On this day, 4 July 1913, Black Spanish civil war fighter, Holocaust survivor and electrician Carlos Greykey was born to parents from the then-Spanish colony of Equatorial Guinea. His birth name was José Carlos Gray Molay, and he later was given the warrior name “Greykey”. His parents moved to Barcelona, and his mother worked as a cleaner, and despite his poor working class background, Greykey was able to attend medical school.
His studies were disrupted by the right-wing military coup of general Francisco Franco, and he soon volunteered to fight in the civil war on the Republican side. With Franco’s victory, Greykey was forced into exile in France, like tens of thousands of other Republicans. And like many other Spanish refugees, he later joined the French resistance to Nazi occupation.
He was eventually captured by the Nazis on the Rhine front and sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp. There, he was assigned the red triangle of political prisoners. Greykey’s language skills, which included the ability to speak English, French, German, Spanish and Catalan, as well as the curiosity of the Nazis, led to him being appointed as a personal assistant to senior German officers. The Nazis then dressed Greykey in an old Yugoslav army uniform to give him the appearance of a bellhop.
Greykey remained close with his fellow Spanish detainees, and with them took part in a rebellion in the camp shortly before its liberation by US troops. Upon his release, Greykey was unable to return to Spain, as the Franco regime was still in power. So he returned to France, living in Paris and working as an electrician.
In his later years, Greykey again became active in opposing the brutal dictatorship in Equatorial Guinea of Francisco Macías Nguema, a former official under Spanish colonial rule. He remained a supporter of the establishment of democracy in the country until his death in 1982.
Learn more about the Spanish civil war in our podcast episodes 39-40: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e39-the-spanish-civil-war-an-introduction/https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=655755199931032&set=a.602588028581083&type=3
On this day, 24 June 1973, an arsonist ignited a fire that engulfed the LGBT+ bar called the Up Stairs Lounge in New Orleans, killing 32 people and injuring 15. The fire was the deadliest attack on a gay bar in American history prior to the 2016 Pulse Nightclub Massacre.
In a city where LGBT+ culture was largely hidden, the Up Stairs Lounge was one of the few establishments catering to the gay community and one of the only gay bars that welcomed Black men and lesbians. On the fourth anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, patrons assembled at the bar for the weekly beer bust. Sixty-five people remained when Bartender Buddy Rasmussen heard the doorbell ring and asked friend Luther Boggs to answer it. As Luther opened the door, flames rushed into the lounge. Buddy led 20 survivors onto the roof of a nearby building while others unsuccessfully attempted to escape through barred windows. The fire department arrived at 7:58 and extinguished the fire quickly, but the powerful flames had already overpowered many patrons. Among the victims were 12 members of Metropolitan Community Church, the first church serving LGBT+ individuals. They included Rev. William “Bill” Larson, associate pastor Duane “Mitch” Mitchell, and Mitch’s boyfriend Horace Broussard.
Unlike other tragedies, the Up Stairs fire did not amass community support. Although newspapers reported the fire, journalists enflamed anti-gay sentiment by perpetuating vulgar rhetoric and harmful stereotypes. Articles painted the victims as “thieves, burglars, and queers,” while other reports named the tragedy a “fruit fry.” Eyewitnesses told author Johnny Townsend that they overheard either police or firefighters saying: “Let the f*****s burn”.
No formal memorials were planned, and churches refused to provide services. This reaction galvanised the New Orleans’ LGBT+ community to organise for gay rights as they mourned those who died in the tragic fire. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=649971757176043&set=a.602588028581083&type=3
