To describe the driving ethos of Chicago’s drag house Maison Couleé, you need look no further than the Chicago Black Drag Council’s June 20 town hall on racism at Sidetrack specifically and in Boystown in general. It was here that Bambi Banks-Couleé, drag daughter of Maison Couleé’s founding mother Shea Couleé, let Sidetrack know she was done putting up with the racist bullshit that has long been baked into the culture of Chicago’s north side drag bars.
By the end of the week, Roscoe’s and Berlin had canned T Rex, a drag queen host accused repeatedly of racism. Sidetrack, meanwhile, verbally committed to hiring more queens of color and putting queens of color in leadership positions at the bar.
At 31, Couleé has been merging art and activism since grade school. That was when her parents moved to Plainfield, Illinois—a city with a robust history of Klan activity.
“Me just existing is part of the revolution,” she said. “My grandmother was a housekeeper, on her hands and knees all day scrubbing floors and then on her knees every night praying her children and grandchildren wouldn’t have to do the same thing. My success is just a reflection of all the legwork my ancestors have done.
In words, deeds, and looks, Couleé puts that survival in the forefront, setting an example for the increasingly legendary children of Maison Couleé and making it impossible for everyone else not to listen.
Tue 6/30, 7 PM, twitch.tv/aqueerpride, F
