For today’s episode we will be venturing into the past to explore the Drag scene in Indianapolis during the Jazz Era. For those who don’t know, the Jazz Era was the period from the 1920s to the 1930s when Jazz gained global notoriety. In Black communities throughout the country, jazz clubs became a place of leisure and source of entertainment. Indiana Avenue, a street located in downtown Indianapolis, became the focal point for Black artistic expression during this time. However, what many do not know is that in these jazz clubs was also a burgeoning queer nightlife. “Pansy Balls” or what would be called Drag Shows today, were immensely popular in Indianapolis even gaining international popularity. So, to help us gain some insight into the Black Drag Scene of Indianapolis during the Jazz Era we invited archivist, activist, and public historian, Stephen Lane, onto the podcast to be interviewed.

On this episode of the OUTcast Podcast, we discussed the ground-breaking 2022 referendum made to Cuba’s Family Code. Once considered progressive for its time, the 1975 Family Code was created to mandate equality for women. However, as decades passed, the Family Code quickly became outdated and needed to be amended to reflect the current times.  After passing with 66% of votes in favor of reform, Cuba ushered in a new era redefining the idea of family, marriage, reproductive rights, maternity rights, and rights for people with disabilities. Included in this referendum were federal protections of LGBTQ marriages, adoptions, and reproductive rights. So, to gain an accurate assessment of Cuba’s Family Code, we invited community organizer, cultural worker, writer, and art historian, Devyn Springer, to the pod to speak about how this referendum came to be, the history of the tension between the U.S. and Cuba, and their experiences living on the island of Cuba.

For this episode, we wanted to end the year with a bang! So, we decided to make this recording into our first ever video to be released on the OUTreach YouTube Channel! Since Trans Awareness Week and Trans Day of Remembrance was last month, we wanted to have a table talk focused on the lives of Black Trans Femme individuals in Muncie, Indiana. Due to this being a Black Trans Femme-centered episode, we thought what better way to mark the return of our beloved cast member and friend, Hunter Greenleaf. She comes through to offer a fresh perspective on what life is like navigating Muncie as a Black Trans Woman. We also would like to thank our guest on this episode, Teri Lightning, who was so gracious as to join us on this table talk to discuss her experience as Black Non-binary Trans Femme. We left no rock unturned; everything from love and relationships to bigotry and transphobic violence was touched on in this episode. We would like to thank our supporters for sticking with us thus far and be on the lookout for more quality content from us in 2023!!!

We would like to thank our videographer Trena Morton for blessing us with our first ever video. Also, stay tuned for part 2 of this table talk.