First Advisor
Bright Alozie
Term of Graduation
January 2026
Date of Publication
6-1-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Language
English
Subjects
Anti-Apartheid, Black men, Civil Rights Movement, homosexuality, queer, visibility
Physical Description
1 online resource ( pages)
Abstract
The South African Anti-Apartheid Movement and the American Civil Rights Movement are two of the most well-known examples of racial liberation movements, but there are few scholarly works that offer comparisons between the two. Furthermore, the experiences of people who fall outside the bounds of heteronormative society are often overlooked in historical research on both movements. Despite the dearth in research, there are several key factors that are revealed when comparing the lives of Black non-heterosexual men among the activists for both of these movements, including the role of the global community, unique local cultures, and how the state polices racial liberation groups using sexuality. Additionally, such differences demonstrate why there are such stark differences in the legal protections offered on the basis of sexual orientation between the landmark legal documents of both movements: the South African constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. By analyzing the experiences of these men, the cultures of their movements become clearer and illustrate how heterosexual activists understood same-sex attraction within their organizations and communities. This comparison also produces novel methods of understanding political visibility, especially for people who occupy multiple marginalized identities, on both the global and local level; specifically, it calls attention to how increased visibility demands increased protection, and how total invisibility results in the needs of multi-marginalized individuals being ignored by the very social movements meant to serve them.
Rights
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Recommended Citation
Weddell, Wren Addison, "“Your Problem is Not at All an Uncommon One”: Visibility, Black Men, and Sexual Orientation in The Anti-Apartheid and Civil Rights Movements" (2026). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 7132.