Black LGBTQ+ changemakers who paved the way
Images: Pexels, Giphy
As the rainbow flags fly high for Pride Month, it is important to take a moment to reflect on the history of its origins. The first LGBTQ+ Pride took place fifty-three years ago to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots. On 28 June 1969, members of the New York city police force raided a gay bar known as the Stonewall Inn, violently accosting employees and customers most of whom were Black or brown. The Stonewall riots were led by members of the gay community to protest against the police raid and demand change. This year, as we celebrate Pride Month we are honoring some of the changemakers that paved the way for the LGBTQ+ rights advancements that many are now able to enjoy.
Marsha P. (“Pay It No Mind”) Johnson was a veteran of the Stonewall riots and a prominent drag queen and gay rights activist. She was well-known in the New York city gay community from the 1960s to 1990s. Following Stonewall, Johnson actively advocated for change through movements such as the Gay Liberation Front (GLF). She was also a strong trans rights activist and together with her friend Sylvia Rivera founded the Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries (STAR), an organization that provided support and housed homeless queer young people and sex workers in Manhattan. Johnson was tragically found dead on 6 July 1992. She is celebrated as one of the most notable trailblazers in the LGBTQ+ movement.
James Baldwin was a prolific novelist, playwright, poet, and social justice activist. He was openly gay and vocal about the critical need for change during a time when homosexuality was still extremely taboo. Baldwin was considered by many as one of the great thinkers of the 20th Century, exploring the importance of identity and culture in his published work. Among his most popular pieces are Notes of a Native Son and Go Tell It on the Mountain. A posthumous collection of James Baldwin's notes, essays, and letters informed the 2016 documentary titled I Am Not Your Negro that was directed by Raoul Peck.
Audre Lorde was a writer, feminist, and civil rights activist. She described herself as a "Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, and poet" and her writing has been widely revered for her contributions to feminist theory, critical race studies, and queer theory. She extensively explored the need to confront injustice and address racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia. Some of her most popular work includes The Black Unicorn and The Cancer Journals. “You do not have to be me in order for us to fight alongside each other. I do not have to be you to recognize that our wars are the same. What we must do is commit ourselves to some future that can include each other and to work toward that future with the particular strengths of our individual identities. And in order for us to do this, we must allow each other our differences at the same time as we recognize our sameness,” Lorde once said.
Marielle Franco was a Brazilian politician, feminist, sociologist, and human rights activist. As one of the only openly Black LGBTQ+ members on the Rio de Janeiro City Council, she spent her career passionately advocating for improved human rights in Brazil. She was a champion of several civil society organizations, and chair of the Women’s Defense Council. In 2018, Franco was assassinated by two police officers after being consistently vocal and publicly denouncing police brutality and corruption. Following her tragic death, tens of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets in protest, demanding justice and joining an international outcry for much-needed change in Brazil.
William Roscoe Leake better known as Willi Ninja was a dancer and choreographer who gained even more notoriety after his appearance in the documentary Paris Is Burning. Ninja was a self-taught dancer who developed a unique talent for voguing. Ninja was an active participant in the Harlem drag balls that featured ‘houses’ - social units formed as a type of family that centered around dance. He was the infamous Mother of the House of Ninja and is widely recognized as the godfather of voguing.
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