Black History: Black Leaders Who Support Us

The African American community has often been accused of not supporting LGBT equality. These claims may have been greatly exaggerated.

Many leaders and celebrities from with the Black community have in fact been staunch LGBT allies. While no means complete, here are a few friends of ours from the Black community:

Coretta Scott King (1927-2006)

Martin Luther King's widow was a class act every step of the way. Mrs. King outlived her legendary and courageous spouse by 38 years. She was a lady in the old fashioned sense, but she also a strong woman who continued fighting the good fight for equality and justice.

As early as 1983, she urged that the Civil Rights Act, one of her husband's legacies, be amended to include gays and lesbians as a protected class.

In 2003 she addressed the Creating Change Conference, an annual event organized by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. She linked the Civil Rights movement to LGBT equality, subsequently taking heat from Black pastors. She said that her critics were "misinformed" and expressed her support for marriage equality the following year.

Maya Angelou (1928-2014)

Maya Angelou's storied life included prostitution (which she spoke about openly during her later years), nightclub singer, film actress, legendary poet and civil rights activist.

In 1998 she spoke of the importance of coming out at HRC's annual dinner. In 2009 she publicly expressed her support for marriage equality.

Eartha Kitt (1927-2008)

An iconic recording artist and Broadway star, Kitt titillated audiences with her sexy, naughty purr. Her 1950s hits included then daringly erotic songs such as Santa Baby and C'est Si Bon. During the 1960s she brought some genuine sex appeal to the Batman TV series, in which she was seen as a very seductive Catwoman.

Her career was nearly destroyed when she spoke out against the Vietnam War during a 1968 White House visit, but Kitt bounced back.

Kitt continued her anti-war activism, among many other causes. In her later years she publicly supported marriage equality, which she said was "a civil right." She appeared at many LGBT events, explaining in 1992 why she supported the LGBT community. "I am a rejected, oppressed person, so I understand them," she said.

Cory Booker

The former mayor of Newark NJ is now a Senator, representing New Jersey. Always outspoken, Booker has never hesitated to call out the hypocrisy of the religious right. He says what he means.

Booker strongly supports marriage equality. Before same-sex marriage became law in New Jersey, Booker said that the state's Civil Unions law was bigoted, pointing out that it denied LGBT couples federal marriage rights. On the very day same-sex marriage became legal in New Jersey, Booker performed wedding ceremonies for gay couples. He has since co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Magic Johnson

Basketball superstar Earvin "Magic" Johnson stunned the sports world when he came out as HIV positive in 1991 - Johnson is not gay, and he helped to dispel the myth that AIDS is a "gay disease."

Soon after the announcement, he formed the Magic Johnson Foundation to combat AIDS. In 1992 he resigned from the National Commission on AIDS, citing then President Bush's ignoring of commission recommendations, which included universal healthcare and the expansion of Medicaid.

In 2013, Johnson publicly expressed his support and unconditional love for EJ, his gay son.

Whoopi Goldberg

The Oscar winning film star and talk show host never minces words when expressing her sometimes controversial opinions. She has made it clear that she doesn't care what people think, and proudly walks to the beat of her own drum.

In 1987 she participated in the March on Washington, the largest rally, up to that time, for LGBT equality. In 2010 she joined Cyndi Lauper's Give A Damn campaign, which seeks to bring wider awareness to anti-LGBT discrimination.

Oprah Winfrey

The talk show queen turned TV network owner is one of the most successful and powerful women in show business history. Her support for LGBT people has been unparalleled. Many episodes of The Oprah Winfrey Show gave LGBT people a voice, with Oprah's own voice raising awareness to the more conservative portions of her sizable fan base.

In 1988, The Oprah Show observed National Coming Out Day. She has since given a platform to anti-bullying campaigns, HIV awareness and marriage equality. Her OWN Network has continued this tradition, with Winfrey personally supporting groundbreaking LGBT documentaries such as "Becoming Chaz" and "Bridegroom" -- both films captured the attention of the media after Oprah premiered them on OWN with a great deal of fanfare.

In 1997, Oprah appeared on "The Puppy Episode," the groundbreaking episode of "The Ellen Show" in which Ellen DeGeneres said the words I'm gay to 39 million viewers. At the time, Winfrey said she wanted to be part of what she considered to be an historic television event.