LGBTQ Black History: Joseph Beam & Essex Hemphill
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LGBTQ Black History: Joseph Beam & Essex Hemphill
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About this listen
In this powerful opening to the LGBTQ Black History Series, Dante shares the intentional decision to rename the podcast—grounding it in the cultural language and legacy of Joseph Beam’s In the Life anthology and the movement of Black queer thinkers who refused to be erased.
This episode is both a story and a study.
Listeners are guided through the lives, work, and impact of Joseph Beam and Essex Hemphill—two literary and activist forces who documented Black gay existence during a time of silence, stigma, and loss. Through poetry, history, and reflection, Dante explores how their work created a blueprint for leadership rooted in truth-telling, community building, archival resistance, and unapologetic identity.
More than a tribute, this episode is a call forward.
It challenges listeners to consider what it means to lead when recognition isn’t guaranteed, to speak when silence feels safer, and to remember the people whose words and courage made today’s visibility possible.
This is not just a history lesson.It’s a continuation.
And it sets the stage for what’s next.