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Some historians even credit him with inventing the helicopter, the tank, and the parachute.īut an important detail that’s almost always omitted is his sexuality. He’s considered one of the greatest artists of all time (at least in the Western canon), and he made notable discoveries in a broad range of fields including civil engineering, geology, hydrodynamics, anatomy, etc. He was a seminal painter, inventor, and intellectual of the High Renaissance in the late 1400s and early 1500s. Leonardo da VinciĪny serious Western history textbook will include a decent amount of details on Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci. This is inexcusable, especially given that her LGBTQ identity is highly relevant to the topic of civil and human rights. For instance, my high school history textbook The American Pageant - one of the most commonly used in the US - completely glossed over her sexuality. It’s a shame that even though Davis is an extremely important historical figure, and even though she’s commonly included in the Civil Rights Movement sections of history textbooks, her sexuality is rarely acknowledged. While we could and often did debate what exactly constituted her public coming out, her unwavering and vocal support for LGBTQ rights was always visceral and crystal clear. The glaring spotlight on her public life was contrasted by the privacy in which she conducted her private life - and we understood. Here’s what activist and archivist Lisbet Tellefsen said about this: They do know that although she was extremely vocal about her support for LGBTQ issues, she liked to keep her private life out of the limelight.
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There’s no mystery around this because she publicly acknowledged her sexuality in 1998 in an interview with Out magazine.īut historians aren’t sure whether that was the first time she publicly came out. Angela DavisĪs I mentioned earlier, Marxist Black feminist activist and scholar Angela Davis identifies as a lesbian. He concludes that it may have been due to the expectations of his religion, internalized homophobia, or a fear of the many repercussions that openly queer Black men face. Perry also investigates why he never came out publicly or opened up to his loved ones about his attraction to men. These sexual encounters may have even continued after he married Betty Shabazz, to whom he remained married until his death. And when he was living in Flint, Michigan, his roommate at the time noticed that he would often leave the room they shared to spend the night with a gay man who lived in the same building. In his teens and 20s, he frequently had casual sex with men and had at least one sustained sexual relationship with a man. It appears based on the interviews referenced in the book that Malcolm X was not heterosexual - the question is whether he was bisexual or gay. According to the American Institute of Bisexuality, Perry “dissected over 400 interviews, interactions, and written accounts from Malcolm X’s close friends and family about everything from his childhood to his assassination,” arguably making his book “the most complete and well-rounded account of Malcolm X’s personal life.” Most notable is Bruce Perry’s biography Malcolm - The Life of a Man Who Changed Black America. That’s why most Americans have no idea that historical research has revealed that he was most likely bisexual. In 1965, he was tragically assassinated at the young age of 39.īut most history books stop there, neglecting to mention his sexuality. He became a leader of the Nation of Islam in the early 1950s, though he later renounced it while still remaining a committed Muslim. Malcolm XĪs we all know, Malcolm X was a prominent human rights activist and advocate for black empowerment and socialism. So I did some research to find out if there were other prominent queer historical figures whose sexuality had been swept under the rug in my history classes at school. What does that mean about our society? How deeply has homophobia hijacked the way we teach history in the US? But I was more upset reflecting on why my history textbooks never once mentioned her sexuality. I was partly upset at myself for being oblivious. It made me think - if I, a bisexual leftist and passionate devotee of Angela Davis, was not aware, how many other people must be unaware? I’m embarrassed to admit that up until a few days ago, I was completely unaware that Angela Davis is a lesbian.