February 4, 2008

One-man show sponsored by BCC looks at gay life in the South

Sponsored by Purdue's Black Cultural Center, "Pouring Tea: Black Gay Men of the South Tell Their Tales" is at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

The performance is based on interviews conducted by Johnson, who is professor, chairman and director of graduate studies in the Department of Performance Studies, and associate professor of African-American Studies at Northwestern University.

The interviews are from Johnson's forthcoming book "Sweet Tea: An Oral History of Black Gay Men of the South, to be published by North Carolina Press. Between August 2004 and September 2006 he talked to men ranging in age from 19 to 94. It is the first book-length study to look specifically at gay black men living in the South, Johnson said.

Topics covered in Johnson's performance include coming of age in the South, religion, sex, transgenderism, love stories and coming out. The show tells of Chaz, a transgendered person who lives as a man on Sunday so he can sing in the church choir but lives as a woman during the week. Then there is Larry, whose early years of sexual exploration are humorous and disturbing.

"We are looking forward to this unique event," said Renee Thomas, director of the BCC. "It will offer a revealing examination of gay black life in the South."

Johnson has performed nationally and internationally and has published widely on issues such as race, gender, sexuality and performance.

He is also the author of two other books, "Appropriating Blackness: Performance and the Politics of Authenticity," published by Duke University Press in 2003, and "Black Queer Studies: A Critical Anthology," also published by Duke University Press, in 2005.

Writer: Greg McClure, (765) 494-9394, gmcclure@purdue.edu

Source: Renee Thomas, (765) 494-3091, rathomas@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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