NINETEEN SEVENTY-NINE was a momentous year for the Gay Movement. A decade after Stonewall, Lesbians and Gays were organizing in increasing numbers and demanding equal rights. The first national Gay March on Washington took place in October, and in the midst of this politically charged atmosphere was an evolving Black Lesbian and Gay political and cultural consciousness.
African American Gay men and Lesbians across the country were coming out, blending the new Gay political ethos with their Black identity. The first Black Gay political groups were formed and a new wave of Black Gay activists emerged.
In August of 1979 the first issue of Blacklight was published. The publication had been in the planning stage for several months, and came close to being named "Onyx," until it was discovered the name was already in use.
Benjamin Romney, a member of the "staff," suggested the title "Blacklight." Decades later I still remember that moment. It was perfect.
The high point of 1979 was reached on a weekend in October with the first national Gay march on Washington and the convening of The First Third World Gay Conference where African, Native, Asian and Hispanic American Gay men and Lesbians came together for the first time.
The conference was held in the Harambee House hotel on the edge of Howard University's campus. Audre Lorde delivered the stirring keynote address. Workshops, meetings and social events took place on Friday and Saturday.
And on Sunday morning conference participants gathered outside the hotel and marched down Georgia Avenue, through the heart of a Black community, to the Mall to join join the main march.
In the weeks leading up to the march there was a great deal of anxiety and debate about Gay people marching through a Black neighborhood. "How would people react?" "Would there be violence?" There were reservations, but conference organizers decided to go ahead with the plan.
The "Gay People of Color March" went off without incident. In fact, the opposite of what some had feared, occurred. A Black family was on its way to church when they came upon the march. They stood on the corner and waved as marchers walked by. The scene was captured by photographer Leigh Mosely. It was a wonderful conference and a wonderful weekend. A special time in all of our histories.
However, Black Gays were dealing with issues other than race. There was a Black community to deal with. And many were dealing with ALL of who we were for the first time. Blacklight's first major feature article was, "From Here to There: One Woman's Story."
It's a straight-forward telling of one woman's discovery of her true emotional and sexual self.
But what attitudes did Gay men and Lesbians face when they lived openly in the Black community? That subject was explored in "Homophobia in the Black Community."
When this article originally came out, the term "homophobia" was just coming into wide use and not without some debate. Those opposed to the term argued it wasn't "technically" correct. It didn't fit the classic phobias, which described a "fear," but was actually describing a "dislike" or worse. In some quarters, the debate continues.
One of the significant events in Black Gay history occurred the day the Gay movement arrived at Howard University. Howard is one of the oldest, and prestigious, of the nation's historically Black colleges.
The student body and the school administration were considerably conservative about Gay issues and rights. But, with the larger movement as catalyst, Gay student organizations were sprouting on a number of campuses. Why not Howard?
"The Gay Movement Comes to Howard University" tells the story of the start of the Lambda Student Alliance (LSA). Howard opposed the LSA and refused to charter the organization.
It took well over a year, and the threat of a law suit, before Howard backed down. The Lambda Student Alliance became the first chartered Black Gay student organization on a Black college campus.
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