Zora Neale Hurston has been called “The Queen of the Harlem Renaissance,“ and her masterwork novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” enjoys a prominent place in the American canon of literature.
Hurston’s writing career spanned the late 1920s and well into the 1930s. The stories she told were distinctly black, and distinctly female, resonating among the generations of writers in her footsteps witnessing how powerful the voice of the voiceless can be. Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison have cited her as a major influence.
It is often speculated that Zora Neale Hurston was gay, though it is not definitively known. Regardless, her insistence on fearlessly writing with a loud voice despite requests for silence is a powerful motivator for the LGBTQ community today accessing her writing so many decades later.
“We’re talking about LGBT history, which is often covert, hidden, transitory, dismissed,” Lustbader told DNAInfo. “We’re talking about very diverse sites. It’s not just self-referential. It’s showing that LGBT history is American history.”
This #WomensHistoryMonth, we’re highlighting LGBTQ+ women trailblazers from history! First up is Ivy Bottini, writer, women’s rights activist, and one of the first out lesbian comedians. . After working at Newsweek magazine in the 1950’s and “loving women, but not having any idea what to do with it,” she joined NOW where her activism shone through as the organization fought for women’s equality across the nation. She sparked important discussions on how feminism was a lesbian issue, and vice versa. . In 1972, she developed her signature pro-woman comedy show, “Many Faces of Women,” to pave the way in showcasing the then-taboo topics of menstruation, contraception, lesbian dating, and more in a humorous way for the first time. . Ivy passed away last week surrounded by loved ones. Honor her memory and watch how she became an activist for women’s and LGBTQ+ rights (and took control of the Statue of Liberty?!) at https://itgetsbetter.org/blog/initiatives/celebrating-ivy-bottini/
“Millennials are more than twice as likely as any other generation to identify as LGBT. In 2012, they accounted for 43% of LGBT-identified adults. As a result of their disproportionate increases in identification since then, they now account for 58%. Millennials comprise 32% of the general adult population.
[…]
Gallup research shows that data security and confidentiality are not major concerns of millennials. This could be one factor that explains why they are so much more likely to identify as LGBT when compared with other generations. They are more comfortable than their older counterparts with the idea of sharing what some might consider private information on surveys.”
More adults identifying as LGBT signifies: more adults are comfortable identifying themselves as LGBT, rather than hiding. As our world shifts in attitude, perception, and belief, we can see the tangible effects of the It Gets Better message being spread. Our community grows larger, louder, and prouder.
“I fought too long & too hard against discrimination based on race & color, not to fight against discrimination based on sexual orientation,” tweeted civil rights icon John Lewis on July 23, 2015.
Fifty-five years ago, on May 14, 1961, Lewis rode with the Freedom Riders in a bus pelted by rocks and bricks, as axes smashed through windshields, a firebomb lobbed through the shattered glass. State troopers fired warning shots – but whom they warned was not the violent mob.
The bus’s passengers were black and white Americans riding together, testing the recent Supreme Court ruling that said it would be illegal to segregate public transportation passengers based on their race.
John Lewis was the first Freedom Rider to be assaulted. And yet, a battered face and broken ribs did not prevent him from continuing his ride. “We were determined not to let any act of violence keep us from our goal,” Lewis has said of the experience. “We knew our lives could be threatened, but we had made up our minds not to turn back.”
As the fight for civil rights continued over the ensuing years, Lewis kept to his conviction that there was no turning back. Three years following the Freedom Riders’ journeys aboard greyhounds, Lewis marched in Selma, Mississippi, in a demonstration of their urgent insistence on African Americans’ right to vote amidst widespread voter suppression. On a day that became known as Bloody Sunday, the peaceful protesters were beaten by state troopers who met them at the end of Edmond Pettus Bridge.
After a lifetime of fighting for civil rights, John Lewis has never stooped to rest. As a champion of LGBTQ rights, Lewis gave an impassioned speech in a 1996 debate on the Defense of Marriage Act, where he lashed out against any who would deny LGBTQ citizens’ their right to marriage.
“I will not turn my back on another American,” he said. “I will not oppress my fellow human being. I fought too hard and too long against discrimination based on race and color to stand up against discrimination based on sexual orientation.”
Lewis has been elected to Congress fourteen times, a few times running unopposed, beloved for his bravery and dedication to fighting for the rights of his constituents and fellow Americans at large. He has recently received media attention for the criticism laid down on him by President Donald Trump, who said of the civil rights hero, “All talk, talk, talk — no action or results. Sad!”
With the sun high on the first day of February, a new month awaits dedicated to remembering the contributions of Black Americans throughout our history. They are the trailblazers who have fought tirelessly for justice and equality, and who today continue to fight for their community, in addition to others marginalized in similar manners, allies united in their advocation.
Our executive director Brian Wenke spoke with Youth Today about It Gets Better, sharing both his personal story and elaborating on the message of our project.
Life really does get better for most LGBT teens as they get older, say researchers at Northwestern University.
They followed 231 LGBT 16- to 20-year-olds, contacting each of them six times during a 3½- year period. Researchers published their results in the Journal of Adolescent Health in March 2015, showing, in general, victimization and psychological distress decreased as the youth grew older.
Wenke says one reason the change happens is because “as we age, we learn to recognize the bullies and also to find people who share our value system and can support us.”
After partnering with the You Can Play Project (a nonprofit dedicated to supporting LGBTQ athletes), the NHL has designated an ambassador for each of their teams who have agreed to act as champions for equality, diversity, and inclusion. As ambassadors, these players will be leaders in the locker room, fostering accepting environments for LGBTQ players on their team, along with acting as spokespeople in the fight against homophobia in sports.
Most literary scholars agree the celebrated Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes was gay, though closeted for the sake of his financial stability and support from black churches and organizations. Others conclude Hughes was asexual, while others still point to a series of unpublished poems that seem to be written to a black male lover he calls “Beauty.”
Regardless, Langston Hughes is remembered for his works’ portrayals of everyday working-class black lives in early 20th century America, filled with both struggle and joy. His body of work exudes a strong sense of pride.
Says playwright Loften Mitchell, “Langston set a tone, a standard of brotherhood and friendship and cooperation, for all of us to follow. You never got from him, ‘I am the Negro writer,’ but only 'I am a Negro writer.’ He never stopped thinking about the rest of us.“
Happy LGBT History Month! We will be teaming up with Quist to bring you the most interesting stories from our past and to show how much better it’s gotten throughout history. Keep checking back with us and be sure to SHARE these moments with your friends and family.
Good morning to lesbians only on #LesbianVisibilityDay (just kidding, we still love the rest of you, too). And even if you’re not out, we see you too - your sexuality is still yours no matter who knows!
I just want to share some positivity. I have a really close adult friend who I've known since I was 5 (I'm 18 now) and she's one of the only adults who's consistently been there for me so I see her as a sort of second mom. I came out to her as nonbinary and she took it so well! She's been learning and educating herself about the lgbt community but gender is a new hurdle for her, but she was so accepting of me without any hesitation. I may have cried, just a bit.
That’s fantastic! I’m so glad for you! Coming out is a difficult processes but I’m glad you chose to and I’m glad your friend is educating herself. I hope she only learns more in the future! : )
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