23: William Dorsey Swann and the Origins of Drag
William Dorsey Swann hosted the first documented Drag Balls in the United States. The House of Swann was a safe space for queer Black people to dance, sing and cultivate community. That is until polic...
22 Helmi 202421min
22: Sheila Guyse in Black Hollywood
Sheila Guyse was mentioned amongst those like Dorothy Dandridge and Lena Horne. She was featured on the covers of magazines like Jet, Ebony and Hue but what happened to her and why don’t we know her s...
15 Helmi 202414min
20: Opal Lee, the Grandmother of Juneteenth
Today we correlate Juneteenth to the freedom of enslaved African Americans in Texas after the Emancipation Proclamation but for the 'Grandmother of Juneteenth', Opal Lee, June 19th has a double meanin...
1 Helmi 202415min
19: Alice Coachman going for Gold
The first Black woman to win a gold medal at the Olympics was from Albany, Georgia. But before she performed on the world's stage, she was a star athlete and standout that ran dirt roads barefoot and ...
17 Helmi 20237min
18: Sister Rosetta Tharpe started Rock 'n' Roll
When we think about the pillars of Rock & Roll, we usually think about Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, and more popular figures. However, did you know that a Black woman is known as the “godmother” of Rock ...
10 Helmi 202312min
17: Gloria Richardson started a Movement
I’m sure you’ve all seen the famous photograph of the woman casually pushing aside a bayonet-tipped riffle as she side-eyes soldiers. Her name was Gloria Richardson and she was the powerful force behi...
3 Helmi 202315min
16: Bayard Rustin was the backbone of The March on Washington
Bayard Rustin was an openly gay Black man that helped plan and strategize many of the major civil right's events in history. Even when people tried to weaponize his sexuality against him, Bayard stood...
19 Helmi 202129min
