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Jun 9, 2023 · In the late 1880s, a formerly enslaved man named William Dorsey Swann started hosting private balls known as drags, a name possibly derived from “ grand rag ,” an antiquated term for...
William Dorsey Swann was born into servitude and grew up to become one of the first American activists to spearhead a queer resistance group. He was also the first person known to refer to...
- David Polk
Swann is known as the first drag queen. As a black gay man, Swann paved the way for future drag queens and gay men of color. His legal efforts sparked a conversation about the LGBTQ+ community and may have even been one of the first instances of LGBTQ+ activism in the United States.
Jun 29, 2020 · On January 1, 1896, William Swann was charged with “keeping a disorderly house” (known to be a euphemism for running a brothel). Newspaper accounts of the day reveal that Swann was actually holding a drag ball (as noted in this clipping from the Evening Star).
Feb 9, 2022 · Newly liberated and gay, Swann used his freedom to lead a queer resistance group — and become the first drag queen in America. Swann not only became the first person in the United States to self-identify as a “queen of drag,” but grew into a pioneer of the gay liberation movement.
William Dorsey Swann is one of the most impactful queer figures in American history, someone who used drag to make a point long before the great Ru-ification of the art form took place.
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Oct 6, 2021 · Official website: http://www.pbs.org/americanmasters | #AmericanMastersPBSBorn into slavery, Swann was the first known person to identify as a “Queen of Drag...
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- American Masters PBS
