February is an ICONIC month! This month is Black History Month in the US and LGBTQ+ History Month in the UK. As a Queer, Black, Woman, I (Tash) feel like this month centres so much of the history of the person I am today!
However, before I go a step further, I want to highlight that LGBTQ+ and Black History Month are NOW! They are always! Please do not get complacent and believe that these moments and people can only be celebrated one month a year.
I am excited to have this platform to be able to share some of the many incredible Black, LGBTQ+ pioneers, who have created space for us to live the lives we have today. This list is by no means exhaustive, but hopefully you will feel inspired to learn more.
“I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change … I’m changing the things I cannot accept”
Known as an activist, an author, a scholar and a true legend. Angela Davis is also America’s most famous “political prisoner”. When in 1971 she was in-prisoned for her alleged involvement in the 1970 armed courtroom takeover that left her friend (Jonathan Jackson) two inmates and a judge dead in Marin County. Investigators accused Davis of being involved when they traced a gun used in the incident, back to her. After eluding FBI for 2 months, she was jailed, with President Nixon stating “the dangerous terrorist Angela Davis”. This prompted a series of demonstrations throughout the US, led with the words ‘FREE ANGELA’.
Angela was finally acquitted in 1972, after spending 18 months in prison, at which point she took on the role of defender. Fighting against structural inequity and injustice. She has continued to defend every marginalised group when no one else would.
“I’m proud to be a woman, I’m proud to be a black woman and I’m proud to be gay.”
American born actress, comedian and writer, first recognised for her work on The Chris Rock Show. She has since been named one of the 25 funniest people in America by Entertianment weekly. Sykes publicly came out at a same-sex rally in Las Vegas protesting against Proposition 8 (eliminating the rights of same-sex couples to marry). Since then she has been a major advocate for the community, often speaking at fundraisers. However, Sykes is most well known for her no bullshit style of comedy. Unafraid to say the things that need to be said, in front of the people who need to hear them. She has become an example to Queer, Black women of what we can achieve in a world that is systematically built against us.
“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognise, accept, and celebrate those differences.”
A self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet”, Audre Lorde dedicated her life to both her creative talents and confronting injustice, racism, classism and homophobia. Lorde had her first poem published in Seventeen magazine, whilst still in High School. At this time she would often speak in poems when sharing her feelings, choosing lines to depict her emotions.
She went on to write poems such as ‘Power’. Written after the acquittal of a police officer who shot a 10 year old black child. Much of her work focused on the marginalisation of groups of people and societies need to categorise us into “lesbian” or “black woman”. She later published prose about her struggle to overcome breast cancer, (The Cancer Journals – 1980), as a way to address the silence surrounding cancer.
Audre Lorde’s writing provides a language for how we may heal from the socio-political climate we are in. Her writing is fierce, it is, intelligent, it is graceful and it is powerful.
‘No amount of bullying, racism, sexism or misogyny will hold us back’
Lady Phyll, co-founder of UK Black Pride the first Pride of its kind in the whole of Europe. She is also Executive Director of Kaleidoscope, a non profit working to uphold the human rights of LGBTQ+ people internationally. Born in London, Phyll has spent her life campaigning for the rights of LGBTQ+ people. She has increased the visibility of Queer, Trans and Intersex People of Colour whilst continuing to pay homage to the pioneers that came before.
She envisions a world free of homophobia, racism, sexism and discrimination and works tirelessly to achieve this goal. Lady Phyll is recognised as a pillar of the LGBTQ+ community both in the UK and Europe. She is a true Black LGBTQ+ Icon!
This is just the first instalment of this months celebration of Black, LGBTQ+ Icons! You can read the next part HERE and also follow our Instagram @_breakingthedistance to see daily posts and info.
You can also read about other inspiring people in our ‘Breaking the Stigma‘ Pride Campaign from June 2020.
I currently live in London, working all over the UK as a performer and a presenter. I have a passion for writing and love sharing my experiences with others.
I currently live in London, working all over the UK as a performer and a presenter. I have a passion for writing and love sharing my experiences with others.
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