. ”The paper’s thor, John Fair, then a historian at Geia College & State Universy, wrote: “Dickerson, who was short, Black and gay, was a diametril oppose to the kd of image Arnold reprented.
New York the 1970s, he moled nu for Jim French, a photographer who specialized gay eroti. Dickerson peted only sporadilly for the next 10 years and was a gut poser bodybuildg events, cludg The Natnal Lbian and Gay Bodybuildg Champnships 1990. While many may have ially assumed their aths were the rult of a homophobic hate crime, Malta Pri, a lol LGBTQ+ group, speculated the crime may have stead been "a botched hold up" and utned others to take a "wa and see" approach before "makg any rash nclns" regardg the crime.