Burns / Getty Images Bayard Rustin (1912-1987)
According to a belated obituary published in 2019, The New York Times said Bentley, who died in 1960 at the age of 52, was ' Harlem's most famous lesbian' in the 1930s and 'among the best-known Black entertainers in the United States.'Īmerican civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. Donning a top hat and tuxedo, Bentley would sing the blues in Harlem establishments like the Clam House and the Ubangi Club. via Wikimedia Commons Gladys Bentley (1907-1960)īentley was a gender-bending performer during the Harlem Renaissance. “Racism combined with the forces of stigma, phobia, discrimination and bias associated with gender and sexuality have too often erased the contributions of members of our community.' Glady Bentley. Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, told NBC News. “As long as there have been Black people, there have been Black LGBTQ and same-gender-loving people,” David J. From 1960s civil rights activist Bayard Rustin to Chicago's first lesbian mayor, Lori Lightfoot, Black LGBTQ Americans have long made history with innumerable contributions to politics, art, medicine and a host of other fields.
