A Woman to Know: Gladys Bentley

It seems I was born different. At least, I always thought so. — Gladys Bentley

It seems I was born different. At least, I always thought so. — Gladys Bentley

(image via National Museum of African American History and Culture)

In 1923, when she was just 16, Gladys ran away from home.

As a child growing up in Philadelphia, she dressed up in her younger brothers’ suits and insisted on talking openly about her crushes on other girls. He…