WHITEWASHING OF AFRO-QUEER HISTORY

Being gay is a White Thing and so not African, yeah real Black people would never be gay! Time and time again, people who don’t know they got damn history say stupid shit like the above statement. Black people have forgotten that we learned homophobia NOT homosexuality from European settlers and colonizers. In order to say being gay is Un-African means that gay people would never exist in Africa. This is wrong because Africa has a wealth of queer history that is unspoken of and in many tribes the LGBTQ community was seen as gatekeepers to the spiritual realm as they were seen as being touched by the Gods.

“African history is replete with examples of both erotic and nonerotic same-sex relationships. For example, the ancient cave paintings of the San people near Guruve in Zimbabwe depict two men engaged in some form of ritual sex. During precolonial times, the “mudoko dako,” or effeminate males among the Langi of northern Uganda were treated as women and could marry men. In Buganda, one of the largest traditional kingdoms in Uganda, it was an open secret that Kabaka (king) Mwanga II, who ruled in the latter half of the 19th century, was gay.”-Sylvia Tamale

The interesting here is that there are pre colonial terms for homosexuality in Africa but somehow being gay is not of African origin. This is because people hate the truth and acknowledging such history means that Africans will have to acknowledge that they have been wrong for centuries, but people inherently do not like to admit when they are wrong. Being oppressed people sometimes turns the oppressed into oppressors themselves. Even the acknowledgement that there was a gay king in 19th century Uganda is an open admission that being gay is not foreign to Africa.

“In many African societies, same-sex sexuality was also believed to be a source of magical powers to guarantee bountiful crop yields and abundant hunting, good health and to ward off evil spirits. In Angola and Namibia, for instance, a caste of male diviners — known as “zvibanda,” “chibados,” “quimbanda,” gangas” and “kibambaa” — were believed to carry powerful female spirits that they would pass on to fellow men through anal sex.”-Sylvia Tamale

The fact that being gay was seen as being sacred which is very similar to how native tribes in the America’s viewed two spirits. pre colonial Africa was actually very progressive for its time period. However the Arrival of European Christians spelled doom for all the progressive views of pre colonial Africa and their openness with their sexuality. When the europeans came to Africa, they imposed strict colonial Anti-sodomy laws that Africans would eventually adopt as being their own history.

“ the new religions, many sexual practices that were acceptable in precolonial, pre-Islamic and pre-Christian Africa were encoded with tags of “deviant,” “illegitimate” and “criminal” through the process of proselytization and acculturation. It is ironic that an African dictator wearing a three-piece suit, caressing an iPhone, speaking in English and liberally quoting the Bible can dare indict anything for being un-African.In the Buganda Kingdom, part of modern-day Uganda, King Mwanga II was openly gay and faced no hate from his subjects until white men brought the Christian church and its condemnation. Though King Mwanga is the most prominent African recorded as being openly gay, he was not alone.” Bisi Alimi

It is amazing to me that so many Black and African people hold on to the traditions of their white and Arab colonizers. I think that it’s important to note that King Mwanga 2 was doing well with his subjects until white Christians arrived meaning that Europeans are responsible for homophobia on the African continent.

Similarly, prior to the 1940s, The Black/African American community was more accepting of the LGBTQ community even while holding Christian Beliefs because at that time the verse leviticus 18:22 was actually translated to a Man shall not lie with a young boy( Pedophilia not Homosexuality) but during the 1940s the word homosexuality was more wide spread and added to the bible and this allowed the Catholic church and other christian denominations to hide pedophilia and white churches started condemning those they saw as sexually immoral (LGBTQ+) and those Black Christians started doing the same to gain acceptance from White Americans. It failed! so many younger Black Americans believe that Homophobia is a product of colonialism/white supremacy thinking. There have been many Black Queer figures in Black history who have been written out of the history books.

“Marsha P. Johnson was an activist, a prostitute, a drag performer and, for nearly three decades, a fixture of street life in Greenwich Village. She was a central figure in a gay liberation movement energized by the 1969 police raid on the Stonewall Inn. She was a model for Andy Warhol. She battled severe mental illness. She was usually destitute and, for much of her life, effectively homeless.” – Sewell Chan

Marsha P Johnson was a Black AMAB woman, who led the LGBTQ+ Rebellion in Stone Wall Inn of New York City. However, when you look at pride parades today there is no mention of her anywhere for the most part and the white washing of queer history is very prevalent and the white queer community does not want to acknowledge Marsha P Johnson’s legacy and therefore the U.S. Queer movement would seem as though it was white gay men, who liberated us when it was trans women of color.

“Johnson was a key figure in the disturbances that followed a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar on Christopher Street, early in the morning of June 28, 1969. Many legends have grown around the event — often characterized as a riot, but more recently described as a rebellion or uprising — but the evidence suggests that Johnson was among the “vanguard” of those who resisted the police, according to David Carter, the author of “Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution.” She was 23 at the time.”-Sewell Chan

Honorary Mention

William Dorsey Swann

My point is here that the original homophobes were European/White and Christian. These were and are people who believe they have control over the rights of others. These are the same people that enslaved Africans.It is heartbreaking how Black and African people continue to hold on to colonial legacies that have continued to harm and mentally enslave us until this very day. Even the gay rights movement has been hijacked by white queer community when all they do is take credit for something they have 0 credit for. This is too so queer or straight white people are hell bent to change any historical fact that does not favor them or to control others and their true history. It is beyond time that Black and African people remember the sacrifices of Queer Brothers and Sisters. Love You and Thank You for reading.