Black lesbian literature in the United States facts for kids

Black lesbian literature is a special kind of writing that is part of both lesbian literature and African American literature. It focuses on the lives and experiences of Black women who love other women. This type of writing includes poems, stories, and non-fiction essays. These works talk about the challenges and joys that Black lesbians face. Important writers in this area include Ann Allen Shockley, Audre Lorde, Cheryl Clarke, and Barbara Smith.

This literature often explores how Black women's experiences are shaped by different kinds of unfair treatment happening at the same time. This can include unfairness based on their race (racism), their gender (sexism), who they love (homophobia), and their economic background (class discrimination).

Understanding Black Lesbian Writing

Black lesbian literature began to grow during the Black Feminist movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Writers felt that neither the women's rights movement nor the Civil Rights Movement fully understood the specific challenges faced by Black women. So, these writers created essays and stories that shared their experiences. They used ideas from Black Feminist theories, like intersectionality, to help explain their views. Intersectionality means understanding how different parts of a person's identity, like race and gender, can combine to create unique experiences of unfairness.

This type of writing allowed Black lesbians to discuss the unfair treatment they sometimes faced because of who they loved. This was true even within their own communities and political groups. For example, writer and activist Cheryl Clarke wrote essays like "The Failure to Transform: Homophobia in the Black Community." These essays explored how unfair ideas about gender and race led to unfair treatment for Black lesbians.

In 1977, a group of Black feminists and lesbians called The Combahee River Collective published an important statement. They explained their main goals: to fight against racism, sexism, homophobia, and class oppression all at once. Even though many activists helped with the ideas, Demita Frazier, Beverly Smith, and Barbara Smith wrote the final statement. In this statement, the group said they did not believe in "Lesbian separatism." This idea suggested that lesbians should only work with other lesbians. The Collective felt this was not helpful because it kept others, like progressive Black men, from joining their efforts.

One of the first and most important books in this genre is Ann Allen Shockley's novel, Loving Her. It was published in 1974. Many people consider Loving Her to be one of the very first published books of Black lesbian literature. The story is about Renay, a Black woman who leaves a difficult marriage to a Black man. She then starts a relationship with a white lesbian named Terry.

After Loving Her, Shockley wrote two more books. One was The Black and White of It, a collection of short stories about different Black lesbian characters. This was the first book of its kind. She also wrote another novel, Say Jesus and Come to Me. In the early 1980s, more books with Black lesbian characters appeared. These included Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple and Audre Lorde's autobiography Zami: A New Spelling of My Name. In 1983, Anita Cornwell wrote Black Lesbian in White America. This was the first published collection of essays by an African-American lesbian.

Important Books and Writings

Fiction Stories

• Loving Her, Ann Allen Shockley (1974)
• The Black and White of It, Ann Allen Shockley (1980)
• The Women of Brewster Place, Gloria Naylor (1982)
• Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo, Ntozake Shange (1982)
• Say Jesus and Come to Me, Ann Allen Shockley (1982)
• Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, Audre Lorde (1982)
• The Color Purple, Alice Walker (1982)
• "The Champagne Lady," Hatshepsut's Legacy, SDiane Adamz-Bogus (around 1985)
• Living as a Lesbian, Cheryl Clarke (1986)
• The Gilda Stories, Jewelle Gomez (1991)
• Coffee Will Make You Black, April Sinclair (1994)
• Afrekete: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Writing, Catherine McKinley and L. Joyce DeLaney (1995)
• Does Your Mama Know?: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Coming Out Stories, Lisa C. Moore (1997)
• "Miss Hannah's Lesson," Callaloo and Other Lesbian Love Stories, LaShonda Barnett (1999)

Non-Fiction Writings

• The Combahee River Collective Statement, Demita Frazier, Beverly Smith, and Barbara Smith (1977)
• The Black Lesbian in American Literature: An Overview, Ann Allen Shockley (1979)
• Lesbianism: An Act of Resistance, Cheryl Clarke (1981)
• The Failure to Transform: Homophobia in the Black Community, Cheryl Clarke (1983)
• Homegirls: A Black Feminist Anthology, Barbara Smith (1983)
• Black Lesbian in White America, Anita Cornwell (1983)
• Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches, Audre Lorde (1984)
• Mouths of Rain: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Thought, Briona Simone Jones (2021)

See also

• Lesbian literature
• Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction
• Lesbian pulp fiction
• Yuri (genre)
• List of lesbian fiction
• Bisexual literature (includes lesbian, gay and heterosexual encounters)
• Gay literature (historically, the term "gay literature" was often used to cover both gay male and lesbian literature)
• LGBT themes in speculative fiction (includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender literature)
• List of LGBT-themed speculative fiction (includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender themed speculative fiction)