Our History, Our Stories...

In honor of Black History month , every Friday , In Our Own Voices will highlight courageous and talented Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People of Color (LGBT POC) whose life stories are often unknown. We will also recount specific events that brought about positive change for LGBT POC. The history of these people and events should be known and talked about, as they illustrate the past, present and future of a population widely ignored and neglected. So please take a moment to read these segments each week and pass along to others. If there is a story you would like us to feature this month, please send an email to jward@inourownvoices.org .  

Janet Mock

In honor of Black History Month, theGrio takes the time to reflect on black America's past as well as America's future. The online media outlet recently presented  theGrio's 100 list, class of 2012 , a list that “highlights the best, not just from the black community, but from all of America. These are 100 individuals with stories of perseverance, ingenuity, and triumph that define the American dream, and provide hope to black, white, brown, gay, straight, rich, poor, Republicans and Democrats alike.” In this year's list, theGrio recognizes Janet Mock, trans advocate and People.com editor.

“Janet Mock is making history … as an advocate for transgender individuals. By putting her story in the national spotlight, Janet, previously known as just another young, black professional woman, has challenged the stigma surrounding gender identity,” theGrio acknowledges .

source: www.theGrio.com

Billy Strayhorn

Despite his indisputable musical genius, prolific composer, arranger, and performing musician Billy Strayhorn spent much of his life in near-anonymity. Best known for his collaborations with Duke Ellington over a span of nearly thirty years, Strayhorn was the writer and arranger behind the famous Ellington Orchestra theme "Take the A Train," as well as the creator of such classics as "Lush Life," "Satin Doll," and "Johnny Come Lately."

Yet the small, bespectacled, openly gay Strayhorn--by all accounts a quiet and extraordinarily refined man--lived behind the scenes of jazz glory for most of his life. Only one solo album of his own was released during his lifetime, and until the mid-1990s, not a single biography had been written about him.

source: www.bilerico.com

1979 - Movements...

African American Gay men and Lesbians across the country were coming out, blending the new Gay political ethos with their Black identity. The first Black Gay political groups were formed and a new wave of Black Gay activists emerged.

In August of 1979 the first issue of Blacklight was published. The publication had been in the planning stage for several months, and came close to being named "Onyx," until it was discovered the name was already in use. Benjamin Romney, a member of the "staff," suggested the title "Blacklight." Decades later I still remember that moment. It was perfect. 

The high point of 1979 was reached on a weekend in October with the first national Gay march on Washington and the convening of The First Third World Gay Conference where African, Native, Asian and Hispanic American Gay men and Lesbians came together for the first time. The conference was held in the Harambee House hotel on the edge of Howard University's campus. Audre Lorde delivered the stirring keynote address. Workshops, meetings and social events took place on Friday and Saturday.

And on Sunday morning conference participants gathered outside the hotel and marched down Georgia Avenue, through the heart of a Black community, to the Mall to  join the main march.

In the weeks leading up to the march there was a great deal of anxiety and debate about Gay people marching through a Black neighborhood. "How would people react?" "Would there be violence?" There were reservations, but conference organizers decided to go ahead with the plan. The "Gay People of Color March" went off without incident. In fact, the opposite of what some had feared, occurred. A Black family was on its way to church when they came upon the march. They stood on the corner and waved as marchers walked by. The scene was captured by photographer Leigh Mosely. It was a wonderful conference and a wonderful weekend. A special time in all of our histories.

However, Black Gays were dealing with issues other than race. There was a Black community to deal with. And many were dealing with ALL of who we were for the first time. Blacklight's first major feature article was, "From Here to There: One Woman's Story. "It's a straight-forward telling of one woman's discovery of her true emotional and sexual self.But what attitudes did Gay men and Lesbians face when they lived openly in the Black community? That subject was explored in "Homophobia in the Black Community."

When this article originally came out, the term "homophobia" was just coming into wide use and not without some debate. Those opposed to the term argued it wasn't "technically" correct. It didn't fit the classic phobias, which described a "fear," but was actually describing a "dislike" or worse. In some quarters, the debate continues. One of the significant events in Black Gay history occurred the day the Gay movement arrived at Howard University. Howard is one of the oldest, and prestigious, of the nation's historically Black colleges. The student body and the school administration were considerably conservative about Gay issues and rights. But, with the larger movement as catalyst, Gay student organizations were sprouting on a number of campuses. Why not Howard? "The Gay Movement Comes to Howard University" tells the story of the start of the Lambda Student Alliance (LSA). Howard opposed the LSA and refused to charter the organization. It took well over a year, and the threat of a law suit, before Howard backed down. The Lambda Student Alliance became the first chartered Black Gay student organization on a Black college campus.

source: www.blacklightonline.com