Home / Series / Equal / Aired Order / Season 1 / Episode 3

Black is Beautiful, Gay is Good!

At the height of the 1960s civil rights movement, three activists’ complex lives epitomize the intersection of the personal and political. Lorraine Hansberry—a lesbian revolutionary hiding in plain sight, radical voice for civil rights, and author of “A Raisin in the Sun”—wrote extensively about her sexuality under pseudonyms. The March on Washington’s intrepid organizer Bayard Rustin worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King and lived openly and proudly as a gay man, even though his sexuality was viewed as a threat to the movement. And in San Francisco, José Sarria, best known for performing comic operas in drag at The Black Cat, made a run for county supervisor years before Harvey Milk would eventually hold the seat.

English español
Name Type Role
Stephen Kijak Showrunner
Eric Norsoph Executive Producer
Stephen Kijak Director
Jai Rodriguez Actor José Sarria
Samira Wiley Actor Lorraine Hannsberry
Keiynan Lonsdale Actor Bayard Rustin