No Tea, No Shade: October is LGBTQ+ History Month

Dennis Richmond Jr.

The LGBTQ+ community celebrates LGBTQ+ History Month for the 29th time. The first LGBTQ+ History Month took place in 1994. Founded by Rodney Wilson, a high school teacher from Missouri, this month-long celebration celebrates various factors in the community. Perhaps the two most important factors of this community are sustainability and popularity. According to a Gallup poll, more than 7% of Americans identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community. This number has doubled over the past decade. With the number reaching 10%, LGBTQ+ is here to stay.

Today, many teenage boys can walk down the halls of high school holding their boyfriend’s hand. Many girls could invite their friends to prom. Adult members of the community could now even get married. When I was in high school, about ten years ago, the Supreme Court had not yet struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage. When I was in high school, we didn’t have rappers like Santana and Lil Nas X. We had a few songs that meant something. Macklemore wrote a song called “Same Love” and Frank Ocean wrote “Thinking Bout You.” Macklemore’s song has since racked up more than a quarter of a billion views on YouTube.

As we define LGBTQ+ history, it is imperative that we recognize our legends, sayings, stars and symbols. One of the icons is Kevin Jay Z Prodigy. Prodigy, a popular entertainer and renowned ballroom dance commentator, hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Kevin has been playing the game for almost two decades and has no plans to stop. Beyoncé’s song “Pure/Honey” from her 2022 album Renaissance featured Prodigy. People all over the world love the chants created by Prodigy, especially in New York. There is nothing better than a nice warm “bam-bam-sha-vam” that will touch the girls. Prodigy is an icon.

Ballroom culture in New York has been around for over 50 years. Popular slang terms have left the ballroom and entered the mainstream media. “Mess,” “Shadow,” “Gift,” “Carry,” and “Tea” are popular words that even non-LGBTQ+ people use today. Perhaps one of the most iconic visuals to come out of Ballroom is the 1990 American documentary Paris Is Burning. The documentary explores the New York City ballroom scene.

Whether you support the LGBTQ+ community or not, one thing is for sure and two things are for sure. The Community has a history, and it is important to know that history. Why? Because today nothing happened, it just happened. All this took time and we needed people to make it happen. Ancestors and transancestors.

Dennis Richmond Jr. is a writer and journalist specializing in the Black, Latino, and LGBTQIA+ communities. He periodically covered HBCUs for six years in Yonkers Rising. Richmond lives in Yonkers. Follow him on Twitter @NewYorkStakz.