University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations 1-1-2013 The olitP ics of Homosexuality In the Twentieth Century Black Freedom Struggle Glenda Elizabeth Sherouse University of South Carolina Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Sherouse, G. E.(2013). The Politics of Homosexuality In the Twentieth Century Black Freedom Struggle. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/1477 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ! ! The!Politics!of!Homosexuality!in!the! Twentieth!Century!Black!Freedom!Struggle! ! by! ! Glenda!Elizabeth!Sherouse! ! Bachelor!of!Arts! Mercer!University,!2006! ! Master!of!Arts! University!of!South!Carolina,!2008! ! ! ! Submitted!in!Partial!Fulfillment!of!the!Requirements!!! For!the!Degree!of!Doctor!of!Philosophy!in! History! College!of!Arts!and!Sciences!! University!of!South!Carolina!! 2013! Accepted!by:!! Patricia!Sullivan,!Major!Professor! Kent!Germany,!Committee!Member! Sarah!Gardner,!Committee!Member! Lawrence!Glickman,!Committee!Member! Lacy!Ford,!Vice!Provost!and!Dean!of!Graduate!Studies ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ©!Copyright!by!Glenda!Elizabeth!Sherouse,!2013! All!Rights!Reserved.! ! ! ii! Dedication! ! ! This!dissertation!is!dedicated!to!all!of!the!queer!men!and!women!whose!stories! have!yet!to!be!heard,!and!to!Joseph!Beam!and!the!countless!other!queer!black!men!who! lost!their!lives,!friends,!and!loved!ones!to!AIDS.! ! ! ! ! ! iii! Acknowledgements! ! ! First!and!foremost,!thank!you!to!my!parents,!for!fostering!my!intellectual! curiosity!and!academic!ambition,!and!supporting!me!for!the!last!thirty!years.!To!my! mentors,!Sarah!Gardner!and!Patricia!Sullivan,!I!owe!endless!gratitude!and!many!vodka! tonics.!To!my!best!friend,!Maris!McEdward,!thank!you!for!lastYminute!proofreading!and! constant!validation.!To!Rob!Haulton,!my!partner,!thank!you!for!enduring!all!of!my!freakY outs,!for!being!a!curry!god,!for!bringing!basset!hounds!into!my!life,!and!for!loving!me.!To! my!dogs,!thank!you!for!putting!up!with!my!aggressive!cuddles!and!for!always!being!so! silly!that!I!could!never!feel!stressed!out!for!too!long.! Thanks!also!to!Alison!Thirkield!and!Noelle!ThirkieldYKruse,!Deborah!and!Lari! McEdward,!Russell!Palmer,!Carrie!Crawford,!Josh!Rogers,!Beth!Buckley,!Stetson! Kennedy,!Sandra!Parks,!John!Wing,!Kent!Germany,!Dottie!Pratt,!Marjorie!Spruill,! Lawrence!Glickman,!Brian!Kelly,!Meeghan!Kane,!Barbara!Bolt,!Melissa!Crofton,!and!the! coven,!Santi!Thompson,!John!Dawkins,!Michele!Coffey,!Carrie!and!Tim!Giauque,!and!all! the!others!who!supported,!nurtured,!and!challenged!me!on!this!journey.! While!I!owe!thanks!to!numerous!archivists,!Stephen!Fullwood!at!the!Schomburg! Center!deserves!special!mention!for!his!extensive!work!in!gathering!and!processing! archives!on!the!lives!of!queer!African!Americans,!without!which!this!project!would!not! have!been!possible.! ! iv! Abstract! ! This!project!examines!the!changing!status!and!role!of!queer!African!Americans! during!the!twentieth!century!in!the!context!of!increasing!black!politicization.!Moreover,! it!traces!the!relationship!between!queer!African!Americans!and!their!communities!until! the!emergence!of!queer!black!identity!politics!in!the!1970s.!Specifically,!this!dissertation! seeks!to!more!fully!illuminate!both!the!experiences!of!queer!African!Americans!and!how! their!communities!and!leaders!discussed!and!dealt!with!homosexuality!in!the!broader! context!of!black!political!mobilization!from!the!Jim!Crow!era!and!the!Harlem! Renaissance,!through!the!Black!Power!and!early!Gay!Liberation!movements,!roughly!the! 1920s!through!the!late!1970s.!In!their!ongoing!struggle!for!citizenship!rights!and!social! equality,!African!Americans!faced!political!pressures!that!affected!the!ways!in!which! they!sought!to!present!themselves!to!dominant!white!society,!and!these!pressures! influenced!the!ways!that!they!dealt!with!the!presence!of!homosexuality!in!black! communities!and!political!organizations.!Ultimately,!the!need!for!racial!solidarity!both! kept!queer!African!Americans!engaged!in!black!communities!and!prevented!any! meaningful!development!of!independent!queer!black!identity!politics!until!the!1970s.! This!project!also!seeks!to!challenge!contemporary!popular!notions!about! hyperhomophobia!among!African!Americans.!So!many!presentYday!discussions!of!“black! homophobia”!simplify!a!very!complex!issue!to!an!alarming!degree.!Dialogue!within!the! ! v! white!gay!community!that!condemns!African!Americans!for!not!unquestioningly! supporting!gay!rights!because!of!their!own!struggles!for!racial!equality!is!problematic!at! best!and!racist!at!worst.!Moreover,!condemnations!of!the!monolithic!“black!church”!for! its!conservatism!on!gay!rights!issues!seem!to!ignore!the!incidence!of!similar,!if!not!more! pervasive,!attitudes!within!white!churches,!not!to!mention!ignoring!the!variety!of!black! religious!institutions!and!belief!systems.!Finally,!this!project!hopes!to!place!queer! African!Americans!at!the!center!of!their!own!stories!rather!than!at!the!periphery!of! narratives!of!white!gays!and!lesbians!or!heterosexual!African!Americans.!! ! ! vi! Table!of!Contents! Dedication!.........................................................................................................................!iii! Acknowledgements!...........................................................................................................!iv! Abstract!..............................................................................................................................!v! Introduction!........................................................................................................................!1! Chapter!1!Y!“No!Pansies!in!Africa”:!Race,!Class,!and!the!Politics!of!! Black!Sexuality!in!the!Harlem!Renaissance!and!Jim!Crow!Era!..........................................!14! ! Chapter!2!Y!“The!Perplexing!Problem!of!Sex!Inversion”:!World!War!II!! and!the!Politics!of!Black!Homosexuality!...........................................................................!57! ! Chapter!3!Y!”Can!Science!Eliminate!the!Third!Sex?”:!Containment!and!! the!Politics!of!Black!Homosexuality!in!the!Early!Cold!War!...............................................!90! ! Chapter!4!Y!Homosexuality!and!the!Civil!Rights!Movement!in!the!1960s!......................!131! ! Chapter!5!Y!“Caught!Between!Two!causes,!Two!Movements,!Two!Revolutions”:! Sexuality,!Black!Power,!and!the!Emergence!of!Queer!Black!Identity!Politics!................!162! ! Conclusion!......................................................................................................................!199! Works!Cited!....................................................................................................................!203 ! vii! Introduction! “The!struggles!of!Black!people!are!too! perilous!and!too!pervasive!for!us!to!dismiss! one!another,!in!such!cursory!fashion,! because!of!perceived!differences.![…]!Aren’t! all!hearts!and!fists!and!minds!needed!in!this! struggle!or!will!this!faggot!be!tossed!into! the!fire?”1!! –!Joseph!Beam! ! Joseph!Beam,!a!gay!black!activist!and!writer,!penned!these!words!about!black! homophobia!as!he!was!dying!of!AIDS!in!the!midY1980s.!His!words!reveal!his!longing!for!a! racial!solidarity!among!African!Americans!that!overcame!differences!of!sexuality,!a! solidarity!that,!this!dissertation!argues,!existed!in!varying!forms!and!to!different!degrees! over!the!course!of!the!twentieth!century,!but!at!least!for!Beam,!seemed!to!have! vanished!by!the!end!of!the!civil!rights!era!and!the!onset!of!the!AIDS!epidemic.!! This!project!examines!the!changing!status!and!role!of!queer!African!Americans! during!the!twentieth!century!in!the!context!of!increasing!black!politicization,!southern! to!northern!and!rural!to!urban!migration,!generational!shifts!in!black!politics,!and!the! dismantling!of!Jim!Crow!segregation.!And!moreover,!it!traces!the!relationship!between! queer!African!Americans!and!their!communities!through!the!emergence!of!queer!black! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1!Joseph!Beam,!“Brother!to!Brother:!Words!From!the!Heart,”!Traps:'African'American'Men'on' Gender'and'Sexuality!(Bloomington:!Indiana!University!Press,!2001),!285.! ! ! 1! identity!politics!in!the!1970s.!Specifically,!this!dissertation!seeks!to!more!fully illuminate!both!the!experiences!of!queer2!African!Americans!and!how!their!communities! and!leaders!discussed!and!dealt!with!homosexuality!in!the!broader!context!of!black! political!mobilization!from!the!Jim!Crow!era!and!the!Harlem!Renaissance,!through!the! Black!Power!and!early!Gay!Liberation!movements,!roughly!the!1920s!through!the!late! 1970s.!In!their!ongoing!struggle!for!citizenship!rights!and!social!equality,!African! Americans!faced!political!pressures!that!affected!the!ways!in!which!they!sought!to! present!themselves!to!dominant!white!society—pressures!to!conform!not!only! politically,!but!also!in!their!personal!lives,!to!white!middleYclass!ideas!about!behavior,! family,!gender,!and!sexuality—and!these!pressures!influenced!the!ways!that!they!dealt! with!the!presence!of!homosexuality!in!black!communities!and!political!organizations.! Ultimately,!the!need!for!racial!solidarity!both!kept!queer!African!Americans!engaged!in!