Black LGBTQ Pioneers By Erica Barz Senior Columnist Feb. 2022
Last month, André Leon Talley died at the age of 73. He was arguably the most influential Black man in fashion, serving as creative director of Vogue largely uninterrupted from 1988-2013. Even if you don’t recognize his name, you have almost certainly seen his influence in the fashion world. Stanley Tucci’s character in The Devil Wears Prada is based on him, thoughnotably Talley’s Blackness was erased from the film. I highly recommend checking out a recent episode of Sam Sanders’ podcast, It’s Been a Minute,where he sits down with two other queer Black men, Saeed Jones and Zach Stafford to discuss Talley’s legacy. It’s a deeply personal conversation, and something that particularl struck mewas their reflections on Talley’s late-in-life interviews. In those interviews, Talley lamented how lonely his life was and how he had largely sacrificed meaningful connection with other people to create his legacy, and Sanders, Jones, and Stafford openly discussed how they feel that same pressure and fear that will be their fate as well. This is unfortunately not an uncommon reality for many older LGBTQ people, and older Black LGBTQ people in particular. It is a long, continued travesty that many of the Black pioneers in our LGBTQ community are not supported or embraced until after they’re gone.
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This Black History Month, I urge you to not only learn about Black LGBTQ pioneers of the past, but support the Black LGBTQ people living and working in your community.
