Honoring the notorious Gladys Bentley
by Rev. Irene Monroe
Bay Windows Contributor
Thursday Feb 11, 2010
http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=opinion&sc=guest_opinions&sc2=news&sc3=&id=102234 (http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=opinion&sc=guest_opinions&sc2=news&sc3=&id=102234)
In celebrating Black History Month, I want to personally celebrate the courage and strength of sistah-warrior Gladys Bentley (1907-1960).
Bentley, a 250-pound African-American lesbian (who today we would consider transgender,) was known as "America's Greatest Sepia Piano Player" and the "Brown Bomber of Sophisticated Songs."
Her fall from the entertainment spotlight, however, is a cautionary tale about what can happen to us during a repressive political era during which both church and state are our enemies.