CMU Seminar highlights Black LGBTQ+ leaders
Central Michigan University junior Xavier McKinney leads the presentation at the Black History Month LGBTQ Trailblazers event in the CSID, Bovee UC 108, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. McKinney created the idea for this event sponsored by the Multicultural Academic Student Services. (CM-Life | Soli Gordon)
Throughout the month of February, the United States honors the triumphs and struggles that African Americans have faced throughout history. Many events around Black History Month discuss the impact Civil Rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Rosa Parks had on history.
The Central Michigan University Office of LGBTQ+ Services and Gender Equity Programs held a seminar Wednesday night highlighting leaders who aren’t commonly recognized during the communitive month.
Office of LGBTQ+ Services and Gender Equity Programs Director Bee Taylor and Student Assistant Xavier McKinney discussed the life and impact of Black trailblazers in the LGBTQ+ community. Some of the leaders mentioned were Choreographer Willi Ninja and writers Audre Lorde and James Baldwin, who contributed to both the civil and gay rights movement throughout the 20th century
McKinney said he wanted to educate students about these leaders for Black History Month because people often, “only really focus on those heterosexual trailblazers and not really anyone else."
Another leader that was discussed during the seminar was Bayard Rustin. Rustin organized the famous 1963 March on Washington and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Former President Barrack Obama according to Taylor.
They said Baldwin and Rust were treated differently despite being major contributors to the civil rights movement and connected to MLK.
“(Baldwin) and Bayard Ruston were kind of forced out the inner circle of Martin Luther King, Jr. because of their queer identity,” Taylor said.
Sophomore Jackie Dial-Larkin said she came to the event because she wanted to learn more about Black LBGTQ+ leaders.
“I wasn’t that educated on a lot of the people I learned today,” Dial-Larkin said. “I like learning about new stuff.
According to the Bill of Rights Institute, the Stonewall Uprising of 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in New York City was a major turning point for the Gay Liberation Movement.
Taylor and McKinney highlighted drag queen and activist Marsha P. Johnson, who was on the front lines of the uprising against the NYC police that raided the inn that night, and the “Grandfather of the Stonewall Riot” drag king Stormé DeLarverie, who worked as a bouncer for the inn and possibly started the fight, according to the National Park Service.
Sophomore Carson Eskridge said it’s important that people be educated about the events and leaders of the movement for LGBTQ+ rights.
“I think it’s important to keep yourself informed on a lot of the basis of the movement,” Eskridge said. “I think now with the internet, we tend to think about the current state and our past and the people who really did start our movement.”
The Office of Multicultural Academic Student Services is holding several events throughout February in honor of Black History Month. More information on future events can be found on their social media.
