USA Archives - Page 4 of 7

James Tinney: Black gay professor who founded LGBTQ church in 1982

by Kittredge Cherry | | June 1-15, Saints

James S. Tinney was a black gay professor who founded an African American LGBTQ church in Washington DC in 1982. He died at age 46 on June 12, 1988, from complications due to AIDS. Born in Kansas City, he was ordained as a Pentecostal minister when he was 18 and...

Orlando martyrs: Pulse gay nightclub massacre recalled in art and prayer

by Kittredge Cherry | | Calendar, June 1-15, Saints

LGBTQ people and allies use art and prayer to remember the 49 martyrs killed in the massacre at the Pulse gay bar on June 12, 2016, in Orlando, Florida. A mass shooter killed 49 people and left 53 wounded at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The hate crime...

Saints of Stonewall inspire LGBTQ justice — and artists, authors and film makers

by Kittredge Cherry | | Calendar, June 16-30, Saints

LGBTQ Pride celebrations are rooted in sacred resistance — when queer people fought back against harassment at New York City’s Stonewall Inn, they launched the modern LGBTQ liberation movement on June 28, 1969. Their bold rebellion against government...

The Two Rebeccas: Queer black pair founded Shaker religious community in 1800s

by Kittredge Cherry | | May 15-31, Saints

Preacher Rebecca Cox Jackson and her longtime companion Rebecca Perot were queer African American women who founded a Shaker religious community in Philadelphia in the 1800s. Known as “the two Rebeccas,” they lived together as ministry partners for more than 30 years...

Stormé DeLarverie: Butch lesbian at Stonewall Uprising

by Kittredge Cherry | | May 15-31, Saints

Stormé DeLarverie was a biracial butch lesbian “drag king” entertainer and one of those credited with starting the Stonewall Rebellion that launched the modern LGBTQ liberation movement. She died on May 24, 2014 at age 93. The LGBTQ people who resisted police at the...

Harvey Milk: LGBTQ rights pioneer stood for equality

by Kittredge Cherry | | May 15-31, Nov 16-30, Saints

Pioneering LGBTQ rights activist Harvey Milk is the first and most famous openly gay male elected official in California. His birthday (May 22) is a state holiday. He has been called a martyr for LGBTQ rights — and for all human rights. “If a bullet should...

Gloria Anzaldúa: Queer feminist Chicana scholar of spiritual activism

by Kittredge Cherry | | May 1-15, Saints

Gloria Anzaldúa is an influential queer Latina feminist scholar whose spirituality often gets overlooked. She died on May 15, 2004 at age 61. One of the first openly lesbian Chicana writers, she grew up in Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border. In school she was punished...

William Dorsey Swann: From slavery to queer freedom in 1880s as America’s first drag queen

by Kittredge Cherry | | April 1-15, Saints

Born into slavery, William Dorsey Swann became the first American to lead a queer resistance group, first to self-identify as a “queen of drag,” and first to use the U.S. legal system to defend the queer community. He battled police in a cream satin gown when they...

Adrienne Rich: lesbian poet with spiritual impulses

by Kittredge Cherry | | March 16-31, Saints

Adrienne Rich was a lesbian feminist with spiritual impulses and one of the most influential poets of the 20th century. She died on March 27, 2012 at age 82. Her writing was a guiding light to me and countless others, both people of faith and secular readers. The...

Theodore “Ted” Jennings: LGBTQ-affirming Biblical theologian

by Kittredge Cherry | | March 16-31, Saints

Theodore “Ted” Jennings is a Chicago Theological Seminary professor who wrote “The Man Jesus Loved” and other landmark books affirming queer people the Bible. He died on March 25, 2020, at age 77 after suffering a stroke. Theodore Wesley Jennings Jr. was born Oct. 24,...