As the nation remembered the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.Friday, two University departments celebrated strides made in the Southern gay community.

Speaker E. Patrick Johnson, professor of performance studies and African American studies at Northwestern University, brought to life the stories of six black gay men from his forthcoming book, “Sweet Tea: An Oral History of Black Gay Men of the South.”

The 14th annual Andrea Carson Coley Lecture was sponsored by the Institute for Women’s Studies and the Georgia Museum of Art, where an almost packed audience laughed and listened as Johnson performed stories through the voices of real characters.

The term “sweet tea,” Johnson said, means gossip in gay vernacular. As the men poured their tea, he poured himself into each of their stories.

The men ranged in age from 19 to 93 years old in stories such as “Freddie,” who said he was an “unexpected and unwanted child” growing up, and the Countess Vivian, a product of New Orleans during the Roaring ’20s.

By telling the tales of these men growing up against the grain, Johnson said he hoped to “debunk the myth about the South not being hospitable to gays.”

“Men 45 and older were spilling the tea,” he said. “The younger men were a little more reticent, more hesitant to talk about their lives. That was an interesting thing I discovered.”

Johnson interviewed 77 men for the book, in which he explores their religion, sex and sexuality.

One of the characters Johnson performed Friday, a transgender man named Chaz and at times Chastity, said for five years, he “worked, slept, ate and lived as a female.”

Though he planned to undergo surgery to make his transition to Chastity complete, Chaz eventually backed out after facing disapproval from his mother and church community.

Johnson said he tries not to take his impersonations over the top. One of the narratives features Atlanta activist Duncan Teague, the recruitment and retention specialist for the AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta.

“I hope the book affirms the lives of the people whose narratives are contained in it,” Johnson said. “Or helps somebody else who may be struggling with their sexuality.”

Teague said his race and sexuality are things he is most proud of in his life. “I am black, I am gay, I am the South. Ms. South.”