I recently came across a wonderful collection of photography
that showed gay men of color who are coupled or posed together in intimate ways
that doesn’t cross the line of decency. The wonderful thing about this online
gallery is that it dates back to the 19th century, giving one a
glimpse into what is often not seen, black men in a relationship.
Compared to
the sexualized images that are displayed today of black men, it’s refreshing to
see that the concept of black men being in love or being in the company with
each other especially during a time when it was more than a crime, it was a double
strike for harm: being gay and being black. I cannot imagine what such a
relationship endured and what obstacles had to be overcome to maintain such a
relationship.
To know
that for the men in the pictures forces were in place from both sides: one side
that would do harm based on the color of your skin and the other side, your own
black community, who may inflict the same harm based on your sexuality choice.
Credit for
the photographs goes to Historian Trent Kelly who has done a great job
assembling these pictures taken from the last 140 years of gay black history.
By gathering the pictures as a collection he archives a lost history which is
often not seen. As Mr. Kelly states in a previous interview, “Some of these
images are sure to be gay and others may not. The end result is speculative at
best for want in applying a label. Not every gesture articulated between men
was an indication of male to male intimacies. Assuredly, what all photographs
in this book have in common are signs of Afro American male affection and love
that were recorded for posterity without fear and shame.”
I’m humbled
by the smile of two men in one photograph taken in the 30’s as they stand side
by side, each displaying a joy washed over their face. It’s a testimony that
love can endure and that it’s also timeless. That love can be macho, that it
can be timeless, a template for today.
I have heard
from some people I know stating why they are not in a relationship. Often I
hear about the stigma and the overall difficulties of being gay and a person of
color in today’s society, but to see these pictures and placing it in the
context of the time when it was taken you have to wonder if the barriers that
exist today are as difficult as they were in the early twentieth century?
Mr. Kelly further
states the reasoning why he started the project as he felt that Afro American
gay male and couple has largely been defined by everyone but themselves. As evident
by the sexualized images of Mapplethorpe or even the mentality of the public as
gay black men are often stripped of their identity and today placed in either a
grouping of being an abomination or a category of sexuality with a new identity
that removes their face and are viewed based on their ‘BBC’ or other less
flattering and newly adopted negative tags such as ‘thug’ If you’re looking for
such an image in these collections I guarantee you, you’ll be disappointed
. There
are truly some people I personally know who actually are under the impression
that gay black men didn’t exist until the arrival of Langston Hughes or the oft
mentioned, James Baldwin. But in fairness there is not a huge collection of
images of black men in the past showing affection. And their stories are often
not told. Usually the only images of black men in general that we are treated
with are ones of us hanging from the tree with a crowd of revelers smiling.
What’s
affirming is to see the confidence that is displayed in the pictures of two men
who can be in the same company without the air of machismo. In this month of
celebrating Pride I hope people who view these pictures, especially
Afro-American’s can come away with the knowledge that we have been in love with
each other for centuries. That the love we have shown each other has endured
segregation, men in white hoods, the taunt lynching rope, the biting of the dog
while marching for our civil rights and the emergence of a four letter word
called AIDS.
I thank Mr.
Kelly for assembling these photographs. Although they have existed for years by
assembling them together for easy viewing he has done something that is very
beneficial not only for the black community but for the gay community as a
whole. He is has made sure we have not become the ‘invisible man’ and by
archiving our history he provides a glimpse of what our future can look like.
If you can,
make sure you look at the collected photos and maybe come up with ways that the
love displayed today can be archived and stories told, never to be lost
anymore.
1 comment:
I'm trying to find Trent's contact info. Does anyone know?
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