OUTMemphis Celebrates Black History Month!
Art by Jessie Claudio, Men’s Sexual Health Specialist. Poem by Andria Thompson
The celebration of Black History Month is in full swing all over the city, including at OUTMemphis. African American LGBTQ people have always played a pivotal role in American history, the arts, and the fight for Civil Rights.
Local Black LGBTQ History:
Joe Calhoun
Joe is a former member of the Memphis Gay Coalition, the Memphis Committee, and B-GLAD. He was a five-year operator of the Gay Switchboard and co-anchored the Gay Alternative Radio Show on WEVL 90.5 FM.
He is a co-founder of Black and White Men Together/Memphis and a member of the National Association of BWMT and the West TN ACLU. He is a lifetime member of the NAACP and has been a member of Annesdale Neighborhood Association for several years. He is also a caregiver for friends living with HIV/AIDS.
Outside of Memphis, the nation had many influential LGBTQ Civil Rights leaders—though their LGBTQ identities have been hidden in classrooms and omitted from textbooks. Click on the names above to learn more about these prominent Civil Rights activists. Or check out this web post.
