Essex Hemphill



Essex Hemphill (1957 – 1995) was an African-American poet and activist.

Life
Essex Hemphill was born April 16, 1957 in Chicago and died on November 4, 1995 of AIDS-related complications. He is known for his activism for equality and rights for gay men.

His poetry has been published widely in journals, and his essays have appeared in High Performance, Gay Community News, RFD Magazine, The Advocate, Pyramid Periodical, Essence, and others.

The poems and essays in Ceremonies address the sexual objectification of black men in white culture, relationships among gay black men and non gay black men, HIV/AIDS in the black community and the meaning of family.

Recognition
He was awarded a 1993 Pew Fellowship in the Arts.

Poetry

 * Untied (1990)
 * Black Is...Black Ain't (1994)


 * (essay in) BoyTheir Coming Out Stories, Patrick Merla (ed.) Avon Books. 1996
 * (essayse Sentences: Writers, A===
 * Tongues Untied*Men and Intimacy, anthology


 * New Men, anthology
 * New Minds, anthology
 * Natives, anthology
 * Tourists and Other Mysteries, anthology


 * as narrator Out of the Shadows, AIDS documentary