The California African American Museum has launched 'Free and Queer: Black Californian Roots of Gay Liberation,' an exhibition dedicated to the often-overlooked history of Black LGBTQ resistance and culture in California. Curated by Susan D. Anderson in collaboration with ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, the show utilizes a vast array of archival materials, photographs, and film to trace a lineage of activism and artistic expression that predates the Stonewall riots. It specifically highlights how Black queer Californians navigated McCarthy-era repression, the civil rights movement, and the AIDS crisis.
This exhibition represents a significant historical reorientation by positioning Black queer individuals as central architects of the gay liberation movement rather than peripheral figures. By moving beyond traditional East Coast-centric narratives, the project recalibrates the history of American democracy and visibility. It serves as a vital institutional effort to recover marginalized voices and explore how the intersection of race and sexuality has fundamentally shaped California’s political and cultural landscape.