in honour of pride month and what is happening right now in usa here is a thread of some black lgbt icons.

obviously i’m not gonna explain everything they did for our community but i suggest you to educate yourself more about who helped us having the possibility to be ourselves!
and i possibly can’t name all the black lgbt icons so please do your research, i will only name a few !! :(

marsha p. johnson was a transgender woman. she is known for participating in the stonewall riots in 1969 in new york. she’s also known for being a gay liberation and AIDS activist and performer.

james baldwin was an openly gay man, an essayist, novelist, poet and social justice advocate. his essays explored racial, sexual and class distinctions. you might now him from his book “if beale street could talk” who was adapted into a movie.

jackie ‘moms’ mabley was a lesbian stand-up comedian. jackie was known for wearing androgynous clothes. there’s a whoopi goldberg documentary about her.

alvin ailey was a dancer, director, choreographer and activist. he is known for his impact on american arts even though he was struggling with mental illness and internal conflict with his sexuality. he’s also known for founding AAADT (alvin ailey american dance theatre).

audre lorde was a lesbian writer, feminist and civil rights activist. she spent her life addressing injustices such as racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism and homophobia. her poems dealt with racism, lesbianism, illness, disability and the exploration of black female identity.

stormé delarverie was a butch he/him lesbian. it is believed that his fight with the police is what started ignited the stonewall riots. he was a member of the stonewall veterans’ association and he was a regular at the gay pride parade.

please if you wanna add other black lgbt people please do! in this way we can educate each other :)

richard bruce nugent was an openly gay writer and painter in the harlem renaissance. his short story “smoke, lillies, and jade" is thought to be the first explicitly gay story published by a black writer.

gladys bentley was a lesbian gender-bending blues singer, pianist and entertainer during the harlem renaissance. according to the new york times she was harlem’s most famous lesbian in the 30s.

barbara jordan was a wlw lawyer, politician, educator and leader of the civil rights movement. she was the first african-american elected to the texas senate and the first southern african-american woman elected to the united states house of representatives.