Black History Month

LGBTQ History

This gender non-conforming blues singer was a Harlem Renaissance super star

She was famous for her bawdy performances and a chorus line of eight effeminate male dancers.

Read more →
Richard Bruce Nugent, the queer rebel of the Harlem Renaissance

The "bizarre and eccentric vagabond poet" was open about his sexuality, and then married a woman.

Read more →
Meet the Harlem Renaissance dancer who made sure lesbian history wasn’t forgotten

Harlem Renaissance dancer, domestic worker, archivist, philanthropist, early lesbian activist; in her lifetime, Mabel Hampton was many, many things.

Read more →
Welcome to the church of Sylvester. His gospel-tinged disco made us feel mighty real.

"I'm not a drag queen. I'm Sylvester."

Read more →
This black lesbian became a giant in her field no matter what her critics threw at her

Octavia Butler wasn't just a giant in science fiction literature, she was also a black lesbian who overcame multiple obstacles to become a bestselling author.

Read more →
This trans activist was there at the start of the modern LGBTQ movement

"I’m nothing special, I’m just one of the girls."

Read more →
‘Marlon Bundo’ is just the most recent example of censoring LGBTQ lives

Straight people have been erasing us since the Middle Ages.

Read more →
This out bisexual singer reigned as Empress of the Blues in the 1920’s

She sold more than 2 million records in the first ten months after she was signed by Columbia Records and performed on Broadway - and then the Great Depression hit.

Read more →
Over the course of 101 years, the nation’s longest-lived lesbian was always out & proud

Ruth Ellis was an out lesbian activist and a living, breathing reservoir of African-American LGBTQ history.

Read more →
This gay sculptor focused on black male beauty during the Harlem Renaissance

Richard Barthé was one of America's best sculptors - and he didn't shy away from his sexuality.

Read more →