USA Archives - Page 5 of 7

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 self-identify as a “queen of drag,” He battled police in a cream satin gown when they raided a drag ball almost a century before the Stonewall uprising. Swann was the first American to lead a queer...

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,...

Sandra Robinson: Black lesbian MCC clergywoman educated and inspired

by Kittredge Cherry | | March 16-31, Saints

I celebrate the life of my mentor and friend Rev. Dr. Sandra Robinson of Denton, Texas. She passed away March 19, 2023, from COVID at age 74. She is survived by her wife of 30 years, Janai Buentello. As a clergywoman in Metropolitan Community Churches, Robinson headed...

John Boswell: Historian of gays and lesbians in Christianity

by Kittredge Cherry | | March 16-31, Saints

John Boswell was a Yale professor who revealed centuries of LGBTQ Christian history in groundbreaking books such as “Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality” and “Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe.” John Eastburn “Jeb” Boswell was born on March 20, 1947,...

Feminist Forum: International magazine covered women in Japan and the world

by Kittredge Cherry | | Calendar, March 1-15

“Feminist Forum: Feminism in Japan and the World” was an influential international monthly magazine covering women in politics, culture, religion and language. It was produced in Tokyo from 1979-86 and became a rare source of news on lesbians in Japan. Audrey...

Peter Gomes: Gay black Harvard minister preached “scandalous gospel”

by Kittredge Cherry | | Feb 16-29, Saints

Peter Gomes was a gay black Baptist minister at Harvard and one of America’s most prominent spiritual voices for tolerance. He came out in 1991 and used his national celebrity as a “gay minister” to make the religious case for LGBTQ people, even though he reportedly...

Malcolm Boyd: Pioneering gay Episcopal priest who ran with Jesus

by Kittredge Cherry | | Feb 16-29, Saints

Malcolm Boyd is a pioneering gay Episcopal priest, activist and author who died at age 91 on Feb. 27, 2015. His best-known book is “Are You Running with Me, Jesus?” a collection of conversational prayer-poems with a million copies in print. The 1965 classic includes...

Andy Warhol: Pop artist inspired by hidden Catholic faith and queer sexuality

by Kittredge Cherry | | Artists, Feb 16-29, Saints

Pop artist Andy Warhol kept his homosexuality hidden and his Christian faith even more secret. The truth is coming out since his death on Feb. 22, 1987. Warhol is famous for painting Campbell’s soup cans, but he made hundreds of other works, including...

Sylvia Rivera: Latina transgender woman at Stonewall Uprising

by Kittredge Cherry | | Feb 16-29, Saints

Sylvia Rivera was a Latina transgender woman activist and one of those credited with starting the Stonewall Rebellion that propelled the LGBTQ liberation movement forward. She was a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front, which sprang up quickly in 1969 as a...