Category Archives: Uncategorized

#KimberlyDrew: The former social media manager for the #MetropolitanMuseumOfArt, she is currently an art curator and writer, going by the social media handle #MuseumMammy. Starting a Tumblr account while still in college called #BlackContemporaryArt, she aimed to highlight the work of black artists that was shown in major museums but lacked a presence on social media with the goal of makingContinue reading “Kimberly Drew”

#RuPaul (November 17, 1960 – ): Born in #SanDiego from parents from Louisiana, RuPaul was named by his mother, adding “Ru” from roux (the base of gumbo and other creole stews and soups). Raised a #Catholic, RuPaul and his sister moved to #Atlanta when he was 15 to study performing arts. He eventually worked atContinue reading “RuPaul”

#Divine (October 19, 1945 – March 7, 1988): Born Harris Glenn Milstead in #Baltimore, he was an only child raised #Baptist. Of his upbringing, he said, “I was an only child in, I guess, your upper middle-class American family. I was probably your American spoiled brat.” At 17, his parents sent him to a psychiatristContinue reading “Divine”

#JohnWaters (April 22, 1946 – ): Born in a suburb of #Baltimore, #Maryland, Waters was raised #Catholic, but strayed from the strictures of the Church as he got older. His boyhood friend #GlennMilstead (later known as #Divine) also grew up in the neighborhood. Inspired by movies and film, Waters grew up doing versions of #PunchAndJudyContinue reading “John Waters”

#MabelHampton (May 2, 1902 – October 26, 1989): Hampton was an American lesbian activist, a dancer during the #HarlemRenaissance, and a philanthropist for many Black and LGBTQ organizations. Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, she was orphaned at a young age and sent to New York, where at the age of seven she was raised by an aunt andContinue reading “Mabel Hampton”

#RichardBruceNugent (July 2, 1906 – May 27, 1987): Nugent was a gay writer and painter during the #HarlemRenaissance and though certainly not the only LGBTQ artist of the time period, he was one of the few who openly stated and celebrated his homosexuality. Born and raised in Washington D.C., Nugent moved to New York CityContinue reading “Richard Bruce Nugent”

#LangstonHughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967): Hughes was one of the most famous poets of the #HarlemRenaissance, as well as an innovator in the form of jazz poetry. Born up in Joplin, Missouri, of an extremely complex ancestry, Hughes moved around as a child in the Midwestern United States. After his father abandonedContinue reading “Langston Hughes”

#RyanRussell (January 17, 1992 – ): Russell is an American football player (defensive end) who played at #PurdueUniversity, then professionally played for the #DallasCowboys in 2015, the #TampaBayBuccaneers for the 2016 and 2017 seasons, and then signed on with the #BuffaloBills for the 2018 season before being released owing to a shoulder injury which preventedContinue reading “Ryan Russell”

#JewelThaisWilliams: She was once the owner of the #JewelsCatchOneDisco, one of the first black discos in the United States and one of the longest running black gay dance bars in #LosAngeles. Thais-Williams sought to become self-employed while earning her degree in history at #UCLA and worked as a maid, customer service representative, recreation director, probationContinue reading “Jewel Thais-Williams”

#GeraldineRoman (April 23, 1967 – ): Raised in the #Bataan region of #ThePhilippines, Roman was teased as a child but taught by her father to be confident in who she was. After studying at the #UnibersidadNgPilipinasDiliman and #EuskalHerrikoUnibertsitatea (in Spain), she worked as a senior editor of the #AgenciaEFESA (the Spanish News Agency) before returningContinue reading “Geraldine Roman”