Amplifying Queer & Trans history and the stories of Latinx & Afro-Latinx Gay | Queer | Trans | Bisexual Men & Bois
blessed are those who mother the children the world left alone to mind themselves. blessed are the queens who build a queendom for these children to survive and thrive. pepper labeija was both mother and queen and on this #mothersday weekend, we speak her name.
born on november 5, 1948 in the bronx, new york, pepper became the mother of the house of labeija (pronounced la-BAY-zha) in the 1982 after the founding mother, crystal labeija died.
under pepper’s leadership, the house continued to pave the way both drag and ballroom culture. the family structure that has long been the foundation of black and brown ballroom houses was created by the house of labeija and pepper played an integral part of this.
pepper and the house of labeija rose to mainstream prominence when they were featured in the 1990 documentary film, “paris is burning.”
pepper spent most of her life providing refuge for black and brown trans and queer young people during and after the height of the aids and crack epidemic. like many of the house mothers of her time, pepper helped to cultivate a space where black queer and trans people could live out their fantasies and those fantasies included a universe without homophobia, transphobia and racism.
on may 14, 2003, mother pepper labeija became an elder when she died of a heart attack at the age of 54.
in a new york times tribute printed on may 26, 2003, douglas martin wrote, “pepper was the last of the four great queens of modern harlem balls; angie xtravaganza, dorian corey and avis pendavis all died in recent years. these four exuded a sort of wild expressionism that might make las vegas girls seem tame.”
happy mother’s day, pepper! thank you for all of the new earths you helped to create when ours was burning down.
Emile Griffith was the epitome of a reluctant boxing superstar. After moving to New York from the Virgin Islands in the early 1950’s, went from hat factory worker to professional boxer in just a few short years.
On April 1, 1961, Emile stepped into the ring to fight reigning welterweight champion, Cuban fighter, Benny “Benny the Kid” Paret. Emile won the match by knockout. Their much anticipated rematch took place just months later on Sept. 30th. This time, Emile lost to Paret by split decision.
By their third match on March 24, 1962 at Maddison Square Garden, their rivalry reached a fever pitch.
During the weigh in of the match, Paret called Emile a “maricon” and laughed. While many were aware that Emile frequented gay bars, many in the boxing world did not speak about it. Remember, this was years before the Stonewall riots of 1969.
By the time the televised match entered its 12th round, and just seconds after the commentator remarked, “This is probably one of the tamest round of the fight.”, Emile backed Paret into a corner and struck him repeatedly in the head before the referee stopped the fight. Paret slowly collapsed against the ropes and lost consciousness. Paret died 10 days later.
As a result of the match, Emile was bombarded with death threats, a government committee was assembled to investigate the sport and boxing was pulled from television for almost a decade. The match would haunt Emile for the rest of his life.
Emile retired in the late 1970’s and became a boxing trainer before working as a correctional officer.
In 1990, Emile was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Two years later, Emile was viscously beaten by a homophobic gang after leaving a New York gay bar. He spent four months in the hospital.
In a sports illustrated interview before his death, he was quoted saying: “I like men and women both. But I don’t like the word: homosexual, gay or faggot. I don’t know what I am. I love men and women the same, but if you ask me which is better…I like women.”
Emile died on July 23, 2013.
Today, we remember and speak the name of a champion.
on june 8, 2016, after making national news for the pervasive anti-blackness in the gayborhood, philadelphia unveiled their new official pride flag. what made this pride flag notable was that it included black and brown stripes. while it was celebrated by many, it also pissed off many gays who said it was a publicity stunt and that the flag was ruined because it the additional stripes made it about race. ha!
in the two years since, the same gays who hated the flag are now the same ones waving it. mainly because the narrative about the reasons why the flag was created had been so watered down or frankly, just forgotten. .
here is a quick history.
in 2015, gran varones along with the black & brown cooperative, philly for real justice, act up philadelphia, journalist ernest owens and countless others began to sound the alarm on the anti-blackness and violence of gay club owners and lgbtq non-profit leadership. city officials discounted accused us of being the “problem” by “creating division” in the gayborhood.
spearheaded by the BBWC, we supported the successful campaign to get both the director of the office of lgbtq affairs and the ceo of the largest lgbtq organization in the state to resign. because of the campaign and strategic organizing and direct actions, the city created policies that would hold lgbtq businesses and organizations accountable for their anti-blackness. all of this was made possible but the same black and brown queer & trans folks who sacrificed their bodies, social capital and employment to demand accountability.
it was this radical resistance and organizing that inspired philadelphia to adopt the #MoreColorMorePride flag. yes, the flag serves as a reminder of black and brown LGBTQ+ community members but it is also a reminder of black and brown queers and trans resistance. this flag was a product of shifting an entire city to address its anti-blackness.
without the courageous work of the mentioned groups, sharron cook, christian axavier lovehall and many others, this new pride flag would not be possible. may this be remembered 50 years from now.
today we honor and celebrate the legacy of danitra vance, who was a highly regarded stage actress and comedian.
danitra
vance was the first black woman and first out queer woman to become a cast regular on saturday night live.
the
chicago born artist mounted her own off-broadway show, “danitra vance
& the mell-o white boys”, in 1984. the village voice wrote, “stabs
while she entertains…vance creates an unsettling tension among
stereotypes and conditions that create stereotypes.”
the
chicago born artist mounted her own off-broadway show, “danitra vance
& the mell-o white boys”, in 1984. the village voice wrote, “stabs
while she entertains…vance creates an unsettling tension among
stereotypes and conditions that create stereotypes.”
danitra
became an SNL cast regular for just one season in 1985. vance was
dyslexic and struggled to remember her lines and would often times
ad-lib her lines w/ great success. her most remembered sketch was “that
black girl”, the spoof of the 60’s show “that girl.”
although
danitra proved herself to be a strong comedic actress, she was
frustrated with SNL writers who put kept putting her in stereotypical
roles. this was made apparent in the 1986 episode hosted by oprah
winfrey where vance player lorne michael’s personal slave.
after
SNL, and despite winning an NAACP award in 1986, tv and movies roles
were far and few in between. danita returned to the stage and appeared
in george c. wolfe’s play, “the colored museum.” the play was televised
in PBS in 1991.“the hairpiece”, featured danitra starring along side brilliant actors, vickilyn reynolds and loretta devine.
in
1991, danitra was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a single
mastectomy. she continued to write and perform her own material.
unfortunately, the cancer recurred in 1993. danitra died in the
following year. she was just 40 years old.
danitra
vance’s time in the limelight and on the earth was brief but her quite
impact continues to be felt. she was black, queer and unapologetic
creative.
may 21 will mark the 40th anniversary of the white night riots that took place in san francisco in 1979 after dan white was sentenced to just 8 years in prison for the murder of mayor george moscone and supervisor harvey milk.
by the turn of the 1970’s, the castro district of san francisco had become a queer & trans utopia that provided a sense of sexual freedom, liberation, and self-realization. however, both local and national anti-gay legislation & sentiments were threatening that paradise.
in 1977, miss america runner-up & florida citrus orange juice “queen” lead a successful “save our children” campaign to overturn a dade county ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. that win launched a nat’l movement against the lgbtq community.
in 1978, harvey milk, the first out gay man to be elected to public office in CA, helped to get a non-discrimination ordinance signed in to SF law & was integral in mobilizing lgbtq folks and allies to shut down a statewide bill to ban gay teachers.
former cop dan white, who was elected to the SF board of supervisors the same time as harvey, was the only board member to vote against the non-discrimination bill. embarrassed and angered that his own bills failed, white resigned from his position on november 10, 1978.
in the following weeks, white reconsidered his decision and asked to be reappointed to his position. after being told during a radio interview that another person would be appointed to the board in his place, dan white set out to punish those he felt had humiliated him.
on the morning of november 27, 1978, dan white snuck into city hall through a side window & with a loaded 38 caliber smith & wesson, and traveled to city hall. walked into the office of mayor george moscone, an ally of harvey’s & shot him 4 times, 2 shots to the head.
as dan white rushed through the hall searching harvey milk, he stop to reload his gun. when he found harvey down the hall, white shot harvey 5 times, two times in the head. the murders shocked an already devastated city who that just beginning to process the jonestown massacre.
in may of 1979, white was tried for 2 counts of 1st degree murder. however, the mostly older white & working class jury delivered a guilty verdict of voluntary manslaughter w/ sentence of just 8 yrs. for gay community, this was further proof that the justice system was anti-gay.
thousands marched to city hall to protest the verdict. some held signs that read, “pity for the privilege, death penalty for the poor” and “white(s) get away with murder.” as the crowd grew, the pain and disappointment quickly turned into collective rage.
outnumbered by the gays, cops retreated as the gays rioted at city hall breaking windows. when things subsided, folks headed back to the castro district. in retaliation, police descended onto the castro and invaded a gay bar later that night.
police violently struck gay patrons. still filled with complete fury and disdain of the police state and justice system, the gays fought back and set police cars on fire. by the end of the night, dozens of police cars were set ablaze and 20 people were arrested.
the white night riots are an important chapter in queer history. on the night of may 21, 1979, the san francisco gays challenged the police state and defended themselves from police violence. they set the city on fire.
the following san francisco pride, marchers held signs that read “lesbians against police violence” & “end police violence.” cops were seen as a threat to queer liberation. later that year, in november of 1979, close to 100,000 people marched in support gay rights in DC.
the white night riots signaled a continued a trans & queer revolution that was ignited during the stonewall uprising 10 years earlier. pride marches were political and even more so just two years later when the aids epidemic began its assault on the queer community
sadly, in many ways, the aids epidemic truncated the revolution that we were on the brink of by stealing the lives of those who knew our liberation could never be realized under the police state.
BAN POLICE FROM PRIDE!
this pride season, may we all remember that the first pride was a riot. every culture shift for our basic human rights have been because of riots and direct actions. this year, honor black and brown trans women who rioted for us. remember the white night rioters by banning police
the telling of our history can sometimes confine people to one of two categories: those who made history and those who were a part of history. often times, it is the former that is celebrated and amplified. it is because of this that we have to search for any kind of proof that self-identified femme queens like jesse torres existed.
the story of jesse will not be found in a text book or on a wikipedia page. her story is found through the telling our other people’s story.
jesse torres, was featured in the 1996 bailey walsh documentary, “mirror mirror.” most of her scenes, which unfortunately are few, are of her speaking on the mic during drag shows while holding her purse.
to tell jesse’s story, i have to tell you about one of new york’s most popular trans and queer clubs, sally’s hideaway.
located on west 43rd street between 7th & 8th avenue, sally’s hideaway was frequented by trans women, sex workers, ballroom kids and all those that enjoyed a great drag show or pageant. owned by sally maggio, who befriended jesse years earlier, managed the club. jesse worked the door. many who remember jesse, recall her catch phrase being, “pay me back later.” she said this to anyone who couldn’t pay the door charge to sally’s. it was also her way of giving people time to turn a trick to the money to her back.
while the drag shows and balls (fun fact: the paris is burning ball featured in the 1990 documentary of the same name was filmed at sally’s) were the draw for many patrons, it was jesse’s welcoming spirit kept people coming back.
in 1992, sally’s hideaway was damaged by a fire. it would re-open just a few doors down as sally’s II, although most folks affectionately just called it “sally’s.” at this location, along with angie xtravaganza and dorian corey, jesse hosted a drag show.
by the mid-1990′s, sally’s would experience several blows that would eventually impact the club’s sustainability. the first blow was the death of club owner sally in october of 1993. jesse, who by this time was sally’s business partner, became the full time manager. the second blow was mayor giuliani’s aggressive “revitalization” of time square. the city forced many businesses and night clubs to shut down. sally’s was one of the last to go in 1997.
the last blow that would seal sally’s fate was the tragic and unexpected death of jesse in 1996.
there is very little proof in the digital world that sally’s and jesse existed. their stories continue to be treasured by those who not only called sally’s home but by those who survived the peak of the 90’s aids epidemic.
depending on how you read this dedication, jesse is either a person who created history or was a part of history. but by sharing a part of jesse’s story and speaking her name - we know that she did both. jesse created history that many are go grateful to have been a part of.
i am just five days shy of the second anniversary of my 40th birthday. you can celebrate with me by buying me a long island iced tea (with pineapple juice 🍹) - but instead of actually buying me one, you can donate that $15 to THE GRAN VARONES
for the past 4 years, gran varones has been committed to amplifying queer and aids history and the stories of latinx and afro-latinx gay, queer, trans, bi men and bois.
the project is completely volunteer-based and thrives because of community support. so please consider celebrating my birthday with me by donating.
it has been two years since christopher collins left this world. he was 37 years old. he was my first love and for years, my only love. he was an integral part of hiv prevention youth program development in philadelphia.
we met in the mid 1990s. we were a part of a group of black & brown queer & trans youth who were minding themselves. we didn’t have many mentors as most of the adults in our lives were either dying, caring for the dying or traumatized by the impact hiv/aids had on our community.
we were kids building rome with bricks cemented by our commitment to fuckin’ exist without apologies and shame. we bought our first rainbow necklaces together. we imagined a world for us that was yet to be written about in the books we read but we still imagined.
we both worked in hiv non-profit. that shit drained us both of life and spirit. we built programs that we had no access to. we gave the world everything including our relationship.
chris and i would work together again in 2012. we facilitated a weekly youth group for black & brown trans & queer youth. we joked about all that we survived. we cried about how the work & movement sometimes does not love you back.
chris wanted the movement and work to love him back. some of us learn to breathe through straws under the weight of the world that tells us we are not enough, our love is not enough. and some of us choose to fly in a dimension where oxygen is not restricted. chris chose the latter.
chris, the loss of your spirit is felt by those of us who survived hiv prevention of the 1990s. it is felt by those of us who continue to (barely) survive the non-profit industrial complex. your loss is felt by everyone who thought this work would save us.
chris was my first love. he was my friend. he was one of the most important relationships i had in this work. i miss his laugh. i miss him. today, i raise him up.
rest well, chris.
if you are feeling alone and/struggling right now, remember that lifeline is here for you. call the national suicide prevention hotline at 1.800.273.TALK (8255)
as a kid in the early half of the the 1980′s, i’d watch as my mother and her gay friends shuffle through a crate of vinyl records to choose a song to dance to. one of those songs was “let the music play” any shannon. her friend, Josie, a black gay man who looked very similar to “leroy” from the 1980 film, “fame.” he would dance and lip-sync as we watched. i remember being so captivated by his presence and in complete awe by the sound of percussions and the hypnotic hook (which was sung by a white dude named jimi tunnell) of the song. i am sure that my musical pallet and my incessant need to lip-sync songs was and still is informed by these memories.
on february 1, 1984, shannon’s debut album “let the music play” was released. the success of the title track & the follow-up “give me tonight” were critical in the evolution of both dance and pop music.
today we celebrate the unsung dance icon, shannon!
by 1982, after the homophobic and racist driven disco backlash of 1979, dance music still struggled to garner play at pop radio. many uptempo songs, in an effort to not to be confused with “disco”, leaned more pop and r&b. high energy dance songs like sylvester’s “do you wanna funk” were regulated to dance clubs. particularly, black, latinx and queers clubs. mainstream audiences were still afraid of dance music. that would soon change with the release of afrika bambaataa’s “planet rock.”
released in 1982, “planet rock” was sonically unlike anything on heard on radio or the clubs. it was accompanied by songs electro-pop songs like jenny burton’s “one more shot” and “i remember what i like” and freeze’s “IOU. while these songs brought a more melodic yet harder sound to pop music, they did not crack the pop top 40.
in 1983, shannon auditioned for chris barbosa, a bronx raised Puerto rican who was experimenting with pop, dance and latin sounds. shannon landed the opportunity to sing the barbosa penned song entitled, “let the music play.”
“let the music play” became a massive cross-over hit peaking at #8 pop, #2 r&b and #1 dance. the song would also go on to become an international smash reaching top 20 in several countries.
shannon’s follow-up single was the equally slammin’, and in my opinion one of the greatest pop songs in history, “give me tonight.” the song would reach top spot on both the r&b and dance charts. while many consider “let the music play” as the song that gave birth to the freestyle genre, and in many ways that is true. however, there are elements in “give me tonight”, the glitchy iconic breaks, that many subsequent freestyle songs would successfully and unsuccessfully duplicate. i just think “give me tonight” is just a far superior song.
by the time shannon released “my heart’s divided”, her 3rd consecutive #1 dance record in the spring of 1984, no one knew what to call her sound. was it r&b? was it pop? was it dance? many in the industry just began to call it “the shannon sound.” i remember being a music loving kid calling songs by nolan thomas “yo little brother” and chaka khan’s “my love is alive”m the Shannon sound. kid calling songs the “shannon” sound. it was this sound that fellow dance legends Lisa Lisa and shannon would build on to create the sound that we now officially call freestyle.
shannon quickly followed up here debut album with the release of “do you wanna get away”, her 1985 sophomore album. by this time radio was now saturated with other “shannon” sounding songs. in an effort to separate herself from the pack, songs on “do you wanna get away” were a bit more poppy and not as dance oriented as her previous singles. the the title track, however, did give her another #1 on the dance/club chart and another top 20 r&b hit.
after the release of a few more singles and one more album, shannon asked to be released from her contract and took an extended break from performing.
in 1997, the dance music landscape had shifted. freestyle had long fallen out of favor and giving way to the house music dominance. but with shannon was still able to notch herself another #1 dance song with the release the Todd Terry produced “it’s over love.”
shannon is still out here doing her damn thing in 2019! i saw her perform live once as part of a freestyle ensemble concert. she was the opening act. she greeted the crowd w/, “look at what i helped to create. i did this!” she got a standing ovation.
yes, you created this miss shannon!
shannon’s “give me tonight” impact is still felt. miss aja kills this gawd damn performance by lip-syncing the best part of the song - the glitchy vocal break! lawd! this is how you honor a legend!
My name is Alexander Velez and I am representing the Gran Varones. The Gran Varones is a legacy project that uses the art of storytelling to lift the voices of Latino & Afro-Latino Gay, Queer and Trans men. We stand alongside with Juntos, the Black and Brown Workers Collective and GALAEI to demand that Carolina Cabrera Digiorgio resign as CEO of Congreso.
As an Afro-Latino queer man, I don’t have the luxury and privilege of separating my life from my politics. My mere existence is a political act of resistance. I, along with other varones, are Congreso’s target population for their HIV prevention programs. We are also the target of Trump, who seeks to not just build wars to keep us separated from our families, healthcare, and life-saving HIV treatment, but he seeks to build walls of oppression that threaten to crush our very existence. Carolina Cabrera Digiorgio is in complete support of Trump and because of this, we demand that step down from her position as CEO.
As an Afro-Latino queer man, I know that silence equals death. I want you all to know that our loud protest is in the name of every who died and fought for an AIDS health care system that now allows Trump supporters like Carolina Cabrera Digiorgio to be in a position of power. Her support and any support of Trump’s racist and fascist regime is a threat to our lives.
Our loud protests are for all of the varones who once layed on hospital beds with a sinking t-cell count counting the minutes until you could hold down your food.
Our loud protests are for all of the varones who avoided looking into mirrors because the sunken face reflection did not reflect the beauty you behold.
Our loud protests are for all of the varones who pieced themselves back together piece by piece after the violence of stigma left them broken and beat.
Our loud protests are for all the varones who survive life by surviving one night at a time.
We salute you.
We praise you.
Because even AIDS,
Stigma,
Homophobia,
Racism,
White supremacy,
Oppression
and whack ass Trump supporters like Carolina Cabrera Digiorgio will not scare us into silence.
We stand on the side of liberation. Carolina, which side are you on?
- gran varones statement at today’s community protest in front of Congreso de Latinos Unidos demanding that congreso’s ceo step down.
psa. if we’re mutuals, we’re automatically friends. u don’t need to say things like “sorry to bother” or “sorry im annoying” bc ur not. ur my friend. u can come to me for anything. u need help? im here. wanna chat? hmu. just wanna gush abt your muse? go for it. we’re friends. ily.
miss-tries-way-too-hard