Queer Cafe

Amazing LGBTQ People Whose Groundbreaking Lives Helped Shape Black History
Gov Newsom Chooses Queer Democratic Activist Laphonza Butler to Fill Feinstein’s Senate Seat

Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts: First Same-Sex Couple on Cover of Essence Magazine

Byron Perkins, First Out Gay College Football Player in HBCU History

2023 Emmy Awards Come With a Historic Wave of Black Queer Firsts

Different Fight Same Goal: Black Freedom Movement Inspired Early Gay Activists

Black LGBTQ HIV+ Americans Still Face Constant Discrimination

To Overcome the Dangers Facing our Community, LGBTQ Leaders Must First Look Inward

Black Lives Matter: Street Mural in Washington DC

Kellen Stancil: Dance Performance at Stonewall Day 2020

Another BLM Street Mural: In Front of Trump Tower in NYC

Two Gay Black New Yorkers Running for US Congress

Country Music Responds: Dixie Chicks and Lady Antebellum Change Their Names

Black Voices

"No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us."

-Marsha P Johnson

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
-Dr Martin Luther King Jr

"When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty."
-Thomas Jefferson, US President

"When we see something that is not right, not fair, not just... we have a moral obligation to say something, do something, get in trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble."
-Congressman John Lewis, Civil Rights Icon

"It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have."
-James Baldwin

"We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers. When an individual is protesting society's refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him."
-Bayard Rustin, Civil Rights Activist with MLK

"We cannot give up. We cannot give out. We cannot give in."
-Congressman John Lewis, Civil Rights Icon

"Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard."
-Harvey Milk

Would Martin Luther King Jr Have Fought for LGBTQ Rights?

Jay-Z’s Mom Gloria Carter Marries Longtime Girlfriend

Karine Jean-Pierre: Gay Black White House Press Secretary
Why Juneteenth, Now a Federal Holiday, Is So Significant

Critical Race Theory: What it is and What it is Not

NBC: Pres Biden Signs Law Making Juneteenth National Holiday

Celebrating Juneteenth: Things to Think About

VP Mike Pence Cannot Say: Black Lives Matter

Thousands Gather for BLM and LGBTQ Pride March

CNN Commentator: Hard Being Black in America

Black Lives Matter: Peaceful Demonstrations

Black Lives Matter Foundation Wins Human Rights Prize

The Love: Black Eyed Peas, Jennifer Hudson, Joe Biden

BLM and Pride 2020: Still We

155th Anniversary of Juneteenth

Black Lives Matter

"Black people! I love you! I love us! Our lives matter! Black lives matter!"

-Alicia Garza, Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter Movement, Creator of BLM Slogan

There is an identification of a shared struggle between the African-American and LGBTQ communities. The recent rash of killings of black people parallels the recent rash of killings of transgender people. The injustice experienced by the black community mirrors the injustice experienced by the LGBTQ community. Alicia Garza, one of the founders of the BLM movement, is a queer woman of color who understands discrimination as a black person and as a queer person. It was Alicia who coined the "Black Lives Matter" slogan. There is a real sense of solidarity between the LGBTQ Pride movement and the Black Lives Matter movement.

When the Covid-19 pandemic began, most LGBTQ celebrations were canceled. But with protests across the world drawing attention to police brutality and the systemic racism facing the black community, many of the organizations behind Pride festivals are re-engaging their plans and pivoting to join the protest movement.

"We affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum. Our network centers those who have been marginalized within Black liberation movements. We are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise. We affirm our humanity, our contributions to this society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression. The call for Black lives to matter is a rallying cry for ALL Black lives striving for liberation."

-Black Lives Matter

A Hug From John Lewis

John Lewis: Wake Up America

Inspiring Legacy: Congressman John Lewis

Rep. John Lewis: Emory Commencement Address 2014

Patrisse Cullorss, BLM Co-Founder: Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice

Alicia Garza, BLM Co-Founder: Bringing Black Queer Folks to the Polls

In Lieu of Pride Parade: Thousands Attend Vigil for Black Trans Lives

Thousands Demonstrate in NYC: Support Black Trans Lives

Protest Led by LGBTQ Support for Black Lives Matter

Bayard Rustin: Martin Luther King’s Views on Gay People

Black Lives Matter: LGBTQ Roundtable

Inspiring Legacy: Congressman John Lewis

Civil Rights Icon John Lewis Passes Away at 80

Increasing Connection Between LGBTQ Community and Black Lives Matter

Laverne Cox on Black Transgender Lives

Andrea Jenkins of Minneapolis City Council: Speaking About George Floyd

Black Gay Journalist, Keith Boykin, Arrested at George Floyd Protest

LGBTQ Pride Festivals Become Black Lives Matter Protests

Martin Luther King and the LGBTQ Community

What does Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. mean to the LGBTQ community?

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holds a significant and enduring place in history for his pivotal role in the American Civil Rights Movement, advocating for racial equality and justice. While his primary focus was on racial issues, his legacy extends beyond that, resonating with various marginalized communities, including the LGBTQ community.

Dr. King's philosophy and principles centered around the idea of equality, justice, and the inherent dignity of all individuals. His famous "I Have a Dream" speech outlined a vision where people would be judged by their character rather than the color of their skin. This message of inclusivity and equal treatment transcends racial boundaries and aligns with the struggles faced by the LGBTQ community.

The LGBTQ community, like other marginalized groups, has fought for equal rights and recognition. Dr. King's teachings, emphasizing the importance of justice and fairness for all, become a source of inspiration for those advocating LGBTQ rights. The principles he championed create a framework that supports the broader concept of human rights, acknowledging the struggles faced by various communities.

Op-Ed: Would Martin Luther King Jr Have Fought for LGBTQ Rights?

Chicks Sing March March on Stephen Colbert Show

Bayard Rustin: Martin Luther King’s Views on Gay People

Merging of Two Movements: LGBTQ Pride and Black Lives Matter

About the Black Lives Matter Movement

Amazing LGBTQ People Whose Groundbreaking Lives Helped Shape Black History

Black Lives Matter: Around the World

Sam Cooke: A Change is Gonna Come

Furthermore, Dr. King's commitment to nonviolent resistance has been a guiding light for many movements, including those advocating for LGBTQ rights. The idea of peaceful protest and civil disobedience as powerful tools for social change has been adopted by activists within the LGBTQ community, mirroring the strategies employed during the Civil Rights Movement.

It's important to note that Dr. King did not explicitly address LGBTQ issues during his lifetime, as the specific struggles faced by the LGBTQ community gained prominence in the years following his death. However, the overarching principles he advocated – equality, justice, and the rejection of discrimination – provide a moral and philosophical foundation for the ongoing fight for LGBTQ rights.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. serves as a symbol of hope, inspiration, and a model for advocacy not only for racial justice but also for the broader pursuit of equal rights and recognition for all marginalized communities, including the LGBTQ community. His teachings continue to resonate and influence those striving for a society that upholds the principles of equality, justice, and dignity for every individual.

When Black Lives Matter Meets LGBTQ Pride

American Black Film Festival Highlights LGBTQ Storytelling
Black and LGBTQ: Approaching Intersectional Conversations

Tyler Perry: Black Lives Matter Hero

Remembering George Floyd

Black Lives Matter: Painted on DC Street Leading to the White House

Actor Justice Smith Comes Out: Supports BLM and QPOC

Being Black is Not a Crime

International Demonstrations: BLM Goes Global

Black Lives Matter: Peaceful Demonstrations

Black LGBTQ Celebrities

Audre Lorde - Essayist, Poet
James Baldwin - Novelist, Playwright
Angela Davis - Activist, Scholar, Author
Sylvester - Disco Music Artist
Michael Sam - Football Player
Josephine Baker - Singer, Dancer, Actor
Don Lemon - Journalist
Alphonso David - Lawyer, Activist
Lori Lightfoot - Mayor of Chicago
Benjamin Banneker - Mathematician
Alice Walker - Novelist, Poet
Langston Hughes - Writer
Billy Preston - R&B Musician
Keith Green - Activist
Larnzell Martin - Judge
LZ Granderson - Journalist
Bell Hooks - Writer
Billie Holiday - Jazz Singer
Glenn Burke - Baseball Player

Bayard Rustin - Civil Rights Organizer, Advisor to MLK
George Bellinger Jr - AIDS Activist
Alicia Garza - Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter
John Holiday - Opera Singer
Lorraine Hansberry - Author of "Raisin in the Sun"
Karine Jean-Pierre - White House Press Secretary
Samantha Irby - Author
Emile Griffith - World Champion Boxer
Leslie Herod - Politician
Ma Rainey - Blues Singer
Patrisse Cullors - Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter
Kehinde Wiley - Artist
Carl Bean - Archbishop
Randall Kenan - Author
Bill T Jones - Dancer, Choreographer
Carl Phillips - Poet
Charles Montorio-Archer - Business Executive
Michael Twitty - Chef
Laphonza Butler - First Black LGBTQ Person in US Senate

Laphonza Butler: California's New, History-Making US Senator

When Black Lives Matter Meets LGBTQ Pride

Cat Ndivisi: We Need to Talk

Solidarity: Los Angeles Pride Supports Black Lives Matter

Queer Black Actors Speak Up for Queer Black Lives Matter

James Baldwin: Heartfelt Plea for Racial Justice and Equality

Janelle Monae: CBS Sunday Morning Interview

PBS Video: Black Trans Woman's Journey

Black Gay Comedian: Sampson McCormick

Television Shows With Excellent Black LGBTQ Characters

Gospel Music Would Be Nothing Without Black Queer and Trans Artists

Janet Mock - Magazine Editor
Sheryl Swoopes - Basketball Player
Alvin Ailey - Dancer, Choreographer
Pat Parker - Poet
Darnell Moore - Writer, Activist
Barbara Jordan - Politician
Janelle Monae - Singer, Actor
Billy Strayhorn - Musician
Wanda Sykes - Comedian, Actor
Ru Paul - Drag Queen, TV Personality
Frank Ocean - Rapper
Glenn Burke - Baseball Player
Indya Moore - TV Actor, Model
André Leon Talley - Fashion Icon, Editor
Cynthia Erivo - Actor, Singer, Songwriter

Langston Hughes - Poet, Novelist, Playwright
Raven Symone - TV Actor
Maya Hayes - Soccer Player
Alberta Hunter - Blues Singer
Anita Cornwell - Author
Todrick Hall - Singer, Dancer
Lee Daniels - Movie Producer, Director, Writer
Lena Waithe - Actor, Producer, Screenwriter
Domo Wilson - Hip Hop Artist
Peter J Gomes - Theologian
David Kato Kisule - Teacher, Human Rights Activist
Luther Vandross - Singer, Songwriter
Ellis B Hazlip - TV Producer
Chris Dickerson - Body Builder
Jerrod Carmichael - Comedian

TV Shows With Excellent Black LGBTQ Characters
Gay Black Poet Jericho Brown: Americans Don't See Black People as Human

TED Talk: Root of Racial Injustice

About the Black Lives Matter Movement

Black Gay and Queer Men From History You Should Know

Black Lesbians and Bi Women From History You Need to Know
When Black Lives Matter Meets LGBTQ Pride

James Baldwin: Heartfelt Plea for Racial Justice and Equality

Black Lives Matter: Street Mural Demonstration

When Black Lives Matter Meets LGBTQ Pride

NPR: Decade of Watching Black People Die

Amazing LGBTQ People Whose Groundbreaking Lives Helped Shape Black History

Lendale Johnson - Tennis Player
Michael Arceneaux - Author
Robin Roberts - Newscaster
Bessie Smith - Blues Singer
Joseph Beam - Writer
Essex Hemphill - Artist, Cultural Activist
Lil Nas X - Country Music Rapper
Clark Accord - Novelist, Journalist
Horace Griffin - Minister
Jason Collins - Basketball Player
Doug Spearman - Actor
Johnny Mathis - Pop Singer
Howard Rollins - Actor
Azealia Banks - Rapper
Gladys Bentley - Singer
Russell Thomas - Opera Singer
Jo-Ná A. Williams - Lawyer

Nikki Giovanni - Poet, Writer
Alice Dunbar Nelson - Journalist, Activist
Paul Winfield - Actor (Portrayed MLK)
Jackie Walker - All-American Football Linebacker
Paris Barclay - TV Producer, Director, Writer
Tarek Ali - YouTuber
Meshell Ndegeocello - Musician
Angel Haze - Rapper
E Lynn Harris - Novelist, Educator
Keith Boykin - Broadcaster, Commentator, Author
Alain LeRoy Locke - Philosopher, Writer, Educator
Cary Alan Johnson - Activist
John Amaeche - Basketball Player
Colman Domingo - Actor
Byron Perkins - First Out Gay HBCU Football Player
Davante Lewis - First Out State Official in Louisiana
Mo'Nique - Comedian, Actor

For What It's Worth: Billy Porter

Merging of Two Movements: LGBTQ Pride and Black Lives Matter

Black Gay and Queer Men From History You Should Know

Television Shows With Excellent Black LGBTQ Characters

Take a Knee: Sports is Back With Sideline Protests

Remembering Civil Rights Icon Congressman John Lewis

March March: Protest Song by The Chicks

James Baldwin: Never-Aired Interview & Profile (ABC TV 1979)
Bayard Rustin: Martin Luther King’s Views on Gay People

Ncuti Gatwa - Actor (Dr. Who)

Phill Wilson - AIDS Activist

Da Brat - Rapper

Kellen Stancil - Dancer, Choreographer

Nell Carter - Singer, Actor

June Jordan - Writer

Alan Rogers - Military Officer

Laverne Cox - Actor

Julius Eastman - Composer

Derrick Gordon - Basketball Player

Nadine Smith - Activist

Jonathan Burke - Broadway Actor

Jericho Brown - Poet

Niecy Nash - Actor

Ncuti Gatwa - TV Actor

B Scott - TV Host and Producer (BET)

Craig Washington - Activist

Moms Mabley - Comedian

Wilson Cruz - Actor

Wayne Brady - Comedian

Giselle Byrd - Director of Theatre Company

Andrea Jenkins - Poet, Historian, Politician

Isaac Julien - Photographer, Artist, Filmmaker

JL King - Author
Aaryn Lang - Media Personality, Trans Activist

Michael James Scott - Broadway Actor (Aladdin)
Zachary Jones - Bishop

Countee Cullen - Poet

Franqi French - Comedian

Deon Kevin Johnson - Bishop

Shea Diamond - Soul Singer, Trans Activist

Darren Walker - President of Ford Foundation

Ron Oden - Politician

Jonathan Capehart - Pulitzer Prize Winning Writer, Washington Post

Television Shows With Excellent Black LGBTQ Characters

Gavin Newsom Chooses Laphonza Butler to Fill Dianne Feinstein's Senate Seat

GLAAD: Honoring Black LGBTQ Icons

Advocate: Black LGBTQ Pioneers

Huff Post: Prominent Black LGBTQ Icons

Black Gay and Queer Men From History You Should Know

List: LGBTQ African Americans

Ranker: LGBTQ Black Hollywood Celebrities

Remembering Civil Rights Icon Congressman John Lewis

Black Queer Bops

Here is a playlist of certified bops by Black queer artists, compiled by Diva Magazine...

Champagne Shit - Janelle Monáe
Sugar Mama - Dua Saleh
La Vita - Beverly Glenn-Copeland
Live More and Love More - Cat Burns
Eugene - Arlo Parks
Dance Alone - Tayla Parx
Brighter Days - Emeli Sandé
Time Machine - Willow
Bongos - Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion
Girl - The Internet, Kaytranada
Fast Car - Syd
Valentine - Hope Tala
Zero - Liniker e os Caramelows
Honey - Kehlani
Talkin' Bout a Revolution - Tracy Chapman
Pink + White - Frank Ocean
That's what I Want - Lil Nas X
Something To Say - Michaela Jaé
Sugar Honey Iced Tea (S.H.I.T.) - Princess Nokia
Never Wanna Fall - Talia Goddess
Miserable America - Kevin Abstract

Congressman John Lewis Talks About Civil Rights Movement

Civil Rights Leader Rep. John Lewis: Tribute

Violent Crimes Against Trans People and Black People

To Overcome the Dangers Facing our Community, LGBTQ Leaders Must First Look Inward

James Baldwin: Never-Aired Interview and Profile (ABC TV 1979)

Wanda Sykes: Black Lives Matter, Quarantine, Current Events, More

Intersectionality: Insights From a Queer Man of Color

COVID 19 Impact: Serve Economic Hardships for LGBTQ People of Color

Putting Intersectionality Into Practice

Black Lives Matter Founders: Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi

Racism Tipping Point: Insights from Alicia Garza and Rev William Barber

Black and Gay Struggle

George Floyd... Breonna Taylor... Ahmaud Arbery... Iyanna Dior...

Eric Garner... Michael Brown... Trayvon Martin... Tamir Rice...

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

-Barack Obama

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

"The trans people of color are the ones who started the Stonewall rebellion. Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. Do you want to know what they faced? Paying your dues with hair, teeth, skin and bones. That's how people got to this point here today. It didn't come easy."
-Renee Imperato

"There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives."

-Audre Lorde

"Would you ask me how I’d dare to compare the civil rights struggle with the struggle for lesbian and gay rights? I can compare them, and I do compare them. I know what it means to be called a nigger. I know what it means to be called a faggot. And I can sum up the difference in one word: None."

-Melvin Boozer

"I fought too long and too hard to end discrimination based on race and color, to not stand up against discrimination against our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. Human rights, civil rights, these are issues of dignity. Every human being walking this Earth, whether gay, lesbian, straight, or transgender, is entitled to the same rights. It is in keeping with America’s promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

-John Lewis, US Congressman

Billy Porter on BET Awards 2022
Message for Black LGBTQ Youth
Queer Black Feminist Writer Bell Hooks Dies at 69
Being Black and Queer in America Today

50 Years of Change: BLM and the LGBTQ Pride Movement

LA Pride Revived as Black Lives Matter Solidarity March

Why Pride 2020 is All About Black Lives Matter

Solidarity: Los Angeles Pride Supports Black Lives Matter

Dr Cornel West: Future of America Depends on Our Response

Blackish: Dre's Most Profound Speech

Words Matter When Talking About Race and Unrest

International Demonstrations: BLM Goes Global

Roundtable: What Does Justice Mean in 2020?

How to Support Black-Owned Small Businesses

Black Gay and Queer Men From History You Should Know
Juneteenth Flag is Full of Symbols: Here’s What They Mean

Queer African-American activists who were courageous pioneers in the struggle for equal rights for black people and LGBTQ people include such champions as June Jordan, Pat Parker, Melvin Boozer, Assotto Saint, Audre Lorde, Joseph Beam, Barbara Smith, and Marsha P. Johnson

The intersectionality of race and and sexual identity in the current struggle for justice and equality reminds us that no person can be defined simply by their skin color or their ethnicity or their sexual orientation or their gender identity. The overlap of experiences invites us to recognize how much we all have in common. It's not just about black people and LGBTQ people fighting their separate battles, or even about the two communities coming together. It's about black gay men, black lesbians, black bisexuals, black transgender people, and queer people of color fighting a battle that converges within their own soul.

John Lewis: Wake Up America

Civil Rights Leader Rep. John Lewis: Tribute

Remembering Civil Rights Icon Congressman John Lewis

To Overcome the Dangers Facing our Community, LGBTQ Leaders Must First Look Inward

Trey Songz: How Many Times

Juneteenth Flag is Full of Symbols: Here’s What They Mean

Trevor Noah: The Dominoes of Racial Injustice

LGBTQ Organizations Stand in Solidarity With Black Lives Matter

Jide Zeitlin: Black CEO Talks About Diversity and Inclusion

TED Talk: 50 Years of Racism and Why Silence is Not the Answer

Thousands Gather for BLM and LGBTQ Pride March

Roundtable: Imagining Tomorrow in America

Fabulous Photos: Harlem's Queer Juneteenth Jubilee

Queer Black Pioneers Who Made History

Juneteenth Flag is Full of Symbols: Here’s What They Mean

ACLU: Demand Justice Now

James Baldwin: 1965 Speech on Race Relations in America

Queer Roots of Black Lives Matter

Breonna Taylor: Black Women's Lives Matter Too

Merging of Two Movements: LGBTQ Pride and Black Lives Matter

Marques Brownlee: Reflecting on the Color of My Skin

James Baldwin: Never-Aired Interview and Profile (ABC TV 1979)

CBS News: The List Keeps Growing

World According to James Baldwin

Bayard Rustin: Martin Luther King’s Views on Gay People

COVID 19 Impact: Serve Economic Hardships for LGBTQ People of Color

The Look: Let's Talk About Bias

Juneteenth: June 19, 1865

Black Independence Day | Emancipation Day | Freedom Day | Jubilee Day

General Order No. 3: All Slaves Are Free
Marks the true end of chattel slavery across the United States, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation

Juneteenth: History and Information

Juneteenth Flag is Full of Symbols: Here’s What They Mean
Why Juneteenth, Now a Federal Holiday, Is So Significant

Celebrating Juneteenth: Things to Think About

PBS: What is Juneteenth

Advocate: Why Juneteenth is so Significant

History: Juneteenth

CNN: Juneteenth Becomes a Federal Holiday

NBC: Pres Biden Signs Law Making Juneteenth National Holiday

AP: Biden Declares Juneteenth as Federal Holiday

ABC: Biden Signs Bill Making Juneteenth a Federal Holiday

Language of the Unheard

"A riot is the language of the unheard."
-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

"Without community, there is no liberation."

-Audre Lorde

"I am a person who is unhappy with things as they stand. We cannot accept the world as it is. Each day we should wake up foaming at the mouth because of the injustice of things."
Hugo Claus

"In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers, we are not simply protecting their trivial old age, we are thereby ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations."
-Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor. It must be demanded by the oppressed."

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

Pride 2020: Still We

John Legend: Redemption Song

Juneteenth Flag is Full of Symbols: Here’s What They Mean

Black Lives Matter: Peaceful Demonstrations

LGBTQ Pride Festivals Become Black Lives Matter Protests

Remembering George Floyd

Op-Ed: Would Martin Luther King Jr Have Fought for LGBTQ Rights?

Black Gay and Queer Men From History You Should Know

Black Lives Matter: Painted on DC Street Leading to the White House

BLM isn't Enough if Black Trans People Aren't Safe

Jessica: Black LGBTQ People You Should Know

Black Ivy League Students: Why Black Lives Matter

Charlotte Police Officer Does the Right Thing

Queer Blackathon: Black LGBTQ Book Recommendations

"Black Americans are two-and-a-half times as likely as white Americans to be killed by police officers."

-Statistic

"The ultimate measure of a person is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

"There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice."
-Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de la Brède et de Montesquieu

"Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

-Robert F. Kennedy

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that."

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

"Don't be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered."
-Michelle Obama

What Does it Mean to Be Queer and Black in America Today?

Queer Black Pioneers Who Made History

Juneteenth Flag is Full of Symbols: Here’s What They Mean

Lee Gray Creates His Own Space: Being Black and Gay

Black History Month: Days of Queer Excellence

Michael Arceneaux: I Can't Date Jesus

Amazing LGBTQ People Whose Groundbreaking Lives Helped Shape Black History

Lena Waithe: Gay Black Girls Rock

Kehinde Wiley: Painter of President Obama Official Portrait

CNN: Civil Rights Leader Bayard Rustin Pardoned After 67 Years

Video: Black Gay Men Attending Homophobic Churches

Black Gay and Queer Men From History You Should Know

Remembering Civil Rights Icon Congressman John Lewis

Superstar Tenor Russell Thomas on Being a Black Queer Man in Opera

MAP: Talking About LGBTQ Equality With African Americans

Black Gay Christians Speak Out

Merging of Two Movements: LGBTQ Pride and Black Lives Matter

Essence: Liberated and Loved

Tarek Ali: The Truth of a Gay Black Man

To Overcome the Dangers Facing our Community, LGBTQ Leaders Must First Look Inward

Holler If You Hear Me: Black and Gay in the Church
Bayard Rustin: Martin Luther King’s Views on Gay People

Angela Davis: Radical Self Care

Black History Month

“Won’t it be wonderful when black history and Native American history and Jewish history and all of US history is taught from one book. Just US history.”

-Maya Angelou

Black History Month honors the contributions of African Americans to US history. Among prominent figures are Madam CJ Walker, who was the first US woman to become a self-made millionaire; George Washington Carver, who derived nearly 300 products from the peanut; Rosa Parks, who sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and galvanized the civil rights movement; and Shirley Chisholm, who was the first African American woman elected to the US House of Representatives. Black History Month, also known as African-American History Month, is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in US history.

“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.”
-Dr. Mae Jemison, first African-American female astronaut

“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality…. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

The celebration was expanded to a month in 1976, the nation's bicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” That year, fifty years after the first celebration, the association held the first African American History Month. By this time, the entire nation had come to recognize the importance of Black history in the drama of the American story. Since then each American president has issued African American History Month proclamations. And the association—now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)—continues to promote the study of Black history all year.

Black History Month Facts

TV Shows With Excellent Black LGBTQ Characters

Black Gay and Queer Men From History You Should Know

Amazing LGBTQ People Whose Groundbreaking Lives Helped Shape Black History

Parade: Inspiring Black History Month Quotes

Essential Queer Black Films

Black Gay Man Davante Lewis Is First Out State Official in Louisiana
Queer Black Pioneers Who Made History

Pride: Inspiring Queer Black Heroes

Television Shows With Excellent Black LGBTQ Characters

“The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.”
-W.E.B. Du Bois

“In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.”
-Thurgood Marshall, first African American U.S. Supreme Court member

The celebration of Black History Month began as “Negro History Week,” which was created in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, a noted African American historian, scholar, educator and publisher. It became a month-long celebration in 1976. The month of February was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

On February 12, 2019, the NAACP marked its 110th anniversary. Spurred by growing racial violence in the early 20th century, and particularly by 1908 race riots in Springfield, Illinois, a group of African American leaders joined together to form a new permanent civil rights organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). February 12, 1909, was chosen because it was the centennial anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.

“One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique identities of each of us as complex human beings.”

-Franklin Thomas, activist, philanthropist, and former president of the Ford Foundation

“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”
-Desmond Tutu

While Rosa Parks is credited with helping to spark the civil rights movement when she refused to give up her public bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955—inspiring the Montgomery Bus Boycott—the lesser-known Claudette Colvin was arrested nine months prior for not giving up her bus seat to white passengers.

PBS: Little Known Black History Facts
Video: Black LGBTQ People You Should Know

ABC News: Importance of Black History Month Year Round

Interesting Black History Facts
Must-See Documentary Films Celebrating Iconic Black LGBTQ Historical Figures
Slideshow: Black LGBTQ People in History

Black Gay and Queer Men From History You Should Know

Oprah: Black History Facts

Gospel Music Would Be Nothing Without Black Queer and Trans Artists

Background and Info: Black History Month

Syd and Mike: Blackaroni and Cheese (The Intervention)

Black Queer Films To Watch This Black History Month
Feminista Jones: Black Feminism

Karine Jean-Pierre: White House Press Secretary is a Gay Black Woman

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Oct 11 2022 shared her own story of coming out in recognition of National Coming Out Day, urging other Americans not to feel discouraged.

“Like so many in the LGBTQ community, coming out wasn’t an easy thing to do. My family was traditional and conservative. Being gay in my family wasn’t something that you mentioned out loud or celebrated,” Jean-Pierre said at the start of the White House press briefing.

Karine Jean-Pierre: White House Press Secretary is a Gay Black Woman

Karine Jean-Pierre Reflects on Coming Out as Gay: Wasn't an Easy Thing
Karine Jean-Pierre: Wikipedia

“But my family, like many families, grew to accept who I was. Who I loved didn’t change who I was as a person. It didn’t change the things I liked to do, and it didn’t change the goals I had for my life,” she continued. “The beauty of America is its freedom and the promise that you can do anything you want regardless of your race, sex, country of origin, sexual orientation or gender identity.” Jean-Pierre expressed her appreciation for President Biden and first lady Jill Biden for being supportive of the LGBTQ community.

Jean-Pierre is the first openly gay woman and the first Black woman to serve as White House press secretary. She took over the role in May for Jen Psaki.

Oct 11 marked National Coming Out Day, which was started more than 30 years ago in support of members of the LGBTQ community who have come out about their sexual orientation or who are struggling with the process of coming out. “I celebrate our LGBTQI community this National Coming Out Day. Never doubt that you are loved and appreciated for being exactly who you are,” Vice President Harris tweeted.

[Brett Samuels, the Hill, Oct 2022]

Queer Black Trailblazers

James Baldwin: Explaining the Riots of 1968

First Openly Gay HBCU Football Player Byron Perkins Reveals New Boyfriend

Dr Cornel West on Racial Justice: Anderson Cooper Moved to Tears

Performative Allyship: Supporting Black-Owned Businesses

Trevor Noah: Protests Sweep Across America

LGBTQ Allies and Advocates Raise Funds for Black Trans Lives

Dr Anthony Fauci: Inequities and Disparities in Healthcare

Justice Smith: Queer Black Lives Matter Too

Racial Beginners

TV Shows With Excellent Black LGBTQ Characters

Queer People Of Color From History You Should Definitely Know About
Superstar Tenor Russell Thomas on Being a Black Queer Man in Opera

All LGBTQ People Should Stand in Solidarity with Black Athletes

Black Trans Lives Matter Mural at Compton's Cafeteria Site

The Aunties: Preserving Harriet Tubman's Legacy

Meet Donna Dear and Paulette Greene

The forthcoming short film profiles the beloved couple, and shows how deep love can be a powerful tool to fight the climate crisis.

At a party celebrating the first day of 1974, Donna Dear, an Ohio-born military woman, met the educator Paulette Greene at her home in New York City. The connection was cosmic. Though both were in separate relationships at the time, they would soon find their way to each other, beginning a partnership that would take them overseas and across decades. After years in Asia, where Donna was stationed, the couple returned stateside, settling on Mt. Pleasant Acres Farms in Maryland, near where Paulette’s great-grandparents once lived. At the time, neither Donna nor Paulette, known to most simply as “the aunties,” knew their land held a potent history. A surge of research about twenty years ago revealed that the aunties’ farm sat on land where legendary abolitionist Harriet Tubman took members of her family out of enslavement. What’s more, a beautiful poplar tulip on the property was, in fact, The Witness Tree, a historic site where those escaping slavery would pray before their journey north.

"The Aunties" (Official Trailer)
Farmers Donna Dear and Paulette Greene Continue Harriet Tubman’s Legacy

Them Magazine: Interview with Donna Dear and Paulette Greene

Nearly fifty years since that brisk January afternoon, the couple are the subject of a forthcoming short film co-directed by their nieces, urban farmer, activist, and artist Jeannine Kayembe-Oro and artist and scholar Charlyn Griffith-Oro. Titled “The Aunties: From the North Star to the Poplar,” the short documentary traces the couple’s origin story, their relationship to Tubman’s legacy, and the ongoing work they do on the farm promoting climate justice in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay. “As Black queer and trans people, the archive of our stories is often so small. When we’re talking about environmental justice, it’s even smaller,” said Kayembe-Oro of the project, which was produced by the Center for Cultural Power with an all-Black, queer, and femme crew. “It was a great moment to bring the aunties’ story to the Center’s platform so that more LGBTQ folks can find in the aunties an answer to the question, what can my future look like.”

[Source: Wren Sanders, Them, Sept 2023]

GLAAD: Honoring Black LGBTQ Icons

Advocate: Black LGBTQ Pioneers

Huff Post: Prominent Black LGBTQ Icons

Black Gay and Queer Men From History You Should Know

List: LGBTQ African Americans

Ranker: LGBTQ Black Hollywood Celebrities

Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts Celebrate Making History as First Same-Sex Couple to Cover Essence
Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts Become First Same-Sex Couple To Grace Cover Of Essence
Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts: First Same-Sex Couple on Cover of Essence Magazine

Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts: First Same-Sex Couple on Cover of Essence Magazine

Niecy Nash and her wife, singer Jessica Betts, are making history. The duo were featured on the cover of the latest edition of Essence magazine, the first same-sex couple to do so. The award-winning actress and television host shared the cover of the magazine's March/April 2022 "Black Women in Hollywood" issue on social media, the couple embracing each other.

Essence has been an influence for African-American women since its first publication in May 1970. The monthly lifestyle magazine covers fashion, beauty, entertainment and culture. In a news release, the magazine described the issue featuring Nash and Betts as "honoring breakthrough moments of even more Black women in every area of their lives."

Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts in Historic Essence Cover

In the interview with Essence, the couple opened up about their love story and how their relationship blossomed into marriage. "The least of my attraction is gender," Nash told Essence." What I was and am still attracted to is Jessica's soul. She was the most beautiful soul I had ever met in my life. Now that I've experienced it, I can't imagine going through life without it," she said.

[Source: Jonathan Franklin, National Public Radio, February 2022]

Black and Gay in New Orleans in the 60s

The Truth About Homophobia in the Black Community

Cory and Davonta: How We Met

Black Love: Same Sex Couples' Quest for Marriage Equality

People of Color: Pioneers in Marriage Equality

TV Shows With Excellent Black LGBTQ Characters

Coming Out: Black Gay Broadway Star Jonathan Burke

James Baldwin: Explaining the Riots of 1968

Black Queer Films To Watch This Black History Month

Coming Out as LGBTQ and Black

For many black individuals, coming out involves additional cultural factors that make the process more challenging but no less rewarding. It includes having to deal with homophobic churches, strong family foundations that emphasize heterosexuality, homophobia in the black community, and racism in the broader LGBTQ community. Thanks to brave LGBTQ black activists and their allies there is more support and acceptance than ever before, but there still exist many prejudices and roadblocks for LGBTQ blacks.

Religion - The church has traditionally played a central role in guiding the day-to-day lives and beliefs of many black Americans. Some churches and individual parishioners have been unwelcoming to people with a different sexual orientation or gender identity. The stance of the many in the black community on homosexuality, either you don’t talk about it or you condemn it, has been historically dictated by the church. Over the past few decades, new churches have been established specifically to welcome and affirm LGBTQ people of color. Some long-established black churches also have made progress toward being more welcoming.

Family - The black family unit often functions as a haven and stronghold of support in a society where racism is still prevalent. Often, there is no place in this fortress of strength for a “weakness,” as homosexuality is often viewed. LGBTQ children are sometimes viewed as being detrimental and damaging to the black family and give a negative impression for the whole black community.

Society and Media - Within the LGBTQ community, many of the same prejudices that we see in the rest of society based on race, class, and ethnicity still exist, which create unique challenges black LGBTQ American trying to fit into the LGBTQ community. Many LGBTQ communities and organizations have been viewed as historically white and can be uncomfortable or unwelcoming for some black Americans. Black LGBTQ Americans have been virtually invisible in history and when they are depicted their sexual orientation is rarely mentioned. The media and entertainment world rarely show LGBTQ people as anything but white.

[Source: Coming Out for African Americans, Human Rights Campaign]

B. Scott on BET: First Trans Non-Binary Host and Producer

Students Explain: Being Queer, Black and Proud

Black LGBTQ People in History
Love the One You're With: Black Queer Men Fight for Love
LGBTQ African American Stories

TED Talk: African and Gay

Black Love: Queer Couples Share Their Definition

Famous Black Lesbians You Should Know

Short Film: Who I Am

Derrick Gordon: Black LGBTQ Basketball Player

Minority Leaders in LGBTQ Movement

Essential Queer Black Films

Benjamin Carlton: Gay Black Minister

Black Gay and Queer Men From History You Should Know

Chef Michael Twitty: Unites His Black and Jewish Heritage With Food

Stunning Photos: Queer Africans

Superstar Tenor Russell Thomas on Being a Black Queer Man in Opera

Info: Black Gay Drag Slang

How Many African Americans are LGBTQ?

Where Would MLK Have Stood on Marriage Equality?

Jasika Nicole: Being Biracial and Queer in Hollywood

Info: Down Low Culture

LGBTQ People of Color

The term QPOC (Queer People of Color) has begun making some traction in the LGBTQ African-American community and in other non-white LGBTQ circles. Another popular term being used is QBIPOC (Queer Black, Indigenous, People of Color).

Thirty-nine percent of LGBTQ adults identify as people of color, including 15 percent who identify as Latinx, 11 percent as Black, two percent as Asian Pacific Islander, and one percent as Native American. This is more diverse than the overall US adult population, which is 65 percent white. The higher representation of people of color in LGBTQ communities is in part related to age. With increasing acceptance of LGBTQ people, younger generations are more likely to be out as LGBTQ. Younger people are also more likely to be of color, which is the main reason that a large proportion of people of color identify as LGBTQ. From service provision to movement building, there is a need to respond and adapt to a new generation in the US that is more diverse than any previous generation in terms of race, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

At the intersection of two marginalized identities, LGBTQ people of color often face stark disparities:

--One in five youth in the juvenile justice system identify as LGBTQ, 85 percent of whom are people of color.
--LGBTQ people of color face high rates of unemployment: 15 percent of African American LGBTQ adults are unemployed, as are 14 percent of Latinx LGBTQ adults and 11 percent of API LGBTQ adults, compared to 8 percent unemployment for the general population.
--Gay and bisexual men of color continue to make up the majority of new HIV/AIDS infections in the US, with Black men accounting for 39 percent of 2014 HIV diagnoses among men who have sex with men, and Latinos accounting for 24 percent.

[Source: Funders for LGBTQ Issues]

Being an LGBTQ Person of Color

Funders for LGBTQ Issues: LGBTQ People of Color

LGBTQ People of Color: Double Discrimination

LGBTQ Spaces: Uncomfortable for Queer People of Color

Movement Advancement Project: LGBTQ People of Color

Brown Boi Project: Communities of Color Talk About Gender

LGBTQ People of Color Call Rural America Home

TV Shows With Excellent Black LGBTQ Characters

Bayard Rustin Posthumously Pardoned

As a civil rights leader and an advocate for justice, Bayard Rustin was no stranger to being behind bars. He was arrested for his anti-war efforts in opposition to World War II. He was arrested for protesting segregation laws in the Jim Crow-era South. But in 1953, he was arrested for reasons outside his activism — for having sex with men.

Rustin was jailed on a "morals charge." He was eventually convicted of misdemeanor vagrancy and was sentenced to 60 days in jail. The offense landed him on the sex offender list, cost him jobs and was used to delegitimize the civil rights movement by people like segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond, who read Rustin's arrest record on the Senate floor.

In February 2020, 67 years after that arrest and 33 years after his death, Rustin received a pardon from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. "Mr. Rustin was criminalized because of stigma, bias, and ignorance," Newsom said in the pardon. "With this act of executive clemency, I acknowledge the inherent injustice of this conviction, an injustice that was compounded by his political opponents' use of the record of this case to try to undermine him, his associates, and the civil rights movement."

Rustin's pardon is part of a new initiative from Newsom's office to grant clemency to people who were prosecuted in California for being gay, inspired by a push from leaders of the California Legislative Black Caucus and the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus. "In California and across the country, charges like vagrancy, loitering, and sodomy have been used to unjustly target lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people," according to a news release from Newson's office. "Law enforcement and prosecutors specifically targeted LGBTQ individuals, communities and community spaces for criminal prosecution. Now, as a proudly LGBTQ-allied state, California is turning the page on historic wrongs."

Rustin led and organized some of the most pivotal protests of the civil rights movement. Most famously, he was the mastermind behind the 1963 March on Washington. He was the main person who pushed the movement (and Martin Luther King) toward nonviolent ideas and tactics. Rustin traveled to India in 1948 to learn more about pacifist ideas and helped introduce those teachings to King. Following the success of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1956, Rustin became a close confidant and advisor of King. Rustin played a significant role in the formation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Though former President Barack Obama awarded Rustin the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013, he remains much less known when compared to his civil rights movement peers. Some academics argue this is due to the homophobia of the time.

[Source: CNN, February 2020]

Biography: Bayard Rustin, Advisor to Martin Luther King
Biographical Notes: Bayard Rustin

CNN: Civil Rights Leader Bayard Rustin Pardoned After 67 Years

PBS: Bayard Rustin, Designer of the March on Washington

Posthumous Pardon for Bayard Rustin

The Gay Man Black History Erased

Notes on LGBTQ African Americans

LGBTQ Developmental Tasks for African-American Students

"Those who stand outside the circle of this society’s definition of acceptable women, those of us who are poor, who are lesbian, who are Black, who are older – know that survival is not an academic skill. It is learning how to stand alone, unpopular and sometimes reviled, and how to make common cause with those others to define and seek a world in which we can all flourish. It is learning how to take our differences and make them strengths."
-Audre Lorde, 1984, Sister Outsider

"I hate being invisible. Being both Black and gay, I haven’t developed the courage to fight on two battlefields. So I’ve chosen one by default; the obvious one, the easy one, the Black one… As a gay person, I’ve feared losing the love of family, and facing the wrath of community. I’ve searched through an obscure history. Allies are gay friends also trying to remain invisible and straight friends sworn to keep my secret… While I openly share the beauty of my Black experience, insight gained from being gay is shared only when it’s safe. Black publications proudly announce their arrival, while gay publications arrive hidden in plain manila envelopes…When I’m hurt as a Black person I have an instant support network. When I’m hurt as a gay person, I’m left to lick my wounds until I find a safe place… I fear taking on another label and providing people with yet another reason to view me as a target. It’s difficult enough educating people to see Black people as multi-dimensional and not flat stereotypes. Why take on the added burden? I suffer as a result of this decision… Just as Black people need distance from the distorted image reflected by Whites, so too do we as gays need an environment in which to affirm ourselves…When people think, “gay” they see, “White.” When they think “Black” they fail to see “gay” …Our success in being invisible robs us of knowing ourselves and each other. It further robs us of being known on our own terms...Yet, the risk of being visible is one that too few of us is willing to take. Someday I’ll marshal the strength to fight on two battlefields. Until then I’ll choose the obvious one, continue to be invisible and hate it."
-Chuck, Blackstripe

These two excepts highlight the challenges gay African Americans must face. They have the task of dealing with the intersection of multiple identities (intertwined states of “otherness”): Sexual orientation, race, and gender (women). This can be a stressful and lonely journey. The challenge is in learning how to negotiate and manage these simultaneous states of social realities.

[Source: Dr. Angela D. Coker, University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Education]

HRC: Religion and Coming Out Issues for African Americans

Black Gay Christians Speak Out
Queer Black Man Talks to His Grandmother

Black Love: Queer Couples Share Their Definition

Michael Arceneaux: Gay, Black, and Beyonce Obsessed

Nobody by Jade Novah and Cynthia Erivo

What Does it Mean to Be Queer and Black in America Today?

Gospel Music Would Be Nothing Without Black Queer and Trans Artists

Essential Queer Black Films

Video: Black Gay Men Attending Homophobic Churches

Black Gay and Queer Men From History You Should Know

Beauty of Blackness

Chef Michael Twitty: Unites His Black and Jewish Heritage With Food

Raven-Simone: Don't Label Me Gay or African American

LGBTQ African American Stories

Video Talk: Black Gay Man Learns to Love Himself

Famous Black Lesbians You Should Know

Feminista Jones: Black Feminism

Trans Sistas of Color Project

How Many African Americans are LGBTQ?

According to one report, there is a growing number of individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer in the black community.

The study indicates there are more than one million African-American LGBTQ adults in the US. Of those individuals, 84,000 are in same-sex households with about 34 percent of couples raising children. These numbers come about a year after a Gallup report that found African-Americans make up the largest share of the LGBTQ community.

The report highlights some key findings, including the fact that 58 percent of African-American LGBTQ couples are female, and the economic challenges many LGBTQ African-Americans face.

For example, the report finds overall higher unemployment rates and lower proportions with a college degree among LGBTQ African-Americans, when compared to their non-LGBTQ counterparts. However, these disadvantages are not present among African-Americans in same-sex couples, with 25 percent having completed a college degree, compared to 22 percent of African-Americans in heterosexual couples. In addition, 71 percent of African-Americans in same-sex couples are employed compared to 68 percent of their heterosexual counterparts.

[Source: Huffington Post, Black Voices, October 2013]

MAP: Talking About LGBTQ Equality With African Americans

Black Love: Same Sex Couples' Quest for Marriage Equality

Channing-Studville

Queer POC: Realities of Being a Young Black Gay Man

Video Talk: Black Gay Man Learns to Love Himself

Her Story: The Lesbian and the Black Church

Lori Lightfoot: Black Lesbian Becomes Chicago Mayor

Chicago mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot trounced her opponent in April 2019 and made history. Lightfoot will be the only black lesbian mayor in the nation. And the first out mayor of one of America’s three largest cities.

“A Black lesbian taking power in the nation’s third-largest city is a historic moment for so many communities that are too often ignored in American politics,” said former Houston mayor Annise Parker. Parker, the President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund formerly held the record as the “highest ranking” out mayor. Houston is the nation’s fourth largest city.

LGBTQ Nation: Black Lesbian Becomes Chicago Mayor

USA Today: Chicago Makes History with First Gay, Black, Female Mayor

Chicago Tribune: Lori Lightfoot Breaks the Rules

“Chicago’s enormous influence on the national dialogue provides a platform for Lori to promote more inclusive solutions to the challenges facing our cities and nation – and to be a credible messenger as well,” Parker said. “Lori will certainly remain focused on the issues facing Chicago. But as the highest-ranking LGBTQ person ever elected mayor of an American city (a title she takes from me) she is also now a key leader in the movement to build LGBTQ political power nationwide.”

“As the first openly LGBTQ woman of color to be elected mayor in any of America’s 100 largest cities and the first black woman to serve as Mayor of Chicago, Lightfoot is an inspiration to thousands of LGBTQ people of color who have a new role model in elected office,” DNC chair Tom Perez said in an emailed statement.

“This historic win reaffirms that our diversity is our greatest strength, and that our elected leaders should reflect the diversity of the communities they represent. I look forward to working with Mayor-elect Lightfoot as she fights to build a brighter future for all. The people of Chicago will be well served with her leadership.”

Tarek Ali: The Truth of a Gay Black Man

How Can LGBTQ White People Be Better Allies to Black People

Tyler Perry: Speech Following George Floyd's Death

Growing Up Black and Gay in the South
Info: Discrimination, Prejudice, Bigotry

Cory and Davonta: How We Met

Coming Out: Black Gay Broadway Star Jonathan Burke

LGBTQ People of Color

LGBTQ Black College Students

African-American students in general are developing ethnic and racial identity. LGBTQ African-American students have an understanding that gayness is not a White phenomenon.

African-American college students in general interact with the dominant culture. LGBTQ African-American college students are dealing with homophobia from general society. What are the benefits or risks to “coming out?”.

African-American college students in general are developing cultural aesthetics and awareness. LGBTQ African-American college students are developing cultural aesthetics and awareness.

African-American college students in general are developing identity. LGBTQ African-American college students are asking themselves, "Who am I as a racialized homosexual being?" For men: trying to define Black manhood; For women: learning how to sort through issues of physical attractiveness. Must deal with racism, sexism, and homophobia. Have evolved outside of society’s definition of femininity

African-American college students in general are developing Interdependence. LGBTQ African-American college students ask themselves, "What will my family, friends, and community think? Will they disown me?" Social isolation and/or secrecy. Fear of being found out. Maintaining ties to family and community.

African-American college students in general are fulfilling affiliation needs. For LGBTQ African-American college students, much of one’s identity is constructed on the basis of community connection. Managing the coming out process and maintaining strong connection to group.

African-American college students in general are surviving intellectually. LGBTQ African-American college students are learning how to deal with stress of academia while trying to sort out one’s identity. What will my professor think? Will often travel to other cities for social outlets (this is time that could be used to study instead of spending several hours on the road to another city)

African-American college students in general are developing spiritually. LGBTQ African-American college students are maintaining connections with religious organizations. Fear of being ousted from their church. Wrestling with relationship with higher power.

African-American college students in general are developing social responsibility. LGBTQ African-American college students are dealing with the “coming out” process and recognizing the need to be role models for other African American LGBTQ persons, thereby reducing the invisibility.

Questions for Educators: In what ways can we make our classrooms/learning communities more inclusive and user-friendly for LGBTQ students? How often do we engage in self-reflection and an examination of our own values and biases with respect to race, gender, and homosexuality? How might our personal issues, comments, subtle message impede the educational process for students who are members of this group?

[Source: Angela D. Coker, PhD, LPC, NCC, University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Education. McEwen, M.K., Roper, L.D., Bryant, D.R., & Langa, M.J. (1990). Incorporating the development of African-American students into psychosocial theories of student development. Journal of College Student Development]

TED Talk: African and Gay

Black LGBTQ People in History

Video Interview: Black, Christian, Lesbian

Famous Black Lesbians You Should Know

The Truth About Homophobia in the Black Community

Chef Michael Twitty: Unites His Black and Jewish Heritage With Food

Black Queer Films To Watch This Black History Month

TED Talk: Misadventures of a Tired Gay Black Man

Moorehouse College Now Accepting Trans Men

MAP: Talking About LGBTQ Equality With African Americans

Kehinde Wiley: Black Gay Artist

Gospel Music Would Be Nothing Without Black Queer and Trans Artists

Beauty of Blackness

James Baldwin: Explaining the Riots of 1968

Lena Waithe: Gay Black Girls Rock

Lena Waithe, who is a gay black woman, is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is known for co-writing and acting in the Netflix series Master of None. Waithe made history at the 69th annual Primetime Emmy Awards when she won Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for her work on Master of None, becoming the first black woman to do so. The "Thanksgiving" episode for which she won the Emmy was partially based on her personal experience coming out to her mother. She is also the creator of the Showtime series The Chi. Here are some of Lena's recent eloquent remarks:

“Let’s get free of the idea that we can’t go after our dreams because of how we look, where we come from, who we love or how old we are. We all have gifts and we can either lock into those gifts or act like we don’t exist. You can’t live your dream if you don’t go after it.”

“Many queer kids, they don’t feel love. They don’t feel seen and they don’t feel heard. I don’t just want these kids to live, but I want them to live their best lives because we as a society will benefit from all the many gifts they have to share. Our youth deserve to know that they weren’t born to be perfect. They were born to be whole.”

Lena Waithe: Gay Black Girls Rock

Lena Waithe: Queer Superhero

BET: Lena Waithe's Acceptance Speech

Lena Waithe: My Favorite Black Queer Icons

Critical Issues Facing LGBTQ African Americans

African Americans are, and have always been, a vibrant part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) and same gender-loving community. From trailblazing pioneers such as openly gay novelist James Baldwin and transgender rights activist Marsha P. Johnson, to modern-day heroes such as actress Laverne Cox and basketball star Jason Collins, LGBTQ African Americans have made enormous contributions to the ongoing fight for social, racial and economic justice.

According to the Williams Institute, there are more than 1 million LGBTQ African Americans currently living in the United States, with approximately 3.7 percent of all African American people identifying as LGBTQ. LGBTQ African Americans are disproportionately young and disproportionately female, and nearly one-third of all African American same-sex couples are raising children.

TED Talk: Misadventures of a Tired Gay Black Man

How Many African Americans are LGBTQ?

Black LGBTQ People in History

Essence: Liberated and Loved

Black and Gay in New Orleans in the 60s

LGBTQ People of Color

James Baldwin: Explaining the Riots of 1968

TED Talk: African and Gay

Queer Blackathon: Black LGBTQ Book Recommendations

The Truth About Homophobia in the Black Community

LGBTQ African Americans live in communities across the nation, but there are some areas of the country where the LGBTQ African American population is more heavily concentrated. Washington, DC comes in at number one due in part to the large number of African Americans who live in and around the nation's capital. Maryland, Georgia, New York and North Carolina also have large numbers of LGBTQ African American residents, as do several other states in the Deep South. Notably, many of these states lack statewide non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people.

What are some important issues facing LGBTQ African Americans? While the Civil Rights Movement resulted in monumental legal changes for a country just 100 years removed from slavery, African Americans continue to experience bias, discrimination and prejudice at all levels of society. The situation is even more severe for LGBTQ African Americans, who live at the intersection of racism, homophobia and transphobia and face a number of critical issues.

Economic Insecurity – Although economic conditions in the U.S. are improving, LGBTQ African Americans continue to be economically disadvantaged because of persistent discrimination, housing insecurity, a lack of quality, affordable healthcare and fewer educational opportunities. A 2012 report found that "32 percent of children being raised by Black same-sex couples live in poverty, compared to 13 percent of children being raised by heterosexual Black parents and just 7 percent being raised by married heterosexual white parents." Additionally, Black transgender people face severe rates of poverty, with 34 percent living in extreme poverty compared to just 9 percent of non-transgender Black people.

Violence & Harassment – According to a 2014 report on hate violence against LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities, Black survivors of hate violence were 1.3 times more likely to experience police violence than their non-Black counterparts. Black survivors were also twice as likely to experience any physical violence, twice as likely to experience discrimination and 1.4 times more likely to experience threats and intimidation during acts of hate violence. Additionally, Black transgender women face the highest levels of fatal violence within the LGBTQ community and are less likely to turn to police for help for fear of revictimization by law enforcement personnel. According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, 38 percent of Black transgender people who interacted with police reported harassment; 14 percent reported physical assault from police and 6 percent reported sexual assault. Such high rates of revictimization by police is a major barrier to dealing with anti-transgender violence.

Kehinde Wiley: Painter of President Obama Official Portrait

Moorehouse College Now Accepting Trans Men

Short Film: Who I Am

Video Interview: Black, Christian, Lesbian

Beautiful Wedding: Gina and Angie

Brown Boi Project: Communities of Color Talk About Gender

What It's Like to Grow Up Gay and Black

LGBTQ African American Stories

HIV & Health Inequity – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, young, Black gay and bisexual men are among the communities most heavily affected by HIV. In the city of Atlanta, for example, a young, Black gay man now has a 60 percent chance of becoming HIV-positive by the age of 30 even though Black gay and bisexual men are more likely to engage in safer sex practices than their white counterparts.

Religious Intolerance – While LGBTQ African Americans identify with various faith traditions, the Christian church remains a source of both hope and trepidation for many, but acceptance of LGBTQ people is increasing in communities of faith. For example, according to the Public Religion Research Institute, support for marriage equality increased from 23 percent to 38 percent among Black Protestants between 2013 and 2014.

Criminal Injustice – A number of recent, highly publicized cases of police brutality and misconduct have highlighted how broken our criminal justice system really is. Findings from a 2014 U.S. Department of Justice investigation revealed patterns of excessive force in the Albuquerque and Cleveland police departments. Findings of clear racial disparities and discriminatory intent were also revealed in a 2015 study of Ferguson, Missouri, which became a site of major protests following the police shooting of unarmed Black teenager Michael Brown in 2014. Additionally, data from the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey found disproportionately high rates of arrest and incarceration among Black transgender people when compared to all other racial and ethnic groups.

Black and LGBTQ: Approaching Intersectional Conversations

PBS Video: Boundless Black Masculinity

Essence: Liberated and Loved

Derrick Gordon: Black LGBTQ Basketball Player

Annisa and Grace

MAP: Talking About LGBTQ Equality With African Americans

Kehinde Wiley: Black Gay Artist

Short Film: Who I Am

Students Explain: Being Queer, Black and Proud

Black Gay Christians Speak Out

Janelle Monae: Queer Black Woman

Black Queer Films To Watch This Black History Month

Holler If You Hear Me: Black and Gay in the Church
Info: Black Gay Drag Slang

Masicka: Blessing

Advocate: Homophobia in the Black Community

Feminista Jones: Black Feminism

PBS Video: Surviving Racism and Cancer as a Queer Black Woman

Black Queer Love

Black Queer Love: The Beginning

Black Queer Love: Coming Out

Black Queer Love: Intimacy and Infidelity

Queer and Black in America Today

What does it mean to be Black and queer in America today? Black LGBTQ leaders joined NBC's "Pride and Protest" town hall program in June 2020 to address that question. Advocates and leaders at the intersection of the Black and queer communities discussed issues from the work of historic gay and trans icons like Bayard Rustin and Marsha P. Johnson to present-day anti-transgender violence.

MSNBC anchor Joshua Johnson moderated the special report, whose guests included "Pose" stars Angelica Ross and Dominique Jackson, Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, Minneapolis City Council member Andrea Jenkins, Tagg Magazine Editor-in-Chief Eboné Bell, Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David, journalist Tre'vell Anderson and activists Tiq Milan, Ianne Fields Stewart and Ashlee Marie Preston.

Merging and broadening the movements

Reflecting upon the merging of the LGBTQ movement with the anti-racism protests sweeping the country, David said, "True liberation is the goal, not only for LGBTQ people, but for Black people and all people of color in this country." Kenyatta, a Democrat who represents North Philadelphia, said protest movements in Pennsylvania have been critical to efforts to push for change in the political arena. "Because of folks who, for 19 days now in Pennsylvania, have been out every single day demanding that we disrupt these systems that have treated folks who are Black and brown, who are LGBTQ, who exist on the margins absolutely horribly ... we know that we need big change," he said.

After a recent protest in Brooklyn, New York, drew an enormous crowd and highlighted the growing intersections between the movements for Black lives and LGBTQ rights, panelists discussed the need to make both movements more inclusive of each other. "We create a hierarchy of identity in our various circles, and in some cases ... if you're a queer person, you have to leave your sexual orientation or gender identity at the door if you want to focus on your race or vice versa; we need to create an environment where you don't have to choose," David said. "We need, as a society, to recognize identity and not assign value on certain identities and devalue others."

David and Johnson, the moderator, referenced as an example the case of Rustin, the Black gay civil rights icon who organized the March on Washington in 1963 but was shunned by some fellow civil rights leaders due to his sexual orientation.

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That means no intersecting identity cancels out or outweighs any other, Bell said. "We need spaces where we can relate to people," Bell said. "That's what Black pride does for Black queer people." Jackson said one way she tries to be more inclusive is by referring to the community using the broader LGBTQIA+ community — referring to queer, intersex and asexual. "Taking the time to just say the QIA+ will give those people who don't identify under the L, G, B or the T to feel included," Jackson said.

Bell agreed: "It's time to bring in our other brothers and sisters and siblings and be inclusive, because we can't ask for the same thing and leave out a whole other section of our community." Fields Stewart said that language, or the lack of it, can work to obscure the contours of the Black LGBTQ experience. "Black transness has existed for far longer than we have had language for it," Fields Stewart said.

"There's always that person, that auntie, that uncle, that someone ... there's always someone who's in the community who's 'got a little extra sugar in the tank,' or whatever words we use, so I think there is an indigeneity in queerness and blackness that we aren't ready to talk about yet," Fields Stewart said. "It has always been there."

We have to name that

Even so, many panelists spoke out against the forces that lead many Black transgender women's being victimized by Black men, which Jenkins called a "huge problem."

"I have been on the front lines for Black liberation for as long as I can remember," Jenkins said. "The fact remains that many of the murders you described leading up to this conversation, here in Minneapolis, Iyanna Dior ... this violence is being brought upon our community by Black people." "If we are going to have an honest discussion, we have to name that," Jenkins said. Tiq Milan said he often passes as cisgender, "which offers me a level of autonomy and safety that sometimes trans women do not get." "Oftentimes that is because what happens is we are more inclined to investigate femininity and investigate women in a way that we don't do to men," Milan said.

Ross echoed the sentiment, saying that despite her "privilege," gained from her access to Hollywood, "I have come to understand that my privileges, whatever they may be, will not protect me." Ross said she still feels unsafe walking down the sidewalk "through a group of Black men who go from catcalling me to examining my femininity a little bit closer and then they saying, 'Wait a minute, that's a man,' and all of a sudden, my heart rate goes up and I'm not sure if those are the last words I'm going to hear." Even so, Ross said, the idea that Black families are more conservative is "rooted" in white supremacy.

"I know that what's really happening is that so many mothers and fathers are so concerned about their Black child's safety, cis or trans," Ross said. "That's why every Black child gets a talking to about how to survive in America: what not to do, how to dress, how to talk ... and that extends to the LGBTQ community. They tell us, 'Why would you want to put one more layer of oppression or one more difficult thing to get into this world? Don't you understand how the world is going to treat you?'

[Source: Tim Fitzsimons, NBC News, NBC Out, June 2020]

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Gladys Bentley

Gladys Bentley (1907-1960) was bullied by her classmates and ostracized by her family for being an overweight tomboy. At 16, she packed up to leave her hometown of Philadelphia and headed to Harlem. When she first arrived, she made her money singing and playing the piano at private parties.

But when she heard that the local gay bar was looking for a male pianist, Gladys knew what she had to do. She donned a tuxedo and top hat and took the gig for $35 a week. Her talent for mixing popular tunes with her own raunchy lyrics soon attracted record crowds and once wealthy white people started showing up, management tripled her pay. Eventually, she was successful enough to live in a Park Avenue penthouse with, in her words, "servants and a nice car."

Gladys' performances were overtly gay. She loved to show off her glamorous girlfriends and she openly flirted with women in the audience. Her cabaret show at the Ubangi Club even featured a cast of drag queens. She never hid the fact that she was lesbian and was happy to tell the press that she had married a white woman.

But with the end of the Harlem Renaissance and the beginning of the Great Depression, tolerance for LGBTQ people began to wane. Gladys once again packed her bags; this time her destination was California. There, she continued to play in gay clubs and make records but she never achieved the level of success she had enjoyed in New York.

In the 1940s and 50s, McCarthyism threatened the livelihoods of LGBTQ people. The so-called "lavender scare" saw LGBTQ people as a threat to American values as well as to national security because it was thought they were easily manipulated. So, LGBTQ people were often blacklisted or even arrested.

Afraid of prosecution, Gladys hung up her top hat and started to wear dresses. She published a desperate article in Ebony magazine titled "I am Woman Again," in which she claimed to have cured her homosexuality by undergoing female hormone treatments. She went so far as to marry a man, only to later have him deny the marriage ever took place. Sadly, Gladys died of pneumonia before the start of the gay rights movement. Although she had once been so proud of her queerness, Gladys was forced to spend the end of her life in the closet.

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Keith Boykin

Keith Boykin is a New York Times best-selling author, assistant adjunct professor of political science at Columbia University, CNN political commentator, journalist, actor and public speaker.

Each of Keith’s four books has been nominated for a Lambda Literary Award, including his most recent book, For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Still Not Enough, which won the American Library Association Stonewall Award for Nonfiction in 2013.

Educated at Dartmouth and Harvard, Keith attended law school with President Barack Obama and served in the White House as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton, where he was once the highest ranking openly gay person in the Clinton White House. He also helped organize and participated in the nation’s first ever meeting between a sitting president and leaders of the LGBTQ community.

Keith has been actively involved in progressive causes since he worked on his first congressional campaign while still a student in high school. He is a veteran of six political campaigns, including two presidential campaigns, and he was named one of the top instructors when he taught political science at American University in Washington.

He starred on the 2004 Showtime television series American Candidate, and then became a co-host of the BET J TV series My Two Cents, where he interviewed celebrities, politicians, and public figures. A former CNBC contributor, MSNBC commentator and BET columnist, Keith is also the former editor of the online news site, The Daily Voice. He has appeared on numerous national media programs, including Anderson Cooper 360, The O’Reilly Factor, The Tyra Banks Show and The Tom Joyner Morning Show.

A founder and first board president of the National Black Justice Coalition, Keith has spoken to audiences, large and small, all across the world. He delivered a landmark speech to 200,000 people at the Millennium March on Washington and he gave a stirring speech about the AIDS epidemic in front of 40,000 people in Chicago’s Soldier Field in July 2006.

Keith was an associate producer of the 2007 feature film Dirty Laundry and appeared in the 2014 BET drama series, Being Mary Jane.

His third book, Beyond the Down Low: Sex, Lies and Denial in Black America, spent four weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Keith won the Lambda Literary Award for his second book, Respecting The Soul, and his first book, One More River to Cross, is taught in colleges and universities throughout the country.

Keith has lived in 12 cities, visited 48 of the 50 US states, and traveled across four continents. In 1997 President Clinton appointed him, along with Coretta Scott King and Rev. Jesse Jackson, to the US presidential trade delegation to Zimbabwe. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Keith currently lives in New York.

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Actor and Rapper Janelle Monae

Janelle Monáe is further opening up about her sexuality. Movie fans know her from her roles in the films Hidden Figures and Moonlight. And, while she is an accomplished movie actor, she first came to fame as an R&B singer and rapper. The 32-year-old singer, who released her new album Dirty Computer in April 2018, spoke to CBS This Morning about how her late mentor Prince influenced how she wants to portray her sexuality in music and in the public eye.

“I think that it’s important for people to be proud of their identity. I am very proud to be a queer young black woman in America. I’m proud of who I am,” Monáe said. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Monáe revealed what it’s like “being a black queer woman in America” and why she doesn’t identify as bisexual. Monae has described herself as "someone who has been in relationships with both men and women" and has further identified as pansexual.

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Black, Gay and Successful in Hollywood

Paris KC Barclay is a gay black man working in Hollywood as a television director and producer. Born in 1956 in Chicago, Illinois, Barclay has directed over 100 episodes of television to date, for series including NYPD Blue, ER, The West Wing, CSI, Lost, The Shield, House MD, Law & Order, Monk, Numb3rs, City of Angels, Cold Case, and more recently The Mentalist, Weeds, Sons of Anarchy, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Good Wife, In Treatment, and Glee.

Paris has won two Emmy Awards as well as a Directors Guild of America award for directing episodes of NYPD Blue, and has garnered 10 DGA nominations. He is the first director in the history of the Guild to be nominated for a comedy series and drama series in the same year, two years in a row (2008, 2009). Barclay has also received an NAACP Image award for Best Drama Series as co-creator, writer, and director of the groundbreaking medical drama City of Angels, and another Image Award for directing Cold Case.

Currently, Barclay is executive producer and principal director of HBO's In Treatment, now in its third season. Openly gay since late in his college days, he was a regular contributor to The Advocate magazine for several years. Barclay is one of Hollywood's very few openly gay black decision-makers. He is used to hearing the same line, repeatedly, when other industry executives see scripts with queer black characters.

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Gay Black Theologian

Horace L. Griffin is an African-American Theologian who is also gay. He teaches pastoral theology and is Director of Field Education at the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church. An ordained priest in the Episcopal Church, USA, Griffin also serves as an associate at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Glen Rock, NJ.

In 1990, Griffin began his professional career as a college professor at the historical black Fisk University while completing his Ph.D. at Vanderbilt. At Fisk, he chaired the Department of Religious and Philosophical Studies from 1993-1996, becoming the first openly gay Department chair in the University's 127 year history. In 1992, he received the "Professor of the Year Award" for the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts.

During this period, he also co-chaired the Lesbian and Gay Coalition for Justice, a civil rights organization for gay citizens in Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Griffin has a Bachelor of Arts in Religion degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta, a Master of Divinity from Boston University School of Theology in Boston, and a PhD in Philosophy from Vanderbilt University Graduate Department of Religion in Nashville.

As a graduate student concentrating in gender and sexuality issues, he developed a slide presentation addressing black pastoral issues and the AIDS epidemic. Called "Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray," the presentation became a teaching tool for black pastors at conferences and in black faith communities. As a result of his AIDS work, Griffin was invited to serve as a board member (1994-1996) of Nashville Cares, an AIDS agency for the Greater Nashville community.

In 1996, Griffin joined the religious studies faculty at the University of Missouri-Columbia as Assistant Professor of African-American Religions. He taught courses on African-American religions, religion and human sexuality and religion and homosexuality. In 1999, Griffin resigned, in part, because the university president and administrators refused to include sexual orientation in the university's non-discrimination policy. Later that year, he accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, where he taught courses such as Pastoral Care and Congregations, Sexuality and Pastoral Care, and Cross Cultural Pastoral Care. He also directed the Chicago Collegiate Seminarians Program, a Lilly funded grant for college students considering ordained ministry.

Griffin has published numerous articles and essays in peer journals and anthologies, including "Revisioning Christian Ethical Discourse on Homosexuality: A Challenge for the 21st Century" in the Journal of Pastoral Care, and "Toward a True Black Liberation Theology: Affirming Homoeroticism, Black Lesbian and Gay Christians and their Relationships" in Loving the Body: Black Religious Studies and the Erotic. His most recent work, "Black Machoism and Its Discontents" will be published in 2008 in Face to Face: A Discussion of Critical Issues in Pastoral Theology. His first book, Their Own Receive Them Not: African American Lesbians and Gays in Black Churches (Pilgrim Press 2006) was awarded the 2006 Lambda Literary Award in LGBTQ studies in the spring of 2007. This groundbreaking work also received a Stonewall Award nomination. The LGBTQ African American Roundtable convened a panel of scholars and clergy offering a critical examination of the book at its 2007 annual meeting. In its second printing, Their Own Receive Them Not is a useful text currently being studied and discussed in college and seminary classrooms and black faith communities.

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