Black History Month — does it include the black and queer community?

BY SELINA McCALLUM

Black History Month in North America is a time for reflection and celebration of the black impactful and powerful leaders that paved the way for black people to be liberated. However, it is not often that black leaders who are also a part of the LGBTQ community are discussed too.

On Wednesday, February 19^th, Caribbean Tales Film Festival held a LGBTQ Night at the Royal Cinema as part of their events for Black History Month. They have been holding a Queer Caribbean segment for the last 10 years.

Courtney Panchan is the Manager, Sales, Acquisitions & Operations for CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution and was the Festival Manager of the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival in 2019. She says that it is important to include everyone.

“We feel like what we’re doing here is showcasing ourselves on the screens, so if we’re not going to show all of ourselves then why show anything,” said Panchan.

They screened the highly controversial movie from Kenya, Rafiki, which means ‘friend’ in Swahili, as well as two short films from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tabago.

The first short film screened was Please See Attached directed by Andrei Pierre. The movie is about a young and noble man named Maurice who may be the next Vice Principal of the school he teaches at, however, when the school board steps in to make changes, he’s left to make some bold decisions.

The second was a short documentary called Judgement Day directed by Francesca Hawkins. In 2017 Jason Jones, a human rights activist, filed a historic constitutional motion against the state, challenging colonial-era anti-homosexual laws in Trinidad and Tobago. The case opens up unrest between activists and politically powerful religious groups.

Rafiki is a 2018 Kenyan drama about a romance that grows between two young women, Kena and Ziki, amidst family and political pressures around LGBT rights in Kenya. As homosexuality is illegal in Kenya, the film was banned.

It was banned by the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) according to “its homosexual theme and clear intent to promote lesbianism in Kenya contrary to the law”. Even if someone was found with the film, they would be breaking the law, and could end up serving 14 years in jail.

In September of 2018, the Kenyan High Court lifted the ban on the film, allowing it to be screened in the country for seven days. After the ban was lifted, the film was shown to a sold-out crowd at a cinema in Nairobi.

Panchan says she was glad to be a part of including an LGBTQ night when there are not many events around the city that focus on the black and queer community for Black History Month.

“I was very happy to bring this during Black History Month because I feel like it is part of our history and our story. It’s something that’s been suppressed and it shouldn’t be. So I feel like tying it into Black History month was extremely important,” said Panchan.

Rarely, does a majority of the community remember the black leaders who made a difference that were also queer.  A few leaders who were queer and a part of black history are Richard Bruce Nugent, an artist during the Harlem Renaissance, Alvin Ailey, an award-winning choreographer, and Audre Lourde, an activist and writer.

One of the audience members came to see the films with her husband, who together have been long time supporters and donors of Caribbean Tales.

“My husband and I donate every year and we always purchase a ticket to the screenings. Then we come home and talk about what we’ve watched,” said Edwina Bascombe-Buhnai.

She mentions one thing that may change the way some people view the LGBTQ community.

“People’s mindset. Yes, I’m Christian, but at the same time, I think people misconstrue reading the bible because my thing is, God says we are all his children, so regardless of what side of the coin you go on, you’re still his child,” said Bascombe-Buhnai. “I think if people give it a chance, and try to support these people, it will be fine.”