Exploring the religious life of Richard Wayne Penniman (or Little Richard), the paradigmatic, loud, raucous, flamboyant rock ‘n’ roll preacher-musician, is a significant undertaking for a multitude of reasons. For one, Little Richard’s musical style and gendered performances played a pivotal role in shaping the cultural landscape of the 1950s and beyond, as he invented his own sound while paying homage to the Black church women who raised him in Macon, Georgia, such that he was ultimately able to inspire the likes of Elvis Presley and other white mainstream artists. Delving into his religious experiences provides valuable insights into how Black religion sits at the crux of the music and cultural dynamics of the era, such that the history of Southern gospel music functions as a foray into larger discourses about the sacred and the secular which shaped Richard’s worldview. More to this point, Little Richard’s unending transformations are another compelling component of his life as he often oscillated between conservative and progressive political, social, and theological values. For instance, his decision to leave his thriving music career in the late 1950s to become a preacher and attend seminary, only to return to secular music later, raises intriguing questions about the interplay between Black religious conservativism, celebrity, and sexual identity. More importantly, Richard’s life functions as a stained-glass window into the complex negotiations that Black queer subjects make in order to manage the demands of Black religious life and culture in the wake of slavery, the Black social reform movement, and Black Protestant churches’ demand for respectability in the service of the Black (heterosexual) family. This talk revisits Richard’s life over the course of the long twentieth century to show how his life disrupts these assumptive logics and offers us insights into Black queer religious self-fashioning.
This event is free, but registration is required. Lunch will be provided.
Open to Yale Community only.