His most recent book, "Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South-An Oral History" (2008), is published by the University of North Carolina Press and was named a Stonewall Book Award Honor Book, by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Round Table of the American Library Association. Henderson) of "Black Queer Studies: A Critical Anthology" with Duke University Press (2005). Heston Award, the Errol Hill Book Award, and was a finalist for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. He is the author of "Appropriating Blackness: Performance and the Politics of Authenticity" published by Duke University Press (2003), which won several awards, including the Lilla A. His one-man show, Strange Fruit-A Performance About Identity Politics, toured around the country 1999-2004, and he has toured his staged reading, Pouring Tea: Black Gay Men of the South Tell Their Tales to over 80 college campuses around the country. A scholar/artist, Johnson has performed nationally and internationally and has published widely in the area of race, gender, sexuality and performance. It's an honor for me to bring these stories back 'home' to where it all began." Johnson is Carlos Montezuma Professor of Performance Studies and African American Studies at Northwestern University and an artistic fellow at the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media at Columbia College, Chicago, where he developed Sweet Tea into a play.
It was at that gathering in 1995 that the tales by older black men encouraged me to collect the stories of as many black men of the South as I could so that there could be a living archive for generations to come. In many ways, opening the show at Signature is like a homecoming, because the impetus for writing the book came from a gathering sponsored by US Helping US, People Into Living, Inc., a black HIV/AIDS outreach group based in DC. Johnson said in a statement, "I am overjoyed about bringing Sweet Tea to Signature and the DC/NOVA area. "With this play, Johnson reinforces the spoken-word tradition while challenging stereotypes - and finding humor, humanity and hope within." Inspired by Johnson's personal journey, Sweet Tea "explores the perceptions, angst, triumphs and vulnerabilities of this minority within a minority…a population rarely acknowledged in writings about the South," according to Signature. Interested in modelling for Tommy+Alan? Follow their instructions: "To be part of our project, please email us one or two clear and recent photos that contain the following: your face and your shirtless torso.In a special limited engagement, Signature is presenting the Washington, DC, premiere of the multi-character show inspired by Johnson's award-winning book.ĭirected by Rajendra Maharaj ( 365 Days at New York's Public Theater, and Marat Sade at the Classical Theatre of Harlem), Sweet Tea "collects life stories from black gay men of all ages who were born, raised, and continue to live in the Southern United States," according to Signature. See Volume One and Volume Two of Tommy +Alan's Men Over 50. Tommy Wu: You'll be 50 in less than three years! Tommy Wu: And the project hits closer to home for me now because I turned 50 last December! I can relate even more to a lot of what these men say about their strategies for staying healthy in so-called middle age.Īlan Reade: One secret to staying younger is to have a younger husband, of course. People may look at some of these guys and think I t's so easy to just look good, but if you listen to the interviews, you'll hear that the "looking good" is one part of these men's plans for longevity beyond 50. Some have had serious brushes with illness, for instance, and used fitness as a way to get back on top of their health. Until this point, what's your experience shooting and interviewing these Men Over 50?Īlan Reade: The men often reveal things about themselves we don't expect. We have the interviews on audio that would make good narration for the photos. Tommy Wu: The project started informally in 2009 when I took a few photos of older men at the gym who I thought bucked the stereotype of being "inactive and elderly." These men were fit for guys in their 30s, not just for men their mature years! I didn't know the photos would turn into a project, but then I started having models approach me as well as approaching other models.Īlan Reade: If there's enough demand, we'd like to turn these photos into a book.
The Advocate: How long has the project been running? Husbands Tommy Wu and Alan Reade started tommy+alan photography in 2009, and Men Over 50 is their flagship project.