How Black Queer Culture Shaped History | Channing Gerard Joseph | TED

Names like Bayard Rustin, Frances Thompson and William Dorsey Swann have been largely erased from US history, but they and other Black queer leaders played central roles in monumental movements like emancipation, civil rights and LGBTQ pride, among others. In this tribute to forgotten icons, queer culture historian and TED Fellow Channing Gerard Joseph shares their little-known stories, connecting the origins of drag in the 1880s to the present day and exploring the awesome power to choose how we define ourselves. If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas: Follow TED! Twitter: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: TikTok: @tedtoks The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. Watch more: TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at #TED #TEDTalks #blackhistorymonth