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BeBe Sweetbriar On The Power Of Drag

Courtesy of BeBe Sweebriar

Drag artist BeBe Sweetbriar has been lighting up stages with her glam and talent for 15 years. She talks about using drag as an activist and her Amazon Prime series "Hiraeth."

"There is something about the magnetism and the interest of drag queens that [make] people listen to the things that come out our mouths."

BeBe Sweetbriar grew up in Sacramento, then blossomed into a drag artist after hitting the San Francisco drag scene in 2006. 

She has sung and performed around the Bay Area and globally. BeBe is also a co-founder of the SF Queer Film Fesitval and an actor. She plays a transgender woman in the Amazon Prime series “Hiraeth." The drama follows a diverse group of immigrants trying to figure out where they belong in American society. The show tackles issues such as racism and xenophobia.

In this interview, BeBe also discusses her career and how her mother's passing encouraged her to live her truth.

Click the play button above to listen to the interview.

Jeneé Darden is an award-winning journalist, author, public speaker and proud Oakland native. She is the executive producer and host of the weekly arts segment Sights & Sounds as well as the series Sights + Sounds Magazine. Jeneé also covers East Oakland for KALW. Jeneé has reported for NPR, Marketplace, KQED, KPCC, The Los Angeles Times, Ebony magazine, Refinery29 and other outlets. In 2005, she reported on the London transit bombings for Time magazine. Prior to coming to KALW, she hosted the podcast Mental Health and Wellness Radio.