Oral History with Louis Hughes (Queer Capital-Genny Beemyn)

Interested in listening to this audio?
Email oralhistories@rainbowhistory.org for access

In this interview, Louis Hughes, a native Baltimorean, recounts his experiences within DC’s African-American LGBTQ community during the 1970s and 1980s. Hughes, who came out in
the mid-1970s, soon discovered Washington to be an exciting center of African-American gay life. Hughes joined many other Black Baltimoreans who were involved in gay activism and
community life in DC. He routinely commuted to DC to dance at the famed ClubHouse, and discover innovative Black artists at the ENIKAlley Coffeehouse (such as Thurlow Tibbs and Essex Hemphill). He also served as co-chair of the National Black Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays, organized the 1979 Third World Lesbian and Gay Conference, and advised Howard
University’s pioneering gay-rights student organization Lambda Alliance. Later, he refocused his activism within Baltimore, working on a gay rights bill at the Baltimore City Council, and serving as a peer advisor at Morgan State University. By the end of the interview, Hughes laments the loss of historic LGBTQ spots in DC, and wonders if DC culture is inherently more superficial and fleeting than the more deep-rooted community organizations that grow within Baltimore.

Genny Beemyn

Yes

46:35