Where Slaves Became Queens

Portrait of Channing Joseph. Photo by Bret Hartman/TED.

Bayard Rustin, Frances Thompson and William Dorsey Swann have been largely erased from U.S. history, but they and other Black queer leaders played central roles in movements like emancipation, civil rights, and LGBTQ+ pride. Journalist and queer culture historian Channing Joseph will discuss their little-known stories, connecting the origins of drag in the 1880s to the present day.

Joseph, a visiting Ferris Professor of Journalism in the Program in Journalism, is a journalist with two decades of experience covering race, poverty, social justice and other topics in the U.S. and abroad. Also an award-winning, groundbreaking scholar of Black queer history, he is currently a contributor to The Nation. Discussant Brian Herrera is an Associate Professor of Theater in the Lewis Center for the Arts.

The Humanities Council’s Program in Journalism invites faculty, graduate students and staff to participate in the next in our series of events where distinguished visiting journalists discuss their work and pressing issues of the day with faculty from a variety of disciplines. These lunchtime talks offer intimate looks inside the work of colleagues and an opportunity for dialogue across specialties.

Attendance by reservation only. Space is limited; RSVP to Margo Bresnen at mbresnen@princeton.edu, noting your University affiliation.

Email Margo Bresnen, Journalism Program Manager, at mbresnen@princeton.edu with any questions or difficulties.