Donning a top hat and tuxedo, Bentley would sing the blues in Harlem establishments like the Clam House and the Ubangi Club. via Wikimedia Commons Gladys Bentley (1907-1960)īentley was a gender-bending performer during the Harlem Renaissance. “Racism combined with the forces of stigma, phobia, discrimination and bias associated with gender and sexuality have too often erased the contributions of members of our community.' Glady Bentley. Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, told NBC News.
“As long as there have been Black people, there have been Black LGBTQ and same-gender-loving people,” David J. From 1960s civil rights activist Bayard Rustin to Chicago's first lesbian mayor, Lori Lightfoot, Black LGBTQ Americans have long made history with innumerable contributions to politics, art, medicine and a host of other fields.
