#LGBTQHerstoryMonth

Framed at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles by photographer Erik Carter, the photo series features season 1's BeBe Zahara Benet recognizing trans activist Raquel Willis; All Stars 4 queen Monét X Change honoring disco singer-songwriter Sylvester; season 12 victor Jaida Essence Hall celebrating Josephine Baker, a pioneer for Black actresses in film; reigning season 13 winner Symone memorializing civil rights activist Bayard Rustin; and season 11 champ Yvie Oddly paying tribute to William Dorsey Swann, the "Queen of Drag" who, after being born into slavery, became the first American activist to lead a queer resistance movement.

ENTERTAIMENTNWEEKLY

One of the things that many LGBTQ+ people forget is, who came before them? Who's paving the way for them to move ahead? I've noticed that the younger the person, the less they know about LGBTQ+ life. I'm not free of sin, though. I had to do some homework for this post. Like finding who Raquel Willis was:

RAQUELWILLIS: a Black transgender activist and writer, she has fought for the equality of marginalized people, especially Black transgender people. 

In 2018, she founded Black Trans Circles, a project of TLC, focused on developing the leadership of Black trans women in the South and Midwest by creating healing justice spaces to work through oppression-based trauma and incubating community organizing efforts to address anti-trans murder and violence. 

Especially important, because in 2021 we have seen 38 transgender people killed. And it's only October. There's still so much to do.

SYLVESTER: I think everybody should know about Sylvester. Do You Wanna Funk is THE dance anthem every queer kid should listen to in order to understand how is it that dance music can take possession of a body, honey. In a time when the term Gender Fluid was not even thought about, Sylvester was definitely his own damn self. I've forever been in awe of him:

Sylvester brought drama but didn’t trade in tragedy; his public story was one of determined persistence; he was never tragically Black, tragically queer, or even tragically ill. He was quiet about his own AIDS diagnosis even while becoming an early, outspoken AIDS activist before his passing in 1988. As both an artist and human, Sylvester explored the gray area before the mainstream fully acknowledged such space existed. He was ahead of the world he knew.

JOSEPHINEBAKER: Did you know that Josephine Baker dated Frida Kahlo? Did you know that she was the first Black American woman to find international success? Did you know she was a spy for the Allied forces during WWII? She was adored in France, but when she came back to the States was received head on by the racism the US has always been known for: the KKK called her to threaten her. She was literally the first Black female superstar of the XX century.

BAYARDRUSTIN: He was literally the architect of the March on Washington in 1963. He was a pacifist and a civil right activist in the early 1950s. His brilliant career was almost derailed because he was accused of 'lewd conduct' with other men. Yes, Bayard was gay and that almost made him miss the meeting that would change his life and the life of many Americans:

In 1956, Bayard made a decision that would help to change American history. He had become aware of the rising popularity of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his work in leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He sought out the 25 year old King to impress upon him the need to utilize a strategy of non-violent action in regard to protests. 

Brother Outsider is a great documentary and if you're interested in Rustin, you can watch it. There's also plans for Netflix to do a movie about him (directed by George Wolfe, who directed Ma Rainey's Black Bottom). Stay tuned.

WILLIAMDORSEYSWANN: went from slave to be the first drag queen who fought for queer rights in the US. We are talking the 1800s. He was famous for a vaudeville act that introduced a 'cake walk': a dance that was born in slave plantations in the Southern United States. In the act, he was in drag. A Black man in drag In the 1800s. His legacy should not be overlooked:

By 1900, Swann had retired from the drag ball scene, according to the article. Even though his time sashaying across the floor was short lived, Swann’s legacy and impact are enormous. His actions helped set the stage decades later for gay celebrations and protests (The Black Cat uprising in Silver Lake and The Patch protest organized by Lee Glaze in Wilmington) that would pave the way for the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement.

So that's your Queer history lesson of the day, brought to you by the Queens of RuPaul's Drag Race. Not bad for a group of men in dresses, no?

Happy Pride!

XOXO