Celebrate Black Queer and TGNCI History: Remembering Willi Ninja

Fam,

What a month October was! One full of celebration, acknowledgment, and remembrance.

We hope that this series and all the amazing black queer content we’ve seen this LGBTQIA+ History Month has illuminated one of our biggest needs in the Black queer and TGNCI community: space.

We need spaces to live in that feel safe. We need spaces to be in community with each other, and where we’re able to feel affirmed in our identities. Safe spaces are often places for us to incubate our dreams and cultivate our talents and offerings to the world. In our final highlight for LGBTQIA+ History Month, we’re learning about someone whose work to create that space continues today.

Willi Ninja, affectionately known as the Grandfather of Vogue, was a self-taught dancer and famous choreographer, as well as a community leader and the founder of the House of Ninja. The House of Ninja was a safe space for young queer and trans folks to fully express themselves, find support, and build community in New York City.

The drag ball scene and voguing, whose roots can be traced back to queer masquerades during the Harlem Renaissance, laid the groundwork for the creation of houses. In 1972, Crystal LaBeija formed the House of LaBeija, known as the birth of house culture. More houses were created, including the House of Ninja, as a direct response to the complete divestment of resources in Black and brown communities in the 1980s in New York City. This lack of support, which disproportionately affected the queer and trans community, manifested in the following ways: a decline of social services like welfare; the divestment of homeless shelters (even as homelessness increased due to folks being displaced for having HIV/AIDS), a rise in unemployment, and increases in violence and police intimidation. These stark conditions meant that Black queer and TGNCI folks had to create spaces for themselves, especially since so many were displaced by their own families for being queer or gender-nonconforming.

The houses of the drag ball scene were more than a safe space to exist; they were also a place to find a chosen family. Every house was known for its unique approach, and the House of Ninja, taking its lead from Willi, was famously known for its dancers.

Willi innovated to create the “dance form of voguing that combined exaggerated model poses and intricate mime-like choreography.” After appearing in the critically acclaimed documentary Paris is Burning, Willi “rose to fame as a prominent choreographer, musician, runway model, and modeling coach, as well as serving as a direct inspiration to various mainstream artists who immortalized the style in their music videos.”

Willi successfully traveled the world and legitimized vogue dance and culture on a global scale but never lost connections with his roots, the drag ball community. Willi Ninja used his platform and position to lead campaigns and conversations about HIV/AIDS prevention in the Black gay community.

In 2003, Willi himself was diagnosed with HIV but continued to advocate for the HIV/AIDS community until he lost his sight, became paralyzed, and later died of AIDS-related complications at 46 years old. His death bed was said to have been surrounded by the children of his house. The House of Ninja still exists today with over 200 members—follow them on IG @iconichouseofninja to learn more!

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning with us this month about these incredible Black LGBTQIA+ icons. Let this be a jumping-off point to continue expanding your knowledge of Black queer and trans history because it is an essential piece of Black history. A better future for Black people can only come from us making our movement, our community, a safe space for all Black people. So let’s build that space together.

With Black love,
Movement for Black Lives

P.S. Even though this series has ended, you can still stay up on queer stories and learnings with our monthly TGNCI newsletter, The Tea: https://m4bl.org/newsletters/the-tea-oct-21-issue/

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