List of African-American LGBT people

Last updated

This is a list of Black/African Americans who are also members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or intersex communities.

Contents

Historical figures

NameLifetime [1] NationalityNotable asCommunities [2]
Alain LeRoy Locke b. 1885AmericanPhilosopher, writer, educator, art patronQueer, Gay [3]
Barbara Jordan b. 1936AmericanLawyer, educator, politician, first African-American woman elected to the United States House of RepresentativesLGBTQ+ [4]

Government and politics

Name Political Party StateOccupation
Andrew Gillum Democrat Florida Mayor of Tallahassee
Lori Lightfoot Democrat Illinois Mayor of Chicago
Vernetta Alston Democrat North Carolina North Carolina State Representative
Stormie Forte Democrat North Carolina Raleigh City Councilwoman
Gordon Fox [5] Democrat Rhode Island State Legislature
Rashad Taylor [6] Democrat Georgia State Legislature
Althea Garrison [7] Republican Massachusetts Judge and US Representative
Pat Spearman [8] Democrat Nevada Nevada State Senator
Marcus Brandon [9] Democrat North Carolina North Carolina State Representative
Ron Oden [10] Democrat California Mayor
Bruce Harris [11] Republican New Jersey Mayor
Keith St. John [12] Democrat New York City Councilman
Darrin P. Gayles [13] Democrat Florida United States Federal Judge
Kelvin Atkinson [14] Democrat Nevada Former Nevada Senate Majority Leader
Ritchie Torres [15] Democrat New York US Representative
Erick Russell Democrat Connecticut Connecticut State Treasurer
Laphonza Butler Democrat California US Senator

Entertainment and media

NameOccupation
McKinley Belcher III [16] [17] Actor
Kemah Bob [18] Comedian and drag king
Lee Daniels [19] Film and television producer
Little Richard [20] Singer
Don Lemon [21] CNN News anchor and journalist
Bessie Smith [22] Singer
Raven-Symoné [23] Actress and singer
Patrick Ian Polk [24] Film director, producer, singer, and actor
Frank Ocean [25] Singer, songwriter, and rapper
Wanda Sykes [26] Actress and comedian
Kevin Abstract [27] Singer, songwriter, director and rapper
Daryl Stephens [28] Actor
Angel Haze [29] Rapper
LZ Granderson [30] Journalist and commentator  CNN and ESPN
Charles M. Blow [31] Columnist for The New York Times
Paris Barclay [32] Director, producer, and writer
Andre Leon Talley [33] Journalist and editor
Terrance Dean [34] Writer and author
Audre Lorde [35] Author and feminist
Alice Walker [36] Author and poet
Tracy Chapman [37] Singer
RuPaul [38] Actor, drag queen, and television personality
Tarell Alvin McCraney [39] Playwright and actor
James Baldwin [40] Author
Janet Mock [41] Writer, TV host, and  transgender  rights activist
Isis King [42] Model and designer
Alvin Ailey [43] Choreographer and activist
Azealia Banks [44] Rapper
Nell Carter [45] Actress and singer
Billy Porter Actor, singer, fashion icon [46]
Laverne Cox [47] Actress and LGBTQ advocate
Janelle Monáe [48] Singer-songwriter, actress, model, and record producer
Mo'Nique [49] Comedian and actress
Sir Lady Java [50] Drag queen, actress, and transgender rights activist
Amandla Stenberg [51] Actress and singer
Tessa Thompson [52] Actress
Mel Tomlinson [53] Ballet dancer and choreographer
Karamo Brown [54] Television personality and activist
François Clemmons [55] Actor and singer
Lil Nas X [56] [57] Rapper, singer, and songwriter
Harrison David Rivers [58] Playwright
Luther Vandross [59] Singer, songwriter, record producer.
Todrick Hall [60] Singer, songwriter, dancer, producer, director, choreographer
Le1f [61] Rapper and producer
Colman Domingo [62] Actor, playwright, director, producer, professor.
Angie Stardust [63] Singer, actress, drag artist
Queen Latifah Rapper and Actress
Amythyst Kiah Singer, songwriter, musician
Marlon Riggs filmmaker
LeRoy Whitfield [64] Journalist
Terry Blade [65] Singer, songwriter, lyricist
Emira D'Spain [66] Model, social media influencer, magazine director
Ma Rainey Singer
Niecy Nash [67] Actress and comedian
Tyler, the Creator [68] Rapper
Frank Ocean [69] Singer, songwriter, musician
Steve Lacy [70] Singer, musician
Khalid [71] Singer, songwriter
NameKnown For
Shea Couleé [72] American drag queen, musician, actor
Dorian Corey [73] American drag performer and fashion designer
Honey Davenport [74] American drag performer, singer, songwriter, actor and activist
David Hampton [75] Con artist
Angela Davis [76] Political activist, academic
CeCe McDonald [77] LGBTQ advocate
DeRay Mckesson [78] [79] Activist and educator
Marsha P. Johnson [80] Gay liberation activist and Stonewall Riot veteran
Bayard Rustin [81] Political and Black rights activist
Flawless Shade Drag queen and make-up artist
Kornbread Jeté Drag queen
Mary Anne Adams [82] [83] Activist for Black community/Black, elderly lesbians, academic, founder of NAMI NOBLA

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pink triangle</span> Symbol for the LGBT community

A pink triangle has been a symbol for the LGBT community, initially intended as a badge of shame, but later reappropriated as a positive symbol of self-identity. In Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, it began as one of the Nazi concentration camp badges, distinguishing those imprisoned because they had been identified by authorities as gay men or trans women. In the 1970s, it was revived as a symbol of protest against homophobia, and has since been adopted by the larger LGBT community as a popular symbol of LGBT pride and the LGBT movements and queer liberation movements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ community</span> Community and culture of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people

The LGBTQ community is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning individuals united by a common culture and social movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality. LGBTQ activists and sociologists see LGBTQ community-building as a counterweight to heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, sexualism, and conformist pressures that exist in the larger society. The term pride or sometimes gay pride expresses the LGBTQ community's identity and collective strength; pride parades provide both a prime example of the use and a demonstration of the general meaning of the term. The LGBTQ community is diverse in political affiliation. Not all people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender consider themselves part of the LGBTQ community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biphobia</span> Aversion to bisexual people

Biphobia is aversion toward bisexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being bisexual. Similarly to homophobia, it refers to hatred and prejudice specifically against those identified or perceived as being in the bisexual community. It can take the form of denial that bisexuality is a genuine sexual orientation, or of negative stereotypes about people who are bisexual. Other forms of biphobia include bisexual erasure. Biphobia may also avert towards other sexualities attracted to multiple genders such as pansexuality or polysexuality, as the idea of being attracted to multiple genders is generally the cause of stigma towards bisexuality.

LGBTQ slang, LGBTQ speak, queer slang, or gay slang is a set of English slang lexicon used predominantly among LGBTQ+ people. It has been used in various languages since the early 20th century as a means by which members of the LGBTQ+ community identify themselves and speak in code with brevity and speed to others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ culture</span> Common culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people

LGBTQ culture is a culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. It is sometimes referred to as queer culture, LGBT culture, and LGBTQIA culture, while the term gay culture may be used to mean either "LGBT culture" or homosexual culture specifically.

The bisexual community, also known as the bi+, m-spec, bisexual/pansexual, or bi/pan/fluid community, includes members of the LGBTQ community who identify as bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, polysexual and sexually fluid. As opposed to hetero- or homosexual people, people in the bisexual community experience attraction to more than one gender.

Over the course of its history, the LGBTQ community has adopted certain symbols for self-identification to demonstrate unity, pride, shared values, and allegiance to one another. These symbols communicate ideas, concepts, and identity both within their communities and to mainstream culture. The two symbols most recognized internationally are the pink triangle and the rainbow flag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bisexual erasure</span> Dismissing or misrepresenting bisexuals in the public perception

Bisexual erasure, also called bisexual invisibility, is the tendency to ignore, remove, falsify, or re-explain evidence of bisexuality in history, academia, the news media, and other primary sources.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer+(LGBTQ+)music is music that focuses on the experiences of gender and sexual minorities as a product of the broad gay liberation movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ culture in San Francisco</span>

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) community in San Francisco is one of the largest and most prominent LGBT communities in the United States, and is one of the most important in the history of American LGBT rights and activism alongside New York City. The city itself has been described as "the original 'gay-friendly city'". LGBT culture is also active within companies that are based in Silicon Valley, which is located within the southern San Francisco Bay Area.

References

  1. Entries with no sourced year of birth available are marked with a "?".
  2. All entries contain a reliably sourced reference. Entries may also contain a letter indicating Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual.
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  35. "Audre Lorde on Being a Black Lesbian Feminist". english.illinois.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
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  42. Qween, Hey (2017-06-20). "Model Isis King Talks Her Transition, Homelessness and 'Top Model'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  43. "Alvin Ailey Gay African American Dance Pioneer". Lavender Magazine. 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  44. Ciara Appelbaum. "36 celebrities you never knew are bisexual". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  45. "Nell Hardy Carter (1948-2003) • BlackPast". BlackPast. 2015-03-06. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  46. Benjamin, Jessica (2021-02-02). "Billy Porter on London Pride and being a fashion icon". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  47. "Laverne Cox". Biography. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  48. "Pansexual is not the same as bisexual. Janelle Monáe is bringing visibility to us all". USA Today. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
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  50. Zonkel, Phillip (2018-02-15). "Black History Month: Sir Lady Java was a transgender trailblazer who challenged police harassment". Q Voice News. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
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  62. "Colman Domingo Explains How He Met His Husband On Craigslist". February 23, 2021. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
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  65. Treacy, Christopher (2023-01-05). "Q&A With Terry Blade • Country Queer". Country Queer. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  66. "Meet Emira D'spain, The First Black Transgender Model To Work With Victoria's Secret". Nylon. March 7, 2022.
  67. News, A. B. C. "Niecy Nash makes wife Jessica Betts' prom 'dreams come true': See the photos". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-06-26.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  68. "Tyler The Creator Is The Latest Male Celebrity To Reveal He's Bisexual". ELLE. 2017-08-17. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  69. Ramirez, Erika (2012-07-04). "Frank Ocean Opens Up About Sexuality". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  70. Shanfeld, Ethan (2023-08-08). "'I Feel Free': Steve Lacy Confronts 'Bad Habit' Fame, Not Apologizing for That Camera Smash and Why Coming Out Is 'Silly'". Variety. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  71. Mier, Tomás (2024-11-23). "Khalid Comes Out as Gay After Being Outed: 'I Am Not Ashamed'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  72. "Drag Race star Shea Couleé on why we should all be uplifting trans women of colour for Pride". GAY TIMES. 2019-06-05. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  73. "The True Story Of The Drag Performer With A Mummy In Her Closet Portrayed On 'Pose'". Investigation Discovery. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  74. Cooridinator, DNA Online (2019-10-24). "Honey Davenport In Australia To Raise Awareness Of Queer People Of Colour". DNA. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  75. Goudsouzian, Aram (2004). Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon . Univ of North Carolina Press. p.  365. ISBN   9780807828434.
  76. "Award Stripped From Lesbian Civil Rights Icon Angela Davis". The Advocate. 2019-01-09. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  77. Erdely, Sabrina Rubin (2014-07-30). "The Transgender Crucible". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  78. "#BlackLivesMatter Protester Deray McKesson to Teach at Yale". Mediaite.com. 2015-09-11. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  79. "DeRay Mckesson Wants You to Come Out of the Quiet". The Advocate. 2015-12-24. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  80. "Marsha P. Johnson, a Transgender Pioneer and Activist". The New York Times. 2018-03-08. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  81. "Bayard Rustin: the gay black pacifist at the heart of the March on Washington". The Guardian. 2013-08-23. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
  82. African Americans doing feminism : putting theory into everyday practice. Aaronette M. White. Albany: State University of New York (SUNY) Press. 2010. ISBN   978-1-4384-3143-7. OCLC   794698965.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  83. Johnson, E. Patrick (2018). Black. Queer. Southern. Women : an oral history. Chapel Hill. ISBN   978-1-4696-4111-9. OCLC   1057725887.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)