Opening up with the multi-talented Sonari Glinton and the power of Queer
Sonari Glinton
During Black History Month, we are spotlighting the voices of Black creatives. From content creators to co-founders, we’ve asked questions to those that inspire us to tell us what’s on their mind. The interview questions remain the same throughout, but the answers provide a unique view of every single person.
Meet Sonari Glinton, podcast host and NPR personality. He has covered economics and politics for nearly two decades from Barack Obama’s run for the Senate to chronicling the economy recovery from Coronavirus. Sonari’s journalism career began with an investigation he produced about the Chicago Juvenile Temporary Detention Center where he confronted his journey as a Queer Black person through others eyes. Now, as a producer, reporter, and podcast host he reflects on how those interactions have shaped the way he presents himself today.
What does Black History Month mean to you?
I majored in American history in college. What I long ago realized is that Black History is American history. You cannot understand America or American history unless you get to know black people. Black history predates Crispus Attucks and goes to Rihanna and beyond.
How does your storytelling speak to the Black experience?
I am cognizant of how my black body affects the spaces I'm in. My first story that got any recognition for was an investigation I produced about the Chicago Juvenile Temporary Detention Center for WBEZ Chicago's juvenile jail at the time. I'd been struck by the fact that at the time, the Center had the highest rate of guard on prisoner sexual abuse in the U.S. When I met with the kids in the home, I realized that they were me. These kids who were so vulnerable were being abused by the people who were supposed to protect them. I will never forget a young man asked me if I was gay. I said yes. Then he asked me if my co-workers knew. When I said yes, he said "Good". I promised I'd never return to the closet. I also promised I'd never be a person who said "I don't want to be the black reporter. I want to be a reporter first." My blackness and my queerness are my greatest asset. I can walk into any room that my esteemed and lauded white colleagues can and be comfortable. The reverse is not true. As one of very few black men to produce, report and host at NPR, I realized I don't have the luxury of "being a reporter first", the older I get, the more I understand the importance of centering my journalism and storytelling around the people and ideas that I love.
What kind of stories do you feel still need to be highlighted for the Black Queer community?
Queerness has been central to the fight for black liberation. Duke Ellington's working relationship with Billy Strayhorn, or Bayard Rustin's work with A Philip Randolp and Martin Luther King are examples of how queerness is expunged from black history. You can not separate the struggle for gay rights from the black struggle.
I'm ready to claim the queer celebrities and their struggles for our own. In recent years we've learned about the possible queerness of black icons such as Whitney Houston, Richard Pryor, Marvin Gaye, and Sammy Davis Jr. Most importantly, I think as a storyteller, the work to tell the stories of our trans family hasn't even started.
In celebration of Black History Month, Revry has curated a powerful collection of stories told by Black artists featuring films, TV series, music, and more. See the playlist on Revry.
