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If you are Black and gay in South Africa, then it really is all the same closet… inside is darkness and oppression. Outside is freedom.
These words were issued by Simon Nkoli (1957-1998), a South African gay activist and anti-apartheid leader. In his quest for freedom, he fought for the rights and acceptance of the LGBTQI+ community in South Africa and facilitated a cross-over with the anti-apartheid movement. This way he demonstrated that these two movements shared a common ground in their fight for equality. He was the founder of the Gay Association of South Africa (GASA) and the Gay and Lesbian Organisation of the Witwatersrand (GLOW). In 1990, he was the first organiser of the Gay & Lesbian Pride march in Johannesburg. On the 26th of November this year Nkloli, who died of aidsrelated disease, would have turned 67 years. What was his influence and legacy? And how have his ideas shaped the acceptance of the LGBTQI+ community in South Africa? Composer and sound artist Philip Miller produced Nkoli: The Vogue-Opera in South Africa. More than 26 singers, dancers, voguers and musicians performed a tribute to the life of Simon Nkoli. The co-writer of the lyrics of the opera and performer S’bo Gyre will give an introduction about the opera and Simon Nkoli himself.
After the introduction, Bart Luirink will talk about Nkoli’s legacy and the development of gay rights in South Africa. Luirink is editor of ZAM Magazine, an online platform for journalism, photography and art about Africa. He is co-author of Homosexuality in Africa: a disturbing love (2016). This book provides insights in the development of the resistance and acceptance of homosexuality in Africa. His talk will also be available through a livestream on Youtube.
Workshop
After Luirinks talk a workshop will be held, in which we create a magazine about Simon Nkoli and queerness in South Africa, based on photo’s, newspaper articles and other archival material. This magazine will feature in the next edition of Spectrum!
This event will be the start of a series of events on queerness in South Africa. Stay tuned for more!
