The first self-proclaimed drag queen and queer activist in the US was born into slavery

William Dorsey Swann hosted secret drag balls, which became legendary among the Black working class community.

• Born into slavery, William Dorsey Swann went on to become known as the "Queen of Drag."
• Swann hosted covert gatherings of drag performances, which became legendary among the Black working class community.
• Swann was subjected to countless arrests, and is now credited as a pioneering LGBTQ+ rights activist.

William Dorsey Swann gained notoriety for hosting clandestine drag balls in the 1880s. Nicknamed the "Queen of Drag," Swann nurtured a social scene for Black working class people, many of whom were born into slavery and found escape and community through the underground ballroom scene.

Born into slavery as the property of a white woman named Ann Murphy in Maryland, Swann was 2 years old when the DC Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862 legally freed him and his family.

After the Civil War, Swann's family bought a farm not far from the Maryland plantation they were bound to for generations. Encouraged to support his family at a young age, Swann moved to Washington, D.C. as a teenager to work as a hotel waiter and send money back to his family. 

As he became involved with the underground queer network in D.C., Swann began hosting his own drag ballroom gatherings.

'Suspicious persons'

The early days of what would become known as "House of Swann" were far from luxurious. At the time, "cross-dressing" or "face disguise" were punishable by law, so invitations were disseminated by hushed word of mouth at local YMCAS.

The gatherings were often subject to police raids. Attendees risked their reputations and freedoms by being at the balls — police documents show that sentencing ranged anywhere from three to ten months. 

In 1887, the Washington Critic reported that "six colored men, dressed in elegant female attire," were arraigned on charges of "being suspicious persons." These reports would jeopardize the safety of many men, whose names were often published, and open them up to public scorn.

However, the media attention, good or bad, fostered intrigue. Swann found that more and more people were drawn to the gatherings. 

The balls included men dressed in silk and satin dresses, dancing to folk music, and participating in a "cakewalk." Originating as a pre-Emancipation slave ritual of mimicking their white captors, the cakewalk showcased competitive routines of exuberant poses and dances.

Violent resistance for queer rights

Swann himself was arrested a number of times. By 1888, the Washington Post reported on a local police raid where "thirteen Black men dressed as women surprised at supper and arrested."

Swann, "who was arrayed in a gorgeous dress of cream-colored satin," reportedly attempted to rush toward the officers to keep them from entering. The news account reports that Swann exclaimed to the police lieutenant, "You is no gentleman!" — the consequential skirmish is considered the first reported form of violent resistance for queer rights in America.

In 1895, after an especially harsh sentence of 300 days in prison for "impersonating a woman," Swann petitioned then-President Grover Cleveland to pardon him three months into his sentence. However, US Attorney A.A. Birney argued against the petition, stating: "The prisoner was in fact convicted of the most horrible and disgusting offences known to the law; an offence so disgusting that it is unnamed. This is not the first time that the prisoner has been convicted of this crime, and his evil example in the community must have been most corrupting." Swann's petition was denied.

By the turn of the century, Swann entered into early retirement from the drag ballroom scene while his brothers carried on the family tradition by continuing to design drag costumes. 'House of Swann' still served as the blueprint for emerging drag balls into the modern era — cakewalk demonstrations evolved into voguing, and familial structural titles of "mother" and "queen" created a real community for ousted queer youth. 

There are no documented photographs of Swann throughout his life. Like many Black freedmen, much of his life is relayed through the archives of his persecution. As Swann dedicated his life to the rights of the marginalized to gather freely, his legacy is ingrained in the living preservation of the vibrant and subversive culture he inspired.