The Third World Conference Marches on Washington
In conjunction with WorldPride 2025 the Rainbow History Project is creating an exhibit on the evolution of Pride: “Pickets, Protests, and Parades: The History of Gay Pride in Washington.” This is the fourth in the series of 10 articles about the project.
In this article, we discuss the activism and significant political organizing in the Black Lesbian and Gay community during the 1970s.
During the mid-20th century, private Black male social clubs provided the foundation for social and political organizing. During the 1970s, many gay Black activists such as ABilly S.
Jones-Henin, Carlene Cheatam, and Phil Pannell were growing politically active in the District. In 1978, ABilly S. Jones co-founded with Darlene Garner the first openly known political and advocacy organization to represent the African-American community — the National Coalition of Black Gays (NCBG).
