‘Queering His Dream’ highlights social activists

As a part of the 2011 MLK Se­ries, Georgia State's student organi­zation, BlackOUT, designed a display entitled "Queering His Dream." The display highlighted activists such as Angela Davis, Audre Lord, Marlon Riggs, and Gloria Wakins, also known by her pen name bell hooks. Located on the first floor of the Student Cen­ter, the display will stay up from Jan. 21- Jan. 31.

Angela Davis was a political ac­tivist and author who associated her­self with the Black Panther Party in the 1960s and 1970s. Davis joined the Communist Party in 1968, following Dr. King's assassination. She focused on promoting women's rights and ra­cial justice.

Audre Lord, a writer, identified herself as "a black feminist lesbian mother poet." Her work focused on racial issues and lesbian feminism.

Marlon Riggs was a poet, film­maker and gay rights activist. Best known for his documentaries, his films discussed homophobia and confronted racism. The National En­dowment for the Arts, a government agency, sponsored Rigg's works, while many people protested them. Riggs died of AIDS in 1994.

Gloria Watkins, also known as Bell Hooks, was a writer as well. Watkins focused on the idea that race, class, and gender were inter­connected and that they needed to be dealt with together.

"Queering his Dream" is a time­line that highlights a trajectory of activists who have not only worked for racial and economic justice, but also gender and sexual liberation," said Onyekachi Ekeogu, a member of BlackOUT. "In effect, the display will acknowledge how gender, sexuality, and race influence inequality and in­tersect in ways that continue to influ­ence the lives of minorities such as queer people of color."

BlackOUT is comprised of lesbi­an, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer, and questioning students of African descent," said the Women's Studies Institute webpage. According to their Facebook page, BlackOUT aims "to create a safe space on the campus of Georgia State University for Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, questioning people and their allies, foster dialogue that promotes consciousness-raising, par­ticularly around the intersections of racial, sexual, and gender identities and oppression, develop program­ming that fosters understanding and awareness of the culture(s) of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and questioning people, and to promote social and academic justice through collabora­tive efforts with other groups who are engaged incomparable goals and objectives for the betterment of the campus of Georgia State University and the downtown community."

"The concept of the wall was to offer a trajectory of critical activism that has influenced Black queers," said Lamont Riggs, a member of BlackOUT who helped create the display. "We focused on folks who have struggled for racial/economic justice as well as gender/sexual lib­eration. The project is far from being complete, so BlackOUT has decided to make "Queering His Dream" a se­mester-long project.