User:Sydneyoscott/William Dorsey Swann

Article Draft
=== Lead: The lead of the article does a fair job of summarizing William Dorsey Swann in one sentence, but I think the wording was confusing and the sentences in the lead could have been phrased better for a clearer understanding. I think it should say,"Willam Dorsey Swann (c. 1858 – 1925) was a African American gay liberation activist. Swann was born into slavery, and later in his life he was the first person in the United States to lead a queer resistance group and the first known person to self-identify as a "queen of drag". The lead originally said, "William Dorsey Swann (c. 1858 – 1925) was an American gay liberation activist. Born into slavery, he was the first person in the United States to lead a queer resistance group and the first known person to self-identify as a "queen of drag". ===

=== Article body: The body of the article included a brief overview of Swann's "Life and activism". This section of the article didn't have the complete extent of Swann's criminal history and advocate history. It only included one of Swann's arrests and it didn't go into much detail regarding what actually happened that night. There is detailed information regarding who was there that night and what was happening. This section also doesn't talk about the advocates who tried to stick up for Swann and who wanted to help appeal his charges. There is a lot more information about Swann's pardon requests then is included in this article. There are actually primary sources which show the paperwork filed and the responses for Swann's requests. I also felt like there should have been a whole section dedicated to what Swann's life in the drag ball scene prior to his arrests and how he paved the way for future drag queens. I also felt like this section could have more of an intersectional application because not only was Swann the first drag queen, he was also a black man and this is an unique experience. There is a non fiction book called "House of Swann: Where Slaves Became Queens" that will be published this year and there was not much mentioned regarding that and that book does not have its own Wiki page. ===

=== References: 1) Joseph, C. G. (2020). The first drag queen was a former slave. The Nation, 31. 2)Jones, B. E., & Ferguson, A. (2020). Black and gay: A historical perspective of black gay men. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 24(4), 336-359. 3) Wilson, T. (2021). Sexual Profiling & BlaQueer Furtivity: BlaQueers On The Run. Sexual Profiling & BlaQueer Furtivity: BlaQueers On The Run (June 1, 2021) 4) https://rediscovering-black-history.blogs.archives.gov/2020/06/29/william-dorsey-swann-the-queen-of-drag/ ===