To Be Heard in Print: Black Gay Writers in 1980s New York

New York City in the 1980s witnessed the establishment of several organizations founded by and for Black gay men. Among these organizations were two writing groups, the Blackheart Collective and Other Countries, both with ties to Greenwich Village. A Zoom webinar with Kevin McGruder, Associate Professor of History at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Begun in 1980 by a group of Black gay men involved in the arts and in politics, the Blackheart Collective was followed by Other Countries, a writing workshop established in 1986. Other Countries included several men who had been associated with Blackheart. Other Countries eventually grew to include a writing workshop (which continues today), a publishing initiative, and a performance program. The work created and presented by the Black gay men in the Blackheart Collective and in Other Countries represented continuing efforts by these men to make their presence known to both the Black community and the LGBTQ community and to leave a record of their ideas and of their lives.

In associaton with Village Preservation.

• Kevin McGruder

Free: Pre-registration is required. Zoom webinar