| Sweet Evening Breeze | |
|---|---|
 Mother Of Us All. John Denny Ashley. 1972. Collection of the Faulkner Morgan Archive. | |
| Born | James R. Herndon (1892-07-02)July 2, 1892 Scott County, Kentucky, US |
| Died | December 16, 1983(1983-12-16) (aged 91) Fayette County, Kentucky, US |
| Burial place | Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Kentucky, US |
| Other names |
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| Occupation | |
Sweet Evening Breeze (born James R. Herndon; July 2, 1892 – December 16, 1983), known also as Miss Sweets or Sweets, was an American drag queen, activist, healthcare worker, and socialite. They were one of Lexington, Kentucky's first notable drag queens and is credited with promoting the city's early drag scene and culture.
Early life
Born in Scott County, Kentucky on July 2, 1892, Herndon moved to Lexington as a child. They were rumored to have been brought to the city's Good Samaritan Hospital for an eye injury and left there by their uncle. Herndon spent much of their childhood there, before eventually working their way up to the position of head orderly at the same hospital.
Life
Jeffery Alan Jones, LGBTQ+ scholar, notes that "Sweets was visible within white society in few ways that African Americans of the period could be." They were generally accepted and embraced by the Lexington community at a time when LGBTQ+ and African American people were often not tolerated. Sweets frequently hosted and entertained in her Prall Street home in Lexington, and made regular appearances, as a cheerleader in uniform, at University of Kentucky football games, as well as other events. In addition to cheerleading and participating in events at the racially segregated University of Kentucky, Sweets also had many sexual partnerships with athletes that attended the college. Sweets often participated in “womanless weddings”, a theatrical event where an all-male cast performs the roles of a traditional wedding party. In these “weddings,” Sweets would dress up in bridal wear, providing entertainment to her guests. She held these events during the 1930s in black churches located in Lexington and performed in at least 3 womanless weddings to University of Kentucky quarterbacks
Sweets was also dedicated to and active at Pleasant Green Baptist Church which is the oldest active African American congregation west of the Allegheny Mountains.
Arrest
In the 1960s, Sweets and a teenage aspiring drag artist, were arrested in downtown Lexington under violation of the city's cross-dressing ordinance, which prohibited men in particular from donning women's clothes and/or makeup. As a black gender non-conforming individual, this was not uncommon, as upwards of two-thirds of sodomy and cross-dressing arrests in Kentucky were charged against black people. Sodomy Laws in Kentucky were deemed unconstitutional by the Kentucky Supreme Court in Kentucky v. Wasson (1992), and the introduction of the Fayette County-wide Fairness Ordinance (1999) signified changes toward ending other forms of LGBTQ+ discrimination.
Activism
On the night of April 8, 1970, the Lexington Police arrested four queens, including one of Sweets' friends, 22-year old Leigh Angelique (Garland Hanley). After police raided what is now the Bar Complex on East Main Street in Lexington for them "wearing disguises", Leigh sought refuge at Sweets home. Sweets was furious with the unfair treatment, and took it upon herself to call the judge who was assigned to sentence Leigh. The judge complied with dropping the charges after Sweets told him it was "in his best interests". After the event, it was the last time Lexington Police raided a gay bar under false pretenses. Leigh and Sweets celebrated the date as "Bastille Day" after dismantling wrongful enforcement.
Death
Sweets died at the age of 91 in 1983 at the Homestead Nursing Center, and is buried at the Lexington Cemetery.
Legacy
Sweets' life and experiences are also recorded and featured in a 2013 documentary film, Last Gospel of the Pagan Babies, a project of Media Working Group, with Jean Donohue as producer/director.
In 2017, local author, historian, and director of the Faulkner Morgan Archive, Dr. Jonathon Coleman, spoke on the legacy of Sweets during a hosted event at the Lexington Public Library. The proceeds from the library event went toward funding the Moveable Feast organization in Lexington, KY, which prioritizes getting cooked meals to people living with HIV/AIDS among other illnesses and disabilities. Similarly, in Herndon's lifetime, she channeled extensive funds and resources from himself and events back into Lexington's black and LGBTQ+ communities.
The Sweet Evening Breeze foundation, based in Louisville, Kentucky, also took inspiration from the legacy of Sweets. This foundation was established in 2018 and has since been dedicated to providing aid to young LGBTQ+ adults experiencing homelessness in the Louisville area. This aid includes providing shelter, food, support, and disease testing. The Sweet Evening Breeze website gives links to resources including affirming groups, homelessness services, health services, immigrant, asylee, refugee services, and educational resources.
In 2021, with funding from PRHBTN, street artist Gaia painted a mural of Sweets entitled Mother Of Us All at 161 North Limestone in Lexington. The mural is based on a photo of the same name of Sweets by John Denny Ashley, taken in 1972, from the collection of the Faulkner Morgan Archive.
References
- James R. Herndon. Find a Grave. Retrieved July 10, 2022
- ^ "Herndon, James "Sweet Evening Breeze" · Notable Kentucky African Americans Database". nkaa.uky.edu. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
- "Sweet Evening Breeze: A Black Queer Elder in Lexington". MDC. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
- ^ Jeffery Alan Jones. "Hidden Histories, Proud Communities: Multiple Narratives in the Queer Geographies of Lexington, KY, 1930–1999." (Dissertation) University of Kentucky: 2011.
- ^ "Sweet Evening Breeze". FMA. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ "LGBTQContextNarrativeFinal2016.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
- Fosl, Catherine; Vivian, Daniel (2019). "Investigating Kentucky's LBGTQ Heritage: Subaltern Stories from the Bluegrass State". The Public Historian. 41 (2): 218–244. doi:10.1525/tph.2019.41.2.218. ISSN 0272-3433. JSTOR 26862131.
- "LGBTQContextNarrativeFinal2016.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
- "Sweet Evening Breeze: A Black Queer Elder in Lexington". MDC. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
- Mack, Felicia (October 9, 2014). "Historic Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church (1790- ) •". Retrieved October 9, 2024.
- Amanda Higgins. "Fairness Ordinance". ExploreKYHistory. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
- "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- "The Last Gospel of the Pagan Babies | Media Working Group". January 6, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper. "Fayette County – Two Lexington gay icons will be topics of presentation." published on August 22, 2017.
- "Sweet Evening Breeze | Louisville, KY | Cause IQ". www.causeiq.com. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ "Services". Sweet Evening Breeze. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ""Sweet Evening Breeze" Blows Through Lexington with Gaia, Persecution in the Shadows". February 29, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.