Yo, tomorrow (31st March) is Trans Day of Visibility.
Considering the far-right’s desperate attempts to kill anyone who isn’t beige, it’s probably important to use your channels and classes to remind people that jazz music and dance, Harlem, and the Harlem Renaissance were (and are) queer as fuck.
Performers and musicians like Gladys Bentley made no secret of being queer and trans.
The Hamilton Lodge Ball was HUGE (we’re talking 7000 people of all stripes attending in 1932 alone) and showcased the early days of ballrooming/drag balls.
Trans activists (especially trans women of colour!) have been at the heart of queer activism since FOREVER (Stonewall was kicked off by a queer trans woman of colour!).
And if you can’t name half a dozen jazz musicians who were gay, you’re not paying attention.
Some resources:
- https://blackquotidian.supdigital.org/bq/april-5-1933
- https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/queens-and-queers-rise-drag-ball-culture-1920s
- https://queermusicheritage.com/nov2014hamilton.html
- https://makinggayhistory.com/
Another post about this:
5 Ways to Be a Totally Ok-By-The-Gays Dance Teacher
1929 Studios’ post about this: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqbkPGuvdn4/
