Black History Month - did you think that I would forget

First Michael Phelps, now Christian Bale.

Somedays I am so glad that I'm not famous. You can't get away with anything these days with all of the cellphones and the like that tape your every move.

Somewhere, George Orwell must be laughing his head off.

Anyway, February is Black History Month so rather than dividing identities (which is done so often, unfortunately), I want to take this time to demonstrate just how the lgbt and African-American identities intersect by spotlighting key lgbt of color figures.

You can see a list of figures on the right of this blog, but with this list, I'm adding more detail:

Paul Winfield - Oscar nominee and Emmy award winning actor who portrayed Martin Luther King, Jr. in a 1970s miniseries. Amongst other things, had a successful 30-year relationship with his partner, Charles Gillan, Jr. - something you aren't allowed to hear about when it comes to lgbts of color and relationships.

Barbara Jordan - Congresswoman from Texas from 1973-1979, proving that sometimes good things do come to Washington from Texas. If it weren't for bad health, she would have been the first African-American female and lesbian U.S. Supreme Court Justice. She wasn't open about her orientation but who can blame her with how things were back then? Had a successful 20-year relationship with her partner, Nancy Earl.

Peter J. Gomes - Harvard theologian and author of The Good Book. When people say that there are no visible lgbts of color, Gomes's presence serves as a reminder of just how lazy they are. Visible lgbts of color are out there - you just have to look for them (i.e. that message is for you, BET, Ebony, and Essence magazines).

Wanda Sykes - I've liked Ms. Sykes since the Chris Rock Show and even through the debacle of her own show. Funny though, I haven't heard anything else about her since she came out. Where is the Advocate, if not Ebony. Proof yet again of selective visibility.