She ran for president in lipstick, heels and eyeshadow.
On her 35th birthday, Joan Jett Blakk, the drag persona of actor Terence Smith, ran for president in lipstick, heels and eyeshadow, continuing a long tradition of drag as political activism. Blakk had also run for mayors of Chicago and San Francisco. During these “campaigns,” Blakk advocated for policies that many politicians are still talking about today, including universal healthcare.
AIR DATE 8/6/21
AMERICAN MASTERS is an ongoing series of award-winning primetime specials examining the lives, works, and creative processes of our most outstanding cultural artists. Created in 1984 by Susan Lacy and produced by Thirteen/WNET for national public television, the series is both a celebration and an exploration of creativity in America. Consisting of more than 250 hours of programming to date, AMERICAN MASTERS is a growing film library documenting the role important individuals, groups, and movements have played in the formation of our cultural identity.
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