Tongues Untied

An early work of queer black emancipation from the then beacon of hope in the Afro-American gay rights movement - another artist and intellectual who died far too young from AIDS.
An attempt to break through silence. Personal confessions and poetical texts are passionately and provocingly fused to form a study of black homosexual identity in the USA. (Berlinale festival catalogue)
 
This is the acclaimed account of Black gay life by Emmy Award-winning director Marlon T. Riggs. Using poetry, personal testimony, rap and performance (featuring poet Essex Hemphill and others), TONGUES UNTIED describes the homophobia and racism that confront Black gay men.
The stories are fierce examples of homophobia and racism: the man refused entry to a gay bar because of his color; the college student left bleeding on the sidewalk after a gay-bashing; the loneliness and isolation of the drag queen.  Yet they also affirm the black gay male experience: protest marches, smoky bars, "snap diva", humorous "musicology" and Vogue dancers. (frameline)
"My struggle has allowed me to transcend that sense of shame and stigma identified with my being a black gay man. Having come through that fire, they can't touch me." - Marlon T. Riggs