Who’s the Barbarian?, (13 October 1979) Washington, D.C.

Context

Tana Loy served as a featured speaker at the 1979 National Conference of Third World Lesbians and Gays (NCTWLG) held in Washington, D.C. and organized by The National Coalition of Black Gays. The first NCTWLG conference sought to reimagine the future of LGBTQ+ people of color internationally.1 The conference was held during the weekend of the first National March on Washington for Gays and Lesbians, where over 100,000 LGBTQ+ people came together from around the United States to fight for the civil rights of lesbian and gay people.2

During this time, U.S. lesbian and gay movements were growing stronger and fighting back against discrimination and harassment. The march celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, where LGBTQ+ people fought back against the police raids of the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York. The official march platform called for an end to anti-lesbian and gay discrimination codified in Executive Order 10450,3 which barred lesbian and gay people from working in government and fired workers who were outed.4 Additionally, the march’s official platform called on Congress to pass legislation that protected lesbian and gay people from discrimination and harassment and protected lesbian and gay people’s parental rights during custody battles.5

Despite the undeniable growth of lesbian and gay activism in the 1970s, news coverage from the conference reported how LGBTQ+ people of color felt increasingly ignored by  mainstream gay and lesbian movements.6 They perceived that the movements prioritized the concerns and demands of white LGBTQ+ people. Thus, the first National Conference of Third World Lesbians and Gays was organized in an effort to combat “invisibility [of lesbian and gay people of color] to boldly assert their leading place” in social movements combatting racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia.7

The title of this first conference was, “When Will the Ignorance End: The Coming Together of Asians, American Indians, Latins and Blacks.”8 Some of the participating organizations in this transnational conference included: the Combahee River Collective, Salsa Soul Sisters from New York City, the Bay Area Gay Alliance of Latin Americans, Lambda of Mexico City, and the Mexican Trotskyist Party. These groups were joined by LGBTQ+ Asians and Native Americans as well as representatives from Nicaragua and Cuba. Audre Lorde served as the keynote speaker for the event that attracted over 500 registered participants and one hundred additional observers. Over half of the attendees were women. Participants represented forty states and some five countries, including Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Sierra Leon, and Trinidad. Two questions oriented the conference: “When will the ignorance end?” and “Where do we go from here?”9 As lesbian and gay activists enhanced their mobilization efforts generally, lesbian and gay people of color worked to make sure their voices would be heard, too.

Tana Loy joined the Asian American caucus at the National Conference of Third World Lesbians and Gays. During the conference, Asian Americans and Canadians formed the Lesbian and Gay Asian Collective. Loy’s speech was delivered on October 13, 1979, following the Asian American caucus meetings. The speech also was delivered the day before Lesbian and Gay Asian Americans were to march on Washington, D.C. alongside Lesbian and Gay African Americans in the National March on Washington for Gays and Lesbians. Together, activists marched from Howard University through Chinatown before merging with a larger Gay and Lesbian March on Washington.10 Loy and other LGBTQ+ Asian Americans sought to build community and bring awareness to the specific struggles they faced.

Daniel Tsang covered the event, taking photos of the speakers and transcribing their speeches for the Gay Insurgent: A Gay Left Journal to record these landmark moments.11 Little is publicly known of Tana Loy beyond conference and march coverage. As she introduced herself to the crowd in “Who’s the Barbarian?” Loy stated that her Chinese name is Leung Lai Jin. She addressed the crowd as her “sisters and brothers” and the common fights they found themselves in as gay and lesbian Asian Americans.12 Such fights included accessing medical care, overcoming unemployment, and ending hunger. Loy’s speech left a lasting impact on the Asian American caucus, which continued to meet and advocate for Asian Americans in the United States after their first march.13

By many accounts, the National March on Washington for Lesbians and Gays was successful. The march saw record numbers of gay and lesbian Asian Americans marching with non-Asian lesbians and gay people for what some believe was the first time in the United States.14 An article published in the Freedom Socialist Party captured the uniqueness of the conference: “The conference was unique in its high level of feminism, radicalism, class consciousness, internationalism, and exhilarating vigor.”15 Many conference attendees also reflected fondly on the event, describing it as a “spiritual experience,” and one that “will surely never be forgotten for as long as we may live.” Others like Loy referred to fellow attendees as their “brothers and sisters.”16 The first National March on Washington for Lesbians and Gays ultimately led to future marches. A second Third World Lesbian and Gays Conference was held, for example, in November 1981.17 Loy and other speakers, organizers, and participants of the Third World Lesbian and Gays Conference thus took meaningful leaps towards a more inclusive, transnational LGBTQ+ movement, working to forge solidarities and create organizations that would continue that legacy for years to come.

Endnotes

  1. Robert Crisman, “History Made: First Lesbians/Gays of Color Conference,” Freedom Socialist Party, 1979, https://socialism.com/fs-article/history-made-first-lesbiansgays-of-color-conference/.
  2. Jo Thomas, “75,000 March in Capital in Drive To Support Homosexual Rights,” New York Times, October 15, 1979.
  3. “Executive Order 10450:Security Requirements for Government Employment,” 18 Federal Register 2489, April 27, 1953, https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/10450.html.
  4. “National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights: Official Souvenir Program,” October 14, 1979, p. 29.
  5. Ibid.
  6. Crisman, “History Made: First Lesbians/Gays of Color Conference.”; Daniel Tsang, “Third World Gay and Lesbians Meet,” Gay Insurgent: A Gay Left Journal 6 (1980): 11–21.
  7. Crisman, “History Made: First Lesbians/Gays of Color Conference.”
  8. Tsang, “Third World Gay and Lesbians Meet,” 11–21.
  9. Tsang, “Third World Gay and Lesbians Meet,” 11–21.
  10. Tsang, “Third World Gay and Lesbians Meet,” 11–21.
  11. Gay Insurgent: A Gay Left Journal published its last issue in 1981.
  12. Tana Loy, “Who’s the Barbarian?” para. 1-2.
  13. Tsang, “Third World Gay and Lesbians Meet,” 11–21.
  14. Tsang, “Third World Gay and Lesbians Meet,” 11–21.
  15. Robert Crisman, “History Made: First Lesbians/Gays of Color Conference.”
  16. Sidney Brinkley, “The Third World Lesbian and Gay Conference In Pictures,” Blacklight 1, no. 3 (1979), https://digdc.dclibrary.org/islandora/object/dcplislandora%3A295709?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=f960e9c37109c891a5ed&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=0#page/1/mode/1up.  
  17. Yolanda Alaniz, “Third World Conference of Lesbians and Gays: The Personal vs Political,” Freedom Socialist Party, 1982, https://socialism.com/fs-article/third-world-conference-of-lesbians-and-gays-the-personal-vs-political/.