List of African-American LGBTQ people

This is a list of Black/African Americans who are also members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or intersex communities.

Historical figures

Name	Lifetime[1]	Nationality	Notable as	Communities[2]
Alain LeRoy Locke	1885–1954	American	Philosopher, writer, educator, art patron	Queer, Gay [3]
Barbara Jordan	1936–1996	American	Lawyer, educator, politician, first African-American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives	LGBTQ+[4]

Government and politics

Name	Political Party	State	Occupation
Andrew Gillum	Democrat	Florida	Mayor of Tallahassee
Lori Lightfoot	Democrat	Illinois	Mayor of Chicago
Vernetta Alston	Democrat	North Carolina	North Carolina State Representative
Stormie Forte	Democrat	North Carolina	Raleigh City Councilwoman
Gordon Fox[5]	Democrat	Rhode Island	State Legislature
Rashad Taylor[6]	Democrat	Georgia	State Legislature
Althea Garrison[7]	Republican	Massachusetts	Judge and US Representative
Pat Spearman[8]	Democrat	Nevada	Nevada State Senator
Marcus Brandon[9]	Democrat	North Carolina	North Carolina State Representative
Ron Oden[10]	Democrat	California	Mayor
Bruce Harris[11]	Republican	New Jersey	Mayor
Keith St. John[12]	Democrat	New York	City Councilman
Darrin P. Gayles[13]	Democrat	Florida	United States Federal Judge
Kelvin Atkinson[14]	Democrat	Nevada	Former Nevada Senate Majority Leader
Ritchie Torres[15]	Democrat	New York	US Representative
Erick Russell	Democrat	Connecticut	Connecticut State Treasurer
Laphonza Butler	Democrat	California	US Senator

Entertainment and media

Name	Occupation
McKinley Belcher III[16][17]	Actor
Kemah Bob[18]	Comedian and drag king
Lee Daniels[19]	Film and television producer
Little Richard[20]	Singer
Don Lemon[21]	CNN News anchor and journalist
Bessie Smith[22]	Singer
Raven-Symoné[23]	Actress and singer
Patrick Ian Polk[24]	Film director, producer, singer, and actor
Frank Ocean[25]	Singer, songwriter, and rapper
Wanda Sykes[26]	Actress and comedian
Kevin Abstract[27]	Singer, songwriter, director and rapper
Daryl Stephens[28]	Actor
Angel Haze[29]	Rapper
LZ Granderson[30]	Journalist and commentator CNN and ESPN
Charles M. Blow[31]	Columnist for The New York Times
Paris Barclay[32]	Director, producer, and writer
Andre Leon Talley[33]	Journalist and editor
Terrance Dean[34]	Writer and author
Audre Lorde[35]	Author and feminist
Alice Walker[36]	Author and poet
Tracy Chapman[37]	Singer
RuPaul[38]	Actor, drag queen, and television personality
Tarell Alvin McCraney[39]	Playwright and actor
James Baldwin[40]	Author
Janet Mock[41]	Writer, TV host, and transgender rights activist
Isis King[42]	Model and designer
Alvin Ailey[43]	Choreographer and activist
Azealia Banks[44]	Rapper
Nell Carter[45]	Actress and singer
Billy Porter	Actor, singer, fashion icon[46]
Laverne Cox[47]	Actress and LGBTQ advocate
Janelle Monáe[48]	Singer-songwriter, actress, model, and record producer
Mo'Nique[49]	Comedian and actress
Sir Lady Java[50]	Drag queen, actress, and transgender rights activist
Amandla Stenberg[51]	Actress and singer
Tessa Thompson[52]	Actress
Mel Tomlinson[53]	Ballet dancer and choreographer
Karamo Brown[54]	Television personality and activist
François Clemmons[55]	Actor and singer
Lil Nas X[56][57]	Rapper, singer, and songwriter
Harrison David Rivers[58]	Playwright
Luther Vandross[59]	Singer, songwriter, record producer.
Todrick Hall[60]	Singer, songwriter, dancer, producer, director, choreographer
Le1f[61]	Rapper and producer
Colman Domingo[62]	Actor, playwright, director, producer, professor.
Angie Stardust[63]	Singer, actress, drag artist
Queen Latifah	Rapper and Actress
Amythyst Kiah	Singer, songwriter, musician
Marlon Riggs	filmmaker
LeRoy Whitfield[64]	Journalist
Terry Blade[65]	Singer, songwriter, lyricist
Emira D'Spain[66]	Model, social media influencer, magazine director
Ma Rainey	Singer
Niecy Nash[67]	Actress and comedian
Tyler, the Creator[68]	Rapper
Frank Ocean[69]	Singer, songwriter, musician
Steve Lacy[70]	Singer, musician
Khalid[71]	Singer, songwriter
Jason Collins[72]	Basketball player

Name	Known For
Shea Couleé[73]	American drag queen, musician, actor
Dorian Corey[74]	American drag performer and fashion designer
Honey Davenport[75]	American drag performer, singer, songwriter, actor and activist
David Hampton[76]	Con artist
Angela Davis[77]	Political activist, academic
CeCe McDonald[78]	LGBTQ advocate
DeRay Mckesson[79][80]	Activist and educator
Marsha P. Johnson[81]	Gay liberation activist and Stonewall Riot veteran
Bayard Rustin[82]	Political and Black rights activist
Flawless Shade	Drag queen and make-up artist
Kornbread Jeté	Drag queen
Mary Anne Adams[83][84]	Activist for Black community/Black, elderly lesbians, academic, founder of NAMI NOBLA

References

1. Entries with no sourced year of birth available are marked with a "?".
2. All entries contain a reliably sourced reference. Entries may also contain a letter indicating Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual.
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37. Wajid, Sara (December 14, 2006). "No Retreat". The Guardian. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
38. Okura, Lynn (2013-11-12). "RuPaul's Partner Of 19 Years Is A Rancher From Wyoming (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
39. Lee, Benjamin (2016-10-21). "Moonlight's Tarell Alvin McCraney: 'I never had a coming out moment'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
40. "James Baldwin's sexuality: Complex and influential". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
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42. Qween, Hey (2017-06-20). "Model Isis King Talks Her Transition, Homelessness and 'Top Model'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
43. "Alvin Ailey Gay African American Dance Pioneer". Lavender Magazine. 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
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46. Benjamin, Jessica (2021-02-02). "Billy Porter on London Pride and being a fashion icon". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
47. "Laverne Cox". Biography. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
48. "Pansexual is not the same as bisexual. Janelle Monáe is bringing visibility to us all". USA Today. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
49. Duncan, Charlie (2023-04-07). "Mo'Nique comes out in Netflix special and slams religion for 'ripping apart motherf**king families'". PinkNews. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
50. Zonkel, Phillip (2018-02-15). "Black History Month: Sir Lady Java was a transgender trailblazer who challenged police harassment". Q Voice News. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
51. "'Hunger Games' star Amandla Stenberg: 'Yep, I'm gay, not bi or pan'". USA Today. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
52. Gonzales, Erica (2018-06-29). "Tessa Thompson Comes Out as Bisexual and Says She and Janelle Monáe "Love Each Other Deeply"". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
53. Jenny Drabble (8 February 2019). "Pioneering ballet star with Winston-Salem, UNCSA ties, dies at age 65". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
54. Pardee, Lauren (2018-02-23). "'Queer Eye' Star Karamo Brown Opens Up About Discovering He Had a 10-Year-Old Son". Parents. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
55. Azzopardi, Chris (June 27, 2018). "Mister Rogers's Gay, Black Friend François Clemmons Wears Tiaras Now". HWD. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
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58. "This playwright may be the busiest Minnesotan in show business". Minneapolis Star Tribune. 2018-02-08. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
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65. Treacy, Christopher (2023-01-05). "Q&A With Terry Blade • Country Queer". Country Queer. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
66. "Meet Emira D'spain, The First Black Transgender Model To Work With Victoria's Secret". Nylon. March 7, 2022.
67. "Niecy Nash makes wife Jessica Betts' prom 'dreams come true': See the photos". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
68. "Tyler The Creator Is The Latest Male Celebrity To Reveal He's Bisexual". ELLE. 2017-08-17. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
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71. Mier, Tomás (2024-11-23). "Khalid Comes Out as Gay After Being Outed: 'I Am Not Ashamed'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
72. "Jason Collins becomes the first openly gay NBA player". BBC News. 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
73. "Drag Race star Shea Couleé on why we should all be uplifting trans women of colour for Pride". GAY TIMES. 2019-06-05. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
74. "The True Story Of The Drag Performer With A Mummy In Her Closet Portrayed On 'Pose'". Investigation Discovery. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
75. Cooridinator, DNA Online (2019-10-24). "Honey Davenport In Australia To Raise Awareness Of Queer People Of Colour". DNA. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
76. Goudsouzian, Aram (2004). Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon. Univ of North Carolina Press. p. 365. ISBN 9780807828434.
77. "Award Stripped From Lesbian Civil Rights Icon Angela Davis". The Advocate. 2019-01-09. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
78. Erdely, Sabrina Rubin (2014-07-30). "The Transgender Crucible". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
79. "#BlackLivesMatter Protester Deray McKesson to Teach at Yale". Mediaite.com. 2015-09-11. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
80. "DeRay Mckesson Wants You to Come Out of the Quiet". The Advocate. 2015-12-24. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
81. "Marsha P. Johnson, a Transgender Pioneer and Activist". The New York Times. 2018-03-08. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
82. "Bayard Rustin: the gay black pacifist at the heart of the March on Washington". The Guardian. 2013-08-23. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
83. African Americans doing feminism : putting theory into everyday practice. Aaronette M. White. Albany: State University of New York (SUNY) Press. 2010. ISBN 978-1-4384-3143-7. OCLC 794698965.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
84. Johnson, E. Patrick (2018). Black. Queer. Southern. Women : an oral history. Chapel Hill. ISBN 978-1-4696-4111-9. OCLC 1057725887.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)