Difference between revisions of "Queer Bronzeville : An Overview"
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| + | == PART 1: The Emergence of Queer Networks in Bronzeville (1900-1940) == | ||
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In 1930s Bronzeville, Chicago’s African American neighborhood, a visible and well-accepted queer subculture emerged. From State Street to Cottage Grove Avenue, along 43rd and 47th Street, Bronzeville’s commercialized and jazz-influenced urban culture offered African American gays and lesbians several venues where homosexuals and heterosexuals interacted across the color line (the Plantation Café, the Pleasure Inn, the Cabin Inn, Club DeLisa and Joe’s Deluxe), yearly popular Halloween “Drag Balls” popularized by Black gay hustler Alfred Finnie, semi-safe locations (the Wabash YMCA, The First Church of Deliverance, Washington Park, Jackson Park), and a “vice district” which facilitated prostitution. Homosexuality was quietly accommodated. Bronzeville’s most powerful inhabitants (Reverend Clarence Cobb, Reverend Mary G. Evans, and possibly Louise Smith Collier) and its most famous musicians (Tony Jackson, Rudy Richardson, Sippie Wallace, Frankie “Half-Pint” Jaxon, and George Hannah) were homosexuals. Joe Hughes, owner of a popular homo-friendly bar, was elected honorary mayor of Bronzeville in 1940. Journalist Theodore Jones regularly hired drag queen Valda Gray’s troupe of female impersonators for parties given for Bronzeville’s upper class. On the streets, working-class African American queers were also tolerated. For example, Lorenzo Banyard, a Cabin Inn drag entertainer, remembers riding streetcars to the West Side, dressed in drag, without incident. Professional drag entertainers were indeed respected because of their relatively well-paying jobs, which often enabled them to provide for their families’ needs. | In 1930s Bronzeville, Chicago’s African American neighborhood, a visible and well-accepted queer subculture emerged. From State Street to Cottage Grove Avenue, along 43rd and 47th Street, Bronzeville’s commercialized and jazz-influenced urban culture offered African American gays and lesbians several venues where homosexuals and heterosexuals interacted across the color line (the Plantation Café, the Pleasure Inn, the Cabin Inn, Club DeLisa and Joe’s Deluxe), yearly popular Halloween “Drag Balls” popularized by Black gay hustler Alfred Finnie, semi-safe locations (the Wabash YMCA, The First Church of Deliverance, Washington Park, Jackson Park), and a “vice district” which facilitated prostitution. Homosexuality was quietly accommodated. Bronzeville’s most powerful inhabitants (Reverend Clarence Cobb, Reverend Mary G. Evans, and possibly Louise Smith Collier) and its most famous musicians (Tony Jackson, Rudy Richardson, Sippie Wallace, Frankie “Half-Pint” Jaxon, and George Hannah) were homosexuals. Joe Hughes, owner of a popular homo-friendly bar, was elected honorary mayor of Bronzeville in 1940. Journalist Theodore Jones regularly hired drag queen Valda Gray’s troupe of female impersonators for parties given for Bronzeville’s upper class. On the streets, working-class African American queers were also tolerated. For example, Lorenzo Banyard, a Cabin Inn drag entertainer, remembers riding streetcars to the West Side, dressed in drag, without incident. Professional drag entertainers were indeed respected because of their relatively well-paying jobs, which often enabled them to provide for their families’ needs. | ||
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[http://outhistory.org/wiki/Bronzeville%27s_Queer_NIghtlife 06. Bronzeville's Queer Nightlife] | [http://outhistory.org/wiki/Bronzeville%27s_Queer_NIghtlife 06. Bronzeville's Queer Nightlife] | ||
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| + | == PART 2: THE MAKING OF BRONZEVILLE'S QUEER SUBCULTURE (1940-1955) == | ||
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[http://outhistory.org/wiki/Female_Impersonators 14. Female Impersonators] | [http://outhistory.org/wiki/Female_Impersonators 14. Female Impersonators] | ||
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| + | == PART 3: CIVIL RIGHTS AND GAY IDENTITIES IN BRONZEVILLE (1955-1970) == | ||
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Throughout the fifties and the sixties, African American gay females seem to have been more accepted by Bronzeville’s mainstream population than their male counterparts. During the Civil Rights movement, African American gay men participated in several organizations that tolerated their sexuality if they were closeted, while African American lesbians who participated in several women’s organization were accepted on the basis of their sexuality. Some male interviewees for this project participated in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Community, the Congress of Racial Equality, even in the Nation of Islam. Many lesbians participated in the Chicago Women’s Liberation Movement. Several male artists such as musician Billy Strayhorn or writer Williard Motley lived closeted lives. However, Lorraine Hansberry and Gwendolyn Brookes were more open about their sexuality. This discrimination led many African American gay men to migrate to the North Side while many African American lesbians remained on the South Side, explaining the development of African American lesbian bars, such as Maxine’s, in the 1960s. | Throughout the fifties and the sixties, African American gay females seem to have been more accepted by Bronzeville’s mainstream population than their male counterparts. During the Civil Rights movement, African American gay men participated in several organizations that tolerated their sexuality if they were closeted, while African American lesbians who participated in several women’s organization were accepted on the basis of their sexuality. Some male interviewees for this project participated in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Community, the Congress of Racial Equality, even in the Nation of Islam. Many lesbians participated in the Chicago Women’s Liberation Movement. Several male artists such as musician Billy Strayhorn or writer Williard Motley lived closeted lives. However, Lorraine Hansberry and Gwendolyn Brookes were more open about their sexuality. This discrimination led many African American gay men to migrate to the North Side while many African American lesbians remained on the South Side, explaining the development of African American lesbian bars, such as Maxine’s, in the 1960s. | ||
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[http://outhistory.org/wiki/Lorraine_Hansberry 16. Lorraine Hansberry] | [http://outhistory.org/wiki/Lorraine_Hansberry 16. Lorraine Hansberry] | ||
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| + | == PART 4: GAY LIBERATION IN BRONZEVILLE == | ||
| + | |||
During the 1970s, in spite of their increasing visibility and political organization, African American gays and lesbians were less accepted on both the South Side and in white-dominated gay circles. In March 1978, Ouida Lindsey, a popular WFLD prime time talk show host, interviewed several African American gay men about the challenges of being African American and gay. At the same time, the Chicago Gay Liberation had gained media and cultural exposure in spite of on-going tensions between lesbians and gay men, and between Black homosexuals and their white counterparts. A Women’s Caucus and a Black Caucus, which later became The Chicago Lesbian Liberation and The Third World Gay Revolution, formed within the Chicago Gay Liberation to address the specific concerns of lesbians and Black gay men. By summer 1980, three African American gay groups had developed: National Coalition of Black Gays – Chicago Chapter (NCBG), Gentle Waves (Chicago’s Black Lesbian group) and the Committee of Black Gay Men (which produced the first African American gay magazine, Diplomat). However, the gay community was not immune to race discrimination. The Bistro regularly asked African Americans for multiple proofs of identification. The Rialto, an African American gay bar, was raided several times in 1979. | During the 1970s, in spite of their increasing visibility and political organization, African American gays and lesbians were less accepted on both the South Side and in white-dominated gay circles. In March 1978, Ouida Lindsey, a popular WFLD prime time talk show host, interviewed several African American gay men about the challenges of being African American and gay. At the same time, the Chicago Gay Liberation had gained media and cultural exposure in spite of on-going tensions between lesbians and gay men, and between Black homosexuals and their white counterparts. A Women’s Caucus and a Black Caucus, which later became The Chicago Lesbian Liberation and The Third World Gay Revolution, formed within the Chicago Gay Liberation to address the specific concerns of lesbians and Black gay men. By summer 1980, three African American gay groups had developed: National Coalition of Black Gays – Chicago Chapter (NCBG), Gentle Waves (Chicago’s Black Lesbian group) and the Committee of Black Gay Men (which produced the first African American gay magazine, Diplomat). However, the gay community was not immune to race discrimination. The Bistro regularly asked African Americans for multiple proofs of identification. The Rialto, an African American gay bar, was raided several times in 1979. | ||
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[http://outhistory.org/wiki/NCBG_-Chicago_:_The_National_Coalition_of_Black_Gays 18. NCBG -Chicago : The National Coalition of Black Gays] | [http://outhistory.org/wiki/NCBG_-Chicago_:_The_National_Coalition_of_Black_Gays 18. NCBG -Chicago : The National Coalition of Black Gays] | ||
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| + | == PART 5: AIDS, BLACK POLITICS AND THE MAKING OF A BLACK GAY COMMUNITY == | ||
| + | |||
In spite of their quick response to the AIDS crisis, African American gay activists were widely ignored, both by African American and gay media, in their efforts to prevent HIV infections. Upon the Chicago Black Gay Christian Conference, on December 10th 1982, David Wright, president of the NCBG – Chicago Chapter, began offering HIV education and prevention to Chicago’s African American gay community. In September 1983, Foster’s, a popular African American gay bar on Chicago’s South Side, agreed to have four workshops on HIV. The following month activist Richard Gray and Henry Martin, owner of Martin’s Den, a South Side African American gay bar, announced a series of workshops entitled “HIV and Health in the Gay Community.” Although the African American gay community of Chicago had decided to deal with the AIDS crisis, African American media turned a blind eye to their action. As a result, on September 20th 1983, NCBG announced that the Chicago Department of Health presented a case of discrimination against lesbians and gays by the local media and Operation Push. The Chicago Defender and Chicago Metro News, both African American newspapers, had indeed refused to publish news releases submitted over the past four months concerning local African American lesbian and gay community response to the AIDS crisis. In 1983, The Chicago Defender, as well as Operation PUSH announced the death of popular singer Chicagoan Keith Barrow, but neither organization mentioned Barrow’s AIDS diagnosis. While queers were accommodated in Bronzeville until the late forties, they gradually became more persecuted as their organization and visibility increased, to the point of being actively discriminated against in both white-dominated gay circles and in the African American community at large | In spite of their quick response to the AIDS crisis, African American gay activists were widely ignored, both by African American and gay media, in their efforts to prevent HIV infections. Upon the Chicago Black Gay Christian Conference, on December 10th 1982, David Wright, president of the NCBG – Chicago Chapter, began offering HIV education and prevention to Chicago’s African American gay community. In September 1983, Foster’s, a popular African American gay bar on Chicago’s South Side, agreed to have four workshops on HIV. The following month activist Richard Gray and Henry Martin, owner of Martin’s Den, a South Side African American gay bar, announced a series of workshops entitled “HIV and Health in the Gay Community.” Although the African American gay community of Chicago had decided to deal with the AIDS crisis, African American media turned a blind eye to their action. As a result, on September 20th 1983, NCBG announced that the Chicago Department of Health presented a case of discrimination against lesbians and gays by the local media and Operation Push. The Chicago Defender and Chicago Metro News, both African American newspapers, had indeed refused to publish news releases submitted over the past four months concerning local African American lesbian and gay community response to the AIDS crisis. In 1983, The Chicago Defender, as well as Operation PUSH announced the death of popular singer Chicagoan Keith Barrow, but neither organization mentioned Barrow’s AIDS diagnosis. While queers were accommodated in Bronzeville until the late forties, they gradually became more persecuted as their organization and visibility increased, to the point of being actively discriminated against in both white-dominated gay circles and in the African American community at large | ||
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[http://outhistory.org/wiki/Queer_Bronzeville_-_A_Bibliography Bibliography] | [http://outhistory.org/wiki/Queer_Bronzeville_-_A_Bibliography Bibliography] | ||
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| + | == About the Author == | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | Tristan Cabello is an historian of 20th Century America and France, specializing in the study of minorities. | ||
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| + | Born and raised in Paris (France), Tristan Cabello lived Belgium, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States before receiving his B.A. and M.A. in American Studies at the Université Marc Block of Strasbourg, France. He is currently completing his Ph.D in History at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL. | ||
[http://outhistory.org/wiki/Queer_Bronzeville%27s_Pre-History NEXT: Queer Bronzeville's Pre-History] | [http://outhistory.org/wiki/Queer_Bronzeville%27s_Pre-History NEXT: Queer Bronzeville's Pre-History] | ||
Revision as of 15:21, 17 April 2009
Text by Tristan Cabello. Copyright (©) by Tristan Cabello, 2008. All rights reserved.
QUEER BRONZEVILLE
THE HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN GAYS AND LESBIANS ON CHICAGO'S SOUTH SIDE
(1885-1985)
PART 1: The Emergence of Queer Networks in Bronzeville (1900-1940)
In 1930s Bronzeville, Chicago’s African American neighborhood, a visible and well-accepted queer subculture emerged. From State Street to Cottage Grove Avenue, along 43rd and 47th Street, Bronzeville’s commercialized and jazz-influenced urban culture offered African American gays and lesbians several venues where homosexuals and heterosexuals interacted across the color line (the Plantation Café, the Pleasure Inn, the Cabin Inn, Club DeLisa and Joe’s Deluxe), yearly popular Halloween “Drag Balls” popularized by Black gay hustler Alfred Finnie, semi-safe locations (the Wabash YMCA, The First Church of Deliverance, Washington Park, Jackson Park), and a “vice district” which facilitated prostitution. Homosexuality was quietly accommodated. Bronzeville’s most powerful inhabitants (Reverend Clarence Cobb, Reverend Mary G. Evans, and possibly Louise Smith Collier) and its most famous musicians (Tony Jackson, Rudy Richardson, Sippie Wallace, Frankie “Half-Pint” Jaxon, and George Hannah) were homosexuals. Joe Hughes, owner of a popular homo-friendly bar, was elected honorary mayor of Bronzeville in 1940. Journalist Theodore Jones regularly hired drag queen Valda Gray’s troupe of female impersonators for parties given for Bronzeville’s upper class. On the streets, working-class African American queers were also tolerated. For example, Lorenzo Banyard, a Cabin Inn drag entertainer, remembers riding streetcars to the West Side, dressed in drag, without incident. Professional drag entertainers were indeed respected because of their relatively well-paying jobs, which often enabled them to provide for their families’ needs.
01. Bronzeville's Queer Pre-History
02. Tony Jackson, a Gay Blues man
03. Bronzeville's Vice District
04. Singing the Blues: Masculine Female Performers
05. Ernest Burgess: Exploring Sexual Systems
06. Bronzeville's Queer Nightlife
PART 2: THE MAKING OF BRONZEVILLE'S QUEER SUBCULTURE (1940-1955)
The Second World War’s led to the emergence of a segregated African American queer subculture in Bronzeville. The migration of homosexuals to Chicago gave rise to an increase of North Side gay bars from which Blacks were often excluded. Therefore, by the mid-forties, most of Bronzeville’s former homo-friendly nightclubs had become exclusively African American gay clubs (example: The Kitty Kat Club). However, Bronzeville’s upper class, seeking to improve the collective fate of African Americans by inculcating middle-class values among them led many gays and lesbians to be careful about acting on their sexuality, or to limit their sexual relationships to other cities. For example, Reverend Cobb started giving homophobic sermons in the mid-forties but was known to have gay sexual partners in many other cities. Working-class African American gays were ridiculed in the press and harassed in bars for their transgression of gender roles, rambunctious house parties and participation in public sex.
09. Gay life in 1940's Bronzeville: The Story of "Nancy Kelly"
10. Gay Life in 1950's Bronzeville: The Story of Jacques Cristion
11. The Story of Bronzeville's Gay Icon: Rudy Richardson
12. Queer Business: The Case of Joe Hughes
13. The Johnson Publishing Company
PART 3: CIVIL RIGHTS AND GAY IDENTITIES IN BRONZEVILLE (1955-1970)
Throughout the fifties and the sixties, African American gay females seem to have been more accepted by Bronzeville’s mainstream population than their male counterparts. During the Civil Rights movement, African American gay men participated in several organizations that tolerated their sexuality if they were closeted, while African American lesbians who participated in several women’s organization were accepted on the basis of their sexuality. Some male interviewees for this project participated in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Community, the Congress of Racial Equality, even in the Nation of Islam. Many lesbians participated in the Chicago Women’s Liberation Movement. Several male artists such as musician Billy Strayhorn or writer Williard Motley lived closeted lives. However, Lorraine Hansberry and Gwendolyn Brookes were more open about their sexuality. This discrimination led many African American gay men to migrate to the North Side while many African American lesbians remained on the South Side, explaining the development of African American lesbian bars, such as Maxine’s, in the 1960s.
PART 4: GAY LIBERATION IN BRONZEVILLE
During the 1970s, in spite of their increasing visibility and political organization, African American gays and lesbians were less accepted on both the South Side and in white-dominated gay circles. In March 1978, Ouida Lindsey, a popular WFLD prime time talk show host, interviewed several African American gay men about the challenges of being African American and gay. At the same time, the Chicago Gay Liberation had gained media and cultural exposure in spite of on-going tensions between lesbians and gay men, and between Black homosexuals and their white counterparts. A Women’s Caucus and a Black Caucus, which later became The Chicago Lesbian Liberation and The Third World Gay Revolution, formed within the Chicago Gay Liberation to address the specific concerns of lesbians and Black gay men. By summer 1980, three African American gay groups had developed: National Coalition of Black Gays – Chicago Chapter (NCBG), Gentle Waves (Chicago’s Black Lesbian group) and the Committee of Black Gay Men (which produced the first African American gay magazine, Diplomat). However, the gay community was not immune to race discrimination. The Bistro regularly asked African Americans for multiple proofs of identification. The Rialto, an African American gay bar, was raided several times in 1979.
17. Gay Liberation / Third World Gay Revolution
18. NCBG -Chicago : The National Coalition of Black Gays
PART 5: AIDS, BLACK POLITICS AND THE MAKING OF A BLACK GAY COMMUNITY
In spite of their quick response to the AIDS crisis, African American gay activists were widely ignored, both by African American and gay media, in their efforts to prevent HIV infections. Upon the Chicago Black Gay Christian Conference, on December 10th 1982, David Wright, president of the NCBG – Chicago Chapter, began offering HIV education and prevention to Chicago’s African American gay community. In September 1983, Foster’s, a popular African American gay bar on Chicago’s South Side, agreed to have four workshops on HIV. The following month activist Richard Gray and Henry Martin, owner of Martin’s Den, a South Side African American gay bar, announced a series of workshops entitled “HIV and Health in the Gay Community.” Although the African American gay community of Chicago had decided to deal with the AIDS crisis, African American media turned a blind eye to their action. As a result, on September 20th 1983, NCBG announced that the Chicago Department of Health presented a case of discrimination against lesbians and gays by the local media and Operation Push. The Chicago Defender and Chicago Metro News, both African American newspapers, had indeed refused to publish news releases submitted over the past four months concerning local African American lesbian and gay community response to the AIDS crisis. In 1983, The Chicago Defender, as well as Operation PUSH announced the death of popular singer Chicagoan Keith Barrow, but neither organization mentioned Barrow’s AIDS diagnosis. While queers were accommodated in Bronzeville until the late forties, they gradually became more persecuted as their organization and visibility increased, to the point of being actively discriminated against in both white-dominated gay circles and in the African American community at large
19. Chicago's African American Gays and the Early Days of the AIDS Epidemic
About the Author
Tristan Cabello is an historian of 20th Century America and France, specializing in the study of minorities.
Born and raised in Paris (France), Tristan Cabello lived Belgium, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States before receiving his B.A. and M.A. in American Studies at the Université Marc Block of Strasbourg, France. He is currently completing his Ph.D in History at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL.
