Biography
Blackberri (born Charles Timothy Ashmore; 31 May 1945 – 13 December 2021) was an American singer-songwriter and community activist. He appeared as himself in the 1990 documentary Tongues Untied directed by Marlon Riggs.
Born in Buffalo, New York, and raised in Baltimore, Blackberri was drafted into the US Navy in 1965 and discharged the following year for being gay. He moved to San Francisco in 1974, where he performed and released music addressing civil rights, LGBT rights and environmental issues. His work featured in the films Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives and Looking for Langston.
During the AIDS epidemic he worked in HIV education and prevention in Black communities and served as a death counsellor. He was a Lucumí priest and received a Lifetime Achievement AIDS Hero Award in 2002 and the Audrey Joseph Entertainment Award from San Francisco Pride in 2017.
