October is Black History Month in the UK and here is our updated list of people and organisations, with six new additions. Can you spot them?
People
This list is, of course, not exhaustive.
Nicola Adams MBE (1982-) British Boxer and Olympic medallist
Pav Akhtar employment and equality law practitioner
Lord Waheed Alli (1964 – ), politician, member of the House of Lords
Bisi Alimi (1975-), activist and campaigner; first (and so far last) man to come out on Nigerian TV
John Amaechi (1970 – ), basketball player
Stephen K. Amos , comedian
Aderonke Apata (1967-), Nigerian Lesbian asylum seeker and campaigner (who fought the threat of deportation for 12 years)
Dean Atta (1988 – ), poet, playright, actor
James Baldwin (1924 – 1987), writer and Civil Rights activist
Rikki Beadle-Blair (1962 – ), actor, dancer, musician, choreographer, director and writer
Linda Bellos (1950 -), British activist/politician
Ted Brown (1950-), British activist, member of the Gay Liberation Front
Barbara Burford (1946 -2010), poet and publisher (www.greyhenpress.com)
Tracy Chapman (1964 – ), singer-songwriter
Angela Davies (1944 – ), Civil Rights activist[gap size=”0em”]
Jade Esteban Estrada (1975 – ), comedian
Justin Fashanu (1961 – 1998), footballer
Mabel Hampton (1902 – 1989), activist
Langston Hughes (1902 – 1967), poet
Colin Jackson (1967-), TV presenter and former athlete
Isaac Julien (1960 – ), film-maker
Jackie Kay (1961 – ), poet/writer
Edmonia Lewis (1845 – 1907), sculptor
Audre Lorde (1934 – 1992), activist/writer (see also)
Adam Lowe writer, publisher and performer. LGBT History Month Poet Laureate
Greg Louganis (1960 – ), Olympic diver
David McAlmont (1967 – ), singer-songwriter
Claude McKay (1889 – 1948), activist/writer
Ricky Martin (1971-), singer, actor and author
Valerie Mason-John (1962 – ), playwright
Johnny Mathis (1935 – ), singer
Freddie Mercury (1946 – 1991), singer
Simon Nkoli (1957 – 1998), activist
Cyril Nri (1961 – ) , actor and Patron of LGBT History Month
Kele Okereke (1981 – ) , singer
Lady Phyll Opoku, UK Black Pride
Femi Otitoju, trainer & consultant
Ma Rainey (1886 – 1939), singer
Little Richard (1932 – ), singer-songwriter
Bayard Rustin (1912 – 1987), Civil Rights activist
Labi Siffre (1945 -), poet, songwriter, musician and singer. Patron of LGBT History Month
Paul Sinah (1970 -), GP and stand-up comedian
Skin (1967 – ), singer
Sheryl Swoopes (1971 – ), basketball player
George Takei (1937 – ), actor
Luther Vandross (1951 – 2005), singer-songwriter
Alice Walker (1944 – ), activist/writer
Gok Wan (1974 – ), fashion consultant, author and television presenter
Brian Williamson (1945-2004), Founding member of Jamaica’s LGBT organisation: J-FLAG
Rainbow Network’s Top Ten: Black Gay Movers and Shakers
List of LGBT African-Americans (Wikipedia)
UK Blackout’s Who’s Who
List of black LGBT legends (pdf file) compiled by the Zuna institute, a North American advocacy organisation for Black Lesbians. (large file may take some time to download)
Organisations and websites
Busy Being Black, a podcast exploring and amplifying the queer Black British experience. Acast; Apple; Spotify. @_busybeingblack.
Big Up @ GMFA, health and social group for black gay men.
Black Gay and Lesbian Archive
Black Gay Men’s Advisory Group
Black Lesbian UK, a place for UK black lesbians.
BLGBT Community Awards
Black LGBT Group at Manchester’s Lesbian & Gay Foundation.
Changing Attitude, LGBT Anglicans
Ethnic Minorities Law Centre
Femme Noir – web portal for Women of Color.
Gaysia – web portal for gay asian men resident in the UK and their friends.
Imaan, Muslim LGBT support.
Jewish Gay and Lesbian Group
KISS, Social group for LBQ women of South Asian or Middle Eastern descent.
Lesbian Association of India
Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement
Lesbian and Gay Coalition Against Racism
National Black Justice Coalition (USA)
Naz Project London, sexual health and HIV prevention and support services for Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities in London.
Outburst Festival, UK Black Pride event.
OutHipHop
Out People of Color
People of Color – Human Rights Campaign
Positive East: (East London)
– Himat, support group for South Asian gay men.
– Kaleidoscope, social group for Black Gay and Bisexual men.
Quest, Lesbian and Gay Catholics
Somali Gay Community
Safra Project, resource project for lesbian, bisexual and transgender women who identify as Muslim
Race on the Agenda, think tank devoted to issues that effect London’s Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities.
Rukus! Federation Ltd, celebrating and showcasing the best works by Black LGBT artists.
Runnymede Trust, Leading independent think tank on ethnicity and cultural diversity.
UK Black Out, A site for Britain’s black gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
UK Black Pride, UK Black Pride event.
Other
Noah’s ARC – American TV comedy-drama based around a group of black gay male characters.
Batty Man – Channel 4 documentary about homophobia in the black British community and Jamaica (related clips and lesson plan are available here). The programme itself is available for viewing and (for teachers) for downloading from Teachers TV here.
Coming Out – BBC World Service compares social attitudes towards homosexuality in Jamaica and South Africa in this two-part series (programmes available to listen or for download).
Black Same Gender Loving Filmography
In The Family – A 2 volume celebration of the achievements of the men and women who have helped to build the Black gay community in London. Created by GMFA/Bigup.
Malcolm X – gay black hero?, The Guardian, 19 May 2005
Malcolm X was bisexual. Get over it, The Guardian, 20 October 2009
Coretta Scott King Links Gay Rights and African-American Civil Rights
Kanye West calls for end to gay bashing – USAToday, 18 August 2005
Coming Out: Gay and Lesbian Life in East Asia – BBC World Service, 22 November, 2000
Gay persons of color – Canadian blog
Iraqi LGBT UK – blog
Republic of T. – Black. Gay. Father. Vegetarian. Buddhist. Liberal. – American blog
related LGBT HM blog articles