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Listen to this articleBlack History Month may be over, but the Dope Queens of Black History are here to stay. The “Queens” are twins from the Midwest, Alyssha and Stephanie Jordan, who became inspired after watching Theodore Melfi’s Hidden Figures. After watching the film, they decided to dress up as historical, Black women as a way to showcase and honor the many contributions made by influential women throughout history.
As they started dressing up, they noticed that their cosplays—or costume play, often used for performances and/or conventions—fell in line with #28DaysofBlackCosplay. This hash tag was an initiative that was started by Chaka Cumberbatch-Tinsley to highlight the Black community as fellow cosplayers.
“Black cosplaying really doesn’t get enough love,” says Stephanie Jordan.
From there, the Dope Queens made a spreadsheet of the people they wanted to dress up as and started posting photos on their personal Facebook pages. What they weren’t expecting, however, was for their friends and family members to be so responsive and encouraging—that was when they started the blog.
Portrayal of Harriet Tubman
Alyssha Jordan had cosplayed before, often going to different conventions throughout the year. But it was completely new to Stephanie Jordan, with the exception of a few Halloween costumes.
“This project made me step up my game,” says Stephanie Jordan with a laugh.
Since February of 2017, Alyssha and Stephanie Jordan have dressed up as influential women such as Zora Neale Hurston, Nina Simone, Ava DuVernay, Diana Ross, and even fictional characters like Tracey Gordon from the British television series Chewing Gum and Hilary Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
When it comes to getting the parts of their costumes together, sometimes they will buy pieces, but other times they go thrift shopping or borrow items from friends.
“A lot of the stuff I use is really just stuff around the house,” says Stephanie Jordan.
Portrayal of Zora Neale Hurston
Together, the ladies have even started using #Twinspiration, in which they cosplay the people who have influenced them while growing up. With each person they dress up as, comes uncovered history—this project allows Alyssha and Stephanie Jordan to research and learn a lot more about the barrier-breaking women who came before them. They hope that the Dope Queens of Black History will bring inspiration to other women as well as young women of color.
“If you haven’t heard about [these historical women], you should hear about them now,” says Stephanie Jordan.
“There were women from the Civil Rights Era that I thought I knew so much about,” says Alyssha Jordan, about the extensive research she’s done.
So what’s next for the Dope Queens of Black History? Opera singers Leontyne Price and Marian Anderson, Michelle Obama, and maybe even Beyonce! For more #Twinspiration, click here.
