Making History
"As long as there have been Black people, there have been Black LGBTQ and same-gender-loving people," says David Johnson, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition (Aviles, Jao and Sopelsa, 2020).
The fact is, we can't tell the African American story--or the American story--without understanding the contributions of Black LGBTQ+ persons. But racism, homophobia and transphobia have often obscured the identities and accomplishments of groundbreaking pioneers such as the choreographer Alvin Ailey, transgender rights activist Miss Major Griffin-Gracy and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
To learn more about these and other African American LGBTQ+ trail blazers, check out the profiles published by NBC News.
References:
Aviles, Gwen, Jao, Ariel and Brooke Sopelsa. (2020, February 13). 16 queer black pioneers who made history. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/black-history-month-17-lgbtq-black-pioneers-who-made-history...
