William Dorsey Swann (1860 – 1925) was an American LGBTQ activist in a time where leadership in the movement was uncommon. An African-American born into slavery, Swann was the first person in the United States to lead a queer resistance group and the first known person to self-identify as a "queen of drag".
During the 1880s and 1890s, Swann organized a series of drag balls in Washington, D.C. Most of the attendees of Swann's gatherings were men who were formerly enslaved who gathered to dance in their satin and silk dresses. This group was known as the "House of Swann". Swann participated in dances such as the cakewalk, a dance performed by enslaved people in America, mimicking the mannerisms of plantation owners. The cakewalk’s improvisational movements and subtle expressions of communication resemble voguing, the style later popularized in Harlem’s ball scene.
Swann was arrested in police raids numerous times, including the first documented case of an arrest for female impersonation in the United States, on April 12, 1888. This event was Swann's thirtieth birthday celebration. According to The Washington Post, he was "arrayed in a gorgeous dress of cream-colored satin". After the celebration was raided by police, Swann was "bursting with rage", as he stood up to one of the arresting officers and declared "you is no gentleman".
Swann's choice to resist that night rather than to submit passively to his arrest marks one of the earliest-known instances of resistance in the name of gay rights. The arrests made at Swann's parties were published in local newspapers, so townsfolk risked their reputation by attending. However, acts of public shaming like this one are the only reason we now know who Swann was.
In 1896, he was convicted of "keeping a disorderly house", a euphemism for running a brothel, and was sentenced to 10 months in jail. After his sentencing, he requested a pardon from President Grover Cleveland. This request was denied, but Swann was the first American on record who pursued legal and political action to defend the LGBTQ community's right to gather.
(~ Wikipedia)
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