Oral history interview with Michael "Micci" Sainte-Andress

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Michael Sainte-Andress is a Black gay artist, performer, and community figure who was born in Seattle, raised in Houston, Texas, and later moved to Washington, D.C., in the mid‑1970s after serving in the U.S. Navy. In this interview, he reflects on his experience being openly gay in the Navy during the early 1970s.

He also discusses his involvement in Washington’s theater scene, where he performed primarily in musicals and drew on his background in dance. Beyond the stage, he offers a vivid account of Black gay culture in the 1970s and 1980s, recalling popular venues such as the Club House and the Coffee House—a Black gay artistic space where he performed introspective, theatrical poetry. He describes the Coffee House as a vital incubator for community, consciousness, and creative expression, a formative environment that helped cultivate a collective identity distinct from the mainstream white gay movement.

70s-90s

African American gay experience, black gay clubs, theatre, DC Coalition, black gay politics

Genny Beemyn

Transcription available

1 audio file (46:42)