In 1983, Portland’s annual Pride celebration made waves with a shocking and seemingly intentional racist act. During that year’s parade, a man appeared dressed up as Aunt Jemima, pancakes and syrup and all. A white man.
In response, activists in Portland’s Black community approached the man and attempted to get him to remove the costume or leave. The very basic demand, removal of the costume and the associated blackface, was met with rejection, but worst still, it was met with jeering by other white men in the parade and along the route. When he responded that it was all in good fun, the activists on hand began chanting “racism isn’t fun!” Eventually, the costumed man left, and the parade washed by the site of the conflict as if it had never happened.
But it DID happen, and the following months brought increased turmoil and racist violence aimed primarily at the Black women who had intervened and those who attempted to sound off against the act.
The first wave of negative reaction began in the local Queer media in Portland: articles from various members of the Portland Queer community began to appear decrying what had transpired, but almost as many in support of the Aunt Jemima cosplay appeared as well. Max Flasher, a costumer for Portland-based theaters and the band Quarterflash, was the most inciteful of the blackface supporters, provoking a multi-paper, multi-issue argument with Marguerite Ella of the local leftist/Feminist collective, Radical Women. Others, like columnist Paula Nielsen downplayed the severity of the situation, arguing that the costume was all in fun and simply a means of mocking racism.
This schism over racism came in the years of fighting over lesbian bars practicing “carding” of Black women in the community. Why wouldn’t Aunt Jemima not only be offensive, but any defense of such cosplay be seen as a serious violation of the rights and dignity of Black Portlanders? The violence was heightened with bricks being hurled through the window of a prominent community leader and other activists who had taken a stand.
Unfortunately, the outcome of attempts to right this racist violence was less than favorable: no statements disavowing the offense would arrive from organizers of Pride in Portland, and it was ultimately up to Black activists and radical allies to continue the fight in Portland.
At the same time, organizations like the aforementioned Radical Women were arguing for commemoration of Stonewall in future Pride actions, specifically in the interest of honoring the Black and Latinx lesbians and trans/genderqueer/drag queens who had a major role in the uprising. They further argued for the inclusion of protest over the raid on Blues Bar, a New York City bar that catered predominantly to Queer Black men, drag queens, and women. In either case, those arguing for a more inclusive Pride were rebuffed.
Tomorrow, Queer Wrath Month will cover the raid on Blues Bar and the resulting protest march.