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James Herndon (drag queen)
[edit]Early Life and Career
[edit]James Herndon (drag queen), known also as "Sweet Evening Breeze, Sweets," or "Miss Sweets," was one of Lexington, Kentucky's first notable Drag queens and is credited with promoting the city's early drag scene and culture.[1] Born in Scott County, KY in 1892, Herndon moved to Lexington as child and was left by his uncle at the Good Samaritan Hospital. Here, Herndon spent much of his youth, before eventually working his way up to the position of Head Orderly at Good Samaritan Hospital in Lexington.[1]
In the 1960's, "Sweets," along with a fellow aspiring teenage drag artists, were arrested in downtown Lexington, KY under violation of the city's Cross-Dressing Ordinance, which prohibited men in particular from adorning women's clothing and makeup.[2] As a gay, black man, this was not uncommon, as upwards of two-thirds of arrests for sodomy and cross-dressing were charged to black men.[2] Sodomy laws were not deemed unconstitutional by the Kentucky Supreme Court until Kentucky v. Wasson (1992), and the introduction of Fayette County-wide Fairness Ordinance (1999) signified changes toward ending other forms of LGBTQ+ discrimination.[3]
Legacy
[edit]Jeffery Alan Jones, scholar and LGBTQ+ historian, notes that "Sweets was visible within white [Lexington] society in few ways that African Americans of the period could be." [2] Sweets frequently hosted and entertained at their Prall St. home in Lexington and made regular appearances as a cheerleader at University of Kentucky football games, as well as other events. [1] In 2017, local author and historian John Coleman, spoke about Sweet Evening Breeze during a talk at the Lexington Public Library, the proceeds of which went towards Lexington's Moveable Feast organization, which prioritizes getting cooked meals to people living HIV/AIDS in the metropolitan Lexington, KY area. [4] Similarly, Herndon, during his lifetime, channeled extensive funds and resources from his own, and events he hosted, back into the black and LGBTQ+ communities.[2]
Herndon died in 1983 at the Homestead Nursing Center, and is buried at the Lexington Cemetery, in Lexington, Kentucky.[1]
Herndon's life and experiences are also featured in the 2013 documentary film, Last Gospel of the Pagan Babies, by Jean Donohue.[5]
- ^ a b c d "Herndon, James "Sweet Evening Breeze" · Notable Kentucky African Americans Database". nkaa.uky.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
- ^ a b c d Jeffery Alan Jones. "Hidden Histories, Proud Communities: Multiple Narratives in the Queer Geographies of Lexington, KY, 1930-1999 (Dissertation.) University of Kentucky: 2001.
- ^ Amanda Higgins. "Fairness Ordinance". ExploreKYHistory. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
- ^ Lexington Herald-Leader (KY) newspaper. "Fayette county- Two Lexington gay icons will be topics of presentation." published August 22, 2017.
- ^ "Herndon, James "Sweet Evening Breeze" · Notable Kentucky African Americans Database". nkaa.uky.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-05.