The TDR article notes that, "Joan hands out literature, scares the be-Jesus out of several seated delegates, and brings smiles to the faces of many another." The article covers Blakk's transformation into red, white and blue flag drag in a bathroom at the convention, as well as a press conference at the Limelight nightclub (with pictures of Blakk speaking from a podium festooned with posters of his likeness and the phrase, "If a bad actor can be elected president, why not a good drag queen?"). If there were any question that Blakk's campaign increased visibility (and fun), that should be erased by the fact that his appearance at the Democratic National Convention in 1992 was documented by no less of a publication than the New York University/MIT Press journal TDR: The Drama Review. With campaign promises to make the White House the Lavender House and have Dykes on Bikes provide national security, Blakk also had prescient notions like enacting national healthcare and (as quoted by Tracy Baim in Outlines: The Voice of the Lesbian and Gay Community) a drug policy of, "Legalize everything, tax the fuck out of it, and erase the national debt." The campaign had the slogan "Lick Bush in '92." When you've successfully become Queen of Chicago, what's next? Clearly, a run for the presidency! On Janu(his 35th birthday, which made him eligible to run) Blakk announced his write-in candidacy for president as a candidate of the Queer Nation Party. At a time when gay contingents were being kicked out of parades in Boston and New York, they were cheered and Blakk was name checked by the crowd. JeffreysĪ testament to the success of Blakk's campaign came in 1992, when Blakk marched with Queer Nation in Chicago's St. Joan Jett-Blakk at the 1992 Democratic National Convention. On top of the humor, it's estimated that Blakk won several thousand votes, although this was never documented by the board of elections. He even kissed a Chicago cop in a police car (at the prompting of the cop's partner), an act that sadly still adds an element of anarchical risk to that humor. With slogans like "Chicago Needs A Queen" and campaign promises to turn the police into the fashion police and dye the Chicago river pink on Fridays, he added joy to what would have been an otherwise dull campaign. There is no doubt that Blakk was successful. "We just wanted to increase gay visibility and fight a rising homophobia here in Chicago, but do it in a not-so-tense way that everyone could have fun with." In a cover story from Apthe Chicago alternative press magazine New City celebrated Daley and Blakk as the king and queen of Chicago. It was in this crucible that Joan Jett-Blakk was born. They were born in the bleak atmosphere of the AIDS epidemic, where homophobia and violence had followed on the heels of the disease and challenged the prevailing attitudes of the era by pointing out that we weren't all dead and were not going to sit around and be morose in anticipation of death. Queer Nation Chicago formed in September 1990 with goals that included visibility, identity and freedom. Daley was initially elected in 1989 and his reelection was such a given that the campaign was generally perceived as a pretty dull affair, so Blakk added an element of fun to the race. It was in Queer Nation Chicago that Smith became Joan Jett-Blakk and ran a write-in campaign amid the reelection campaign of Richard M. By 1991 he was living in Chicago and was one of the founding members of Queer Nation Chicago. Terence Alan Smith began performing in drag in Detroit in 1974, calling himself a blend of Divine, David Bowie and Grace Jones.
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