D.C. native Bishop Kwabena Albert 鈥淩ainey鈥� Cheeks, a taekwondo champion, minister and longtime HIV/AIDS activist, died Aug. 11. He was 74.
Cheeks died at Georgetown University Hospital from complications related to a kidney transplant. He had also been battling cancer.
The son of a D.C. government worker and an Amtrak employee, Cheeks was born in the District in 1952. He won a bronze medal for the U.S. at the World Taekwondo Championships in Seoul, helped create a gathering space for Black gay Washingtonians, founded an inclusive ministry and spent decades advocating for people living with HIV and AIDS.
In a statement following his death, Inner Light Ministries, the church Cheeks founded in 1993, remembered him as a leader whose influence extended far beyond the pulpit and “a builder of bridges, a voice for the voiceless.”
Cheeks began training in taekwondo at age 14 under Korean-born instructor Ki Whang Kim at the 12th Street YMCA and went on to become a ninth-degree black belt and grandmaster.
In a 2006 interview with TheBody, Cheeks said one of the highlights of his competitive career was winning at Madison Square Garden.
鈥淲inning Madison Square Garden and hearing 20,000 people screaming at me, that was exciting,鈥� Cheeks said.
Cheeks was also a prominent figure in D.C.’s LGBTQ community. In 1975, weeks before the city’s first Gay Pride Day, he helped open the ClubHouse in Petworth, a gathering place for Black gay residents who often faced discrimination at predominantly White clubs.
In a 2008 interview with Metro Weekly, Cheeks credited his mother with giving him the confidence to live openly after he came out as a teenager.
“‘You鈥檙e my child, I love you. Don鈥檛 do anything crazy,'” Cheeks recalled her telling him. 鈥淥nce I was cool with my mother, the rest of the world could jump.鈥�
In 1975, just weeks before D.C.鈥檚 first Gay Pride Day, which would eventually grow into Capital Pride, Cheeks helped open the ClubHouse in Petworth. At the time, Cheeks said Black gay people were often hassled trying to get into predominantly White clubs.
Cheeks recalled a police officer questioning why people would line up outside the ClubHouse when it didn鈥檛 serve alcohol.
“‘We鈥檙e dancing away the frustration of people like you who mess with us all week long,'” Cheeks said he told him.
His battle with AIDS
As the 1970s gave way to the 1980s, Cheeks would soon face his toughest battle, and it would not come on the mat.
Cheeks said he tested positive for HIV in 1985 after experiencing night sweats while his partner was having health complications.
Cheeks refused to let his diagnosis define him.
鈥淚 have it. It does not have me,鈥� Cheeks said.
That same year, Cheeks founded Us Helping Us, which grew into an organization providing HIV services with a particular focus on D.C.鈥檚 Black LGBTQ community.
Cheeks encouraged others living with HIV to build support systems and reject the shame surrounding a diagnosis.
鈥淭ake the power out of a secret: Tell it,鈥� Cheeks said.
In 1990, Cheeks said a doctor told him during a hospitalization that he would never walk again and would not live to see Christmas. When the doctor said he had seen cases like his a hundred times before, Cheeks recalled telling the doctor:聽‘”I鈥檓 a hundred and one. I鈥檓 the one you haven鈥檛 seen, and I鈥檓 telling you, I will walk.’
Three years later, he founded Inner Light Ministries, an inclusive church which welcomed LGBTQ worshippers. Cheeks later told Gaye Magazine the church 鈥渢ries to be what heaven looks like. A little bit of everybody.鈥�
Asked in 2006 what he would wish for if given one wish, Cheeks said he hoped people would 鈥渞ise to their highest level and see each other for who we truly are.鈥�
A celebration of Cheeks鈥� life is scheduled for Aug. 29 at First Congregational Church in Northwest D.C.
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