San Francisco’s hottest Black-owned gay bar just reopened… in Minneapolis
Rodney Barnette, a Vietnam vet and former Black Panther member who created it to give queer people of color a place to hang out, find refuge, and connect.Darryl Pandy was the voice behind the house classic “Love Can’t Turn Around”.Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.Now, 31 years later, the bar’s back open for business… approximately 1,975 miles away from its original location on Market Street and with a new owner: Barnette’s daughter, Sadie.A post shared by SADIE BARNETTE with a ‘E’ (@sadiebarnette)Sadie, a visual artist who was five years old when her dad bought the space in 1990, has recreated a traveling version of The New Eagle Creek Saloon that’s currently on display at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis through May 19.
Per the museum’s website:The original bar (1990–1993) offered a haven for a multiracial queer community marginalized by racist profiling in other social spaces throughout the city.
With this project, Barnette honors Black queer joy and her own family history by reanimating her father’s bar and its legacy as a space of community connection and engagement.
Bathed in neon light and glitter, The New Eagle Creek Saloon is an open, inviting, and living space for learning, resistance, and pleasure.But it’s not just an art installation.
