Three Important Queer Women That Aren’t Ellen DeGeneres

Photo: https://www.autostraddle.com/the-peculiar-kind-queer-women-of-color-represent-134063/

By: Ajani Anderson (’21), Staff Writer

In 1969, as patrons at the Stonewall Inn–the hub of the LGBT community in New York–were dragged out, frisked, and beaten by police, a woman emerged at the forefront of the rebellion that would become a decades-long movement. Marsha P Johnson, a black trans woman was one of the first to fight back against the police. And yet, in the 2015 movie, Stonewall, the narrative of this monumental rebellion that sparked the Gay Pride movement is utterly whitewashed, erasing the contributions of the black trans women who threw the first stones, and repainting the gay rights movement as a movement for and by cisgender white males.
African Americans are and have always been a part of the LGBT community, yet LGBT history shamelessly ignores black people. And it is often black transgender and lesbian women who are pushed to the fringes most vehemently. Though this is no substitute for the in-depth education needed, here are three black, queer women who have impacted the world we live in today.

Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson
Alice Moore Dunbar was a poet, essayist, and activist. As one of the few female African American diarists of her time, Alice Moore was in a unique position to shed light on issues of racism, family, and work through her writing. And as a bisexual black woman, she was one of very few voices speaking about female sexuality. Her contributions to these conversations galvanized women like Audre Lorde, a black, feminist, lesbian writer whose writings on homophobia, racism, and sexism spearheaded conversations to include and appreciate black lesbians in both the black and LGBT communities.

 
Carmen Mercedes McRae
McRae was one of the most influential jazz singers of the 20th century, taking inspiration from her idol Billie Holiday, and quickly climbing the ranks until she was seen as the artistic equal to Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn. McRae is unique in that, although she rejected labels of her sexuality, she openly dated both males and females, and believed that sexuality is fluid. This now commonly-heard belief has allowed for more acceptance of bisexual black artists like Amandla Stenberg, a pansexual and non-binary actor and activist.

Lucy Hicks Anderson
In a time when transgender people were nearly invisible in the US, Lucy Hicks Anderson became one of the first trans women to break through that barrier and became the first trans woman to go to court to fight for her right to marry the man she loved. She is one of the pioneers of the trans movement, having opened the door for trans visibility, and rights. Though Lucy Hicks Anderson lost the case, her determination to live authentically and fight for her rights to do so has paved the way for many transgender women now, such as Mya Taylor, the first transgender woman to win an Independent Spirit Award, and Andrea Jenkins, the first openly transgender black woman to be elected to office, to be seen and successful.
There are dozens of other queer black women that have changed and are still changing the face of the LGBT movement, and who deserve recognition for their leadership. It’s 2018–and far past time we learn that queer women of color not only exist but have led the way in promoting activism in many circles. It is time that we stop erasing queer history, whitewashing queer media, and start working to make LGBT+ circles inclusive. It is time to desegregate the LGBTQ+ community.