"five thousand years of queer black history"
Journey Writers has typically identified individuals for our Queer Black History program from the United States and from the last 100 years or so. This time we're inviting you to go a different direction with us.
In this program, we want to be more expansive, both in time and in geography, and take a look at historical figures who may have not even thought about the LGBTQ+ experience. It was just their way of life.
It’s a reminder that LGBTQ+ was not born in the seventies, or the sixties, or at the end of slavery or during the Harlem Renaissance. It existed well before that. Today we are sharing with you the stories of some incredible individuals from the past — and, by the way, LGBTQ+ was part of who they were.
Resource List
OSHUN
Online Resources
From the Online World History Encyclopedia
https://www.worldhistory.org/Oshun/
From the Unitarian Universalist Association - “Oshun Loses Her Beauty: Signs of Faith” (for children)
https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/children/signs/session13/oshun
From Ancient Origins: Reconstructing the Story of Humanity’s Past - “Oshun: African Goddess of Love and Sweet Waters”
Books
“Seven African Powers: The Orishas (African Spirituality Beliefs and Practices)” by Monique Joiner Siedlak
HATSHEPSUT
Online Resources
From MakingQueerHistory.com (originally from NationalGeographic.com)
https://www.makingqueerhistory.com/articles/2017/8/31/hatshepsut
Books
"The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt” by Kara Cooney
NZINGZA
Online Resources
From Wikipedia - “Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nzinga_of_Ndongo_and_Matamba
From BlackPast.org - “Queen Nzinga (1583-1663)”
https://www.blackpast.org/GLOBAL-AFRICAN-HISTORY/QUEEN-NZINGA-1583-1663/
From MakingQueerHistory.com - “Feb 24 Ngola Nzinga Part I”
https://www.makingqueerhistory.com/articles/2022/2/24/ngola-nzinga-part-i
From MakingQueerHistory.com - “Feb 25 Ngola Nzinga Part II”
https://www.makingqueerhistory.com/articles/2022/2/25/ngola-nzinga-part-ii
WILLIAM SWANN
Online Resources
From LiverpoolMuseums.org.uk - “From slavery to voguing: the House of Swann”
https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/stories/slavery-voguing-house-of-swann
From The Nation - “The First Drag Queen Was a Former Slave”
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/drag-queen-slave-ball/
Videos
From BBC - “The former slave who became the world's first drag queen”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT15sCRHKJU
From American Masters/PBS - “William Dorsey Swann: The first "Queen of Drag”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ghr-QbS8NE
ODESSA MADRE
Online Resources
From Coffee of Die Magazine - “The Rise and Fall of Odessa Madre, “The Lady Al Capone” https://coffeeordie.com/odessa-madre/
From the Washington Post (paywall) - "A new film explores the life of Odessa Madre, the ‘queen’ of D.C.’s underworld" https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/odessa-madre-washington-dc/2021/10/12/f2f84bdc-2b73-11ec-985d-3150f7e106b2_story.html
