Since the changing of the guard at the White House on Jan. 20, 2025, America has witnessed a steady and aggressive attack on the premise that the endorsement of the “melting pot” concept has been instrumental in our nation’s evolution and ascendancy on the world stage.
Policies supported by the Trump administration have since been initiated to erase Black voices and history while also castigating the lives and limiting the freedoms of those Americans who bravely represent the LGBTQ+ community.
But during the recent 79th annual Tony Awards, held on June 7 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the nation and the world witnessed what could be described as a paradigmatic shift in how excellence should be both determined and honored.
African American and LGBTQ+ artists achieved an historic breakthrough at the awards, shattering decades-old ceilings of oppression with significant victories for Black queer and African American representation in multiple categories.
It should be noted that these victories have occurred during LGBTQ+ Pride Month, which was first recognized federally in 1999 by former President Bill Clinton.
As for the current president, he has chosen to ignore all celebrations connected to Pride Month. In fact, he has declined from issuing a proclamation, unlike previous presidents, or to formally recognize the month and the concepts for which its advocates stand.
But that didn’t stop Qween Jean, the first openly transgender person to win a Tony Award (Best Costume Design of a Musical), from sashaying to the podium last Sunday night to receive her well-deserved honor.
Nor did America’s centuries-old obsession with white supremacy keep Joshua Henry, a Black man, from being recognized by his peers and snagging a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his breakout performance in “Ragtime.”
Further, the production “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” which focused on queer, Black, and ballroom culture, earned multiple nominations this year and won Best Direction (Zhailon Levingston – a Black gay man), as well as the award earned by Jean for the costumes she designed for “Cats.”
But here’s the clincher. Instead of being set in a junkyard with literal cats, this award-winning reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic musical “Cats” was transposed in the underground LGBTQ+ ballroom culture of New York City. It’s a story that gives credence to old queer folk, reminding them that what they did out of pride and belief in themselves has finally been embraced by the wider society.
As she accepted her award, Jean said her greatest challenge and joy as a proud queer woman is “showing up every day on stage and in the streets for the liberation of all people.”
Consider her challenge.
What would America look like if you removed every person, place, or thing – every breakthrough in music, medicine, literature, economics, architecture, politics, and civil rights – that only occurred because of white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, men?
Undoubtedly, our nation will be little more than a tragic assortment of towns and villages replete with tumbleweeds, dust bowls, and broken-down shacks.
Excellence comes in all kinds of shapes, sizes, colors, genders and packages.
So, America, you’d better recognize!
