Longtime Atlanta resident Mary Anne Adams noticed something troubling: Many Black lesbians older than 50 were disappearing from community-based activities and organizations. As a public health community researcher and activist, Adams wondered what was to blame: health issues? Youth-oriented LGBTQ culture? Racialized ageism?
To change this trend, Adams founded ZAMI NOBLA, the National Organization of Black Lesbians on Aging, the only U.S. group dedicated to building power for Black lesbian elders. Registered as a non-profit in 2015, the group now has two chapters in Atlanta, Georgia and Leland, North Carolina.
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Among its many programs — like support groups, educational and wellness activities, housing and food programs, lobbying days, and social networking opportunities — it has also conducted the Community Archivist Project, a year-long initiative dedicated to preserving and honoring the rich histories, stories, and legacies of Black lesbian elders.
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Led by Angela Denise Davis — a blind ordained minister and ukelele teacher — ZAMI NOBLA has uploaded its conversations with Black older lesbians into accessible podcast formats. Davis has spoken with women like Tracy Tray, a largely self-reliant blind woman who (to the surprise of some) has a law degree; Marissa Penderman, a social justice advocate and pastor who spoke about the grief of losing her son; and Midgett, an 82 year-old erotica writer who emphasized the importance of shaping one’s future story in the present day.
“Our goal is to share our stories, because one of the things I know to be true in the world is that stories are so important, your story needs to be told,” Davis said in one episode. “They can be bread to us. They can feed our souls and our lives.”
Davis said that when she stops recording and begins saying goodbye to her interviewees, that’s when some of the most intimate and “delicious” details start to come out. That’s because the women grow to feel comfortable with her, to trust her, and want to continue sharing their stories so they can live on.
“Sometimes we’re part of communities where we are told, ‘Don’t tell your story. Don’t tell them about that aspect of your story. Someone may judge you. Someone may criticize you. Someone may think about you differently. Keep it to yourself,’” Davis said.
“[But] we’ve got to share our stories. Our stories tell us that we’re not alone. Our stories tell us that we’ve made it. We’ve made it through hard times with good times. And our stories connect us to other people.”
“Through oral histories, storytelling, and archival efforts,” the ZAMI NOBLA website states, “[Black lesbians are] ensuring that our contributions and voices are recognized and remembered. By engaging in this work, ZAMI NOBLA fosters intergenerational connections, strengthens community bonds, and contributes to a more inclusive historical narrative that celebrates the survival, wisdom, and movement work of aging Black lesbians.”
These stories often examine the intersections of justice issues with race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and disabilities. Each one challenges listeners to consider difficult topics and ways that they can support Black lesbians, especially as they enter new territory as aging elders in a queer community that sometimes disregards older voices of color.
“If there’s a chance for us to be immortal, it is only through the way in which our stories interact with the stories of others,” Davis said. “If you can find yourself in someone’s story, you’ll never die, because you’ll always be remembered as a story is told and retold and told.”
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