Women Studies Project - Crystal LaBeija
Storyboard Tekst
- Miss All-America Camp, 1967
- I have a right to show my color, darling!
- I am beautiful, and I know I'm beautiful.
- On that day, a legend was born, and queer culture in NYC would change forever.
- For most of its history, drag as an art has been dominated by white queens, while queens of color often get sidelined or overlooked.
- Queens of color were expected to lighten their skin with make-up if they even wanted to be considered for an award.
- For years, Crystal LaBeija dealt with the racism of the pageant system, and had even won some accolades despite everything in the system working against a woman of color like her.
- The Miss All-America Camp competition was the last straw for Crystal. This was the moment that lit a fire that would not be extinguished.
- Lottie LaBeija
- Well, I’ve been thinking, Crystal…
- I’m tired of this, Lottie! They don’t want us to show off our colors. They only want their sparkly white queens.
- What if we did our own show? With our own girls?
- And so a legend was born as Crystal and Lottie sought out other drag performers of color to join their show.
- They worked tirelessly to bring the “First Annual House of LaBeija Ball” to life, and in the process created something bright and beautiful in the LGBT+ scene of NYC.
- To solidify the unique way she wanted to do things, Crystal dubbed the group the House of LaBeija, and she sought to do more than simply perform with this group.
- Crystal brought these girls together to create a space for LGBT+ people of color to have a space for themselves, free from the “racism queens” that plagued drag and LGBT+ culture at the time.
- Soon after their first show, more Houses started to pop up, inspired by Crystal’s hope to assert the right of people of color to exist within the LGBT+ community.
- These Houses became not only places for queer people of color to escape the prejudice they faced, but they also became a second home for many LGBT+ youth to seek refuge in.
- Houses like the House of LaBeija provided a found family for those rejected by there own blood relatives, and remain a major part of LGBT+ culture to this day.
- Though she died young from liver failure, Crystal's legacy created a culture of love and found family that gave the LGBT+ community the strength to stand together through its most turbulent struggle for rights.
- We have a right to show our colors, darling. We’re beautiful and we know that we’re beautiful.
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