In observance of Black History Month, Family Equality Council will be remembering and highlighting people, events and issues that have shaped the lives of many of today’s LGBTQ families.
Audre Lorde (2/18/1934-11/17/1992)—Activist and writer. Audre Lorde attended Hunter College, and worked at several occupations before earning a MLIS from Columbia University. Her poetry and essays were published internationally, in several volumes. A self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet”, Lorde became involved in the anti-war, civil rights, and feminist movements of the 1960’s. Her critiques of mainstream feminism gave rise to the modern day theory of intersectionality. Lorde became New York State’s Poet Laureate in 1991, and died in 1992 after a 14-year battle with cancer. Two years after her death, the Audre Lorde Project was founded in New York to benefit LGBT people of color.
“There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.”