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The Salsa Soul Sisters, today known as the African Ancestral Lesbians United for Societal Change, is the oldest Black lesbian organization in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.Operating from 1974 to 1993 in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, the Salsa Soul Sisters identified as
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
s,
womanists Womanism is a feminist movement, primarily championed by Black feminists, originating in the work of African American author Alice Walker in her 1983 book ''In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens''. Walker coined the term "womanist" in the short story ...
and
women of color The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...
. Arguments within the Salsa Soul Sisters resulted in the disbanding of the Salsa Soul Sisters into two groups, Las Buenas Amigas (Good Friends) made for Latinas, and African Ancestral Lesbians United for Societal Change made for African-diaspora lesbians.


History

In the aftermath of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, the
Gay Liberation Front Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was the name of several gay liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots. Similar organizations also formed in the UK, Australia and Canada. The GLF p ...
was formed in New York City. In the same year, members split to form the
Gay Activists Alliance The Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) was founded in New York City on December 21, 1969, almost six months after the Stonewall riots, by dissident members of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF). In contrast to the Liberation Front, the Activists Alliance ...
(GAA). In 1971, GAA members internally formed the Black Lesbian Caucus. Caucus member and local minister Rev. Dolores Jackson saw a need to particularly focus on issues of racism impacting lesbians of color within the GAA. While a great deal of organizing and activism related to
LGBTQ+ rights LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group i ...
was beginning throughout the 1970s, queer and trans women of color were often excluded from these efforts and frequently faced sexism, racism, and exclusion from queer spaces and communities. The initial Salsa Soul Sisters group was intended to create a safe space for women of color to focus on their needs and directly address the sociopolitical issues affecting their community. In 1974 the Black Lesbian Caucus reformulated itself as ''Salsa Soul Sisters, Third World Wimmin Inc'', an autonomous group of Black and Latina lesbians offering its members a social and political alternative to the lesbian and
gay bar A gay bar is a Bar (establishment), drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBTQ+ communi ...
s, which had "historically exploited and discriminated against lesbians of color". They originally called themselves the Third World Gay Women's Association, with the informal moniker "Salsa-Soul Sisters".Salsa Soul Sisters Statement- cited in Nestle, Joan. ''When the Lions Write History'' in''A Restricted Country''. Firebrand Books, , pp185-6 The original group was led by Rev. Dolores Jackson, Harriet Alston, Sonia Bailey, Luvenia Pinson, Candice Boyce, and Maua Flowers. The group held weekly meetings to discuss social and political issues. Meeting spaces included a fire house in Manhattan (1974-1976), Washington Square United Methodist Church (1976-1987), and the LGBTQ Community Center (1987). Informal meetings often took place in members' homes. From 1977 to 1983, Salsa Soul Sisters published their own magazine, ''Azalea: A Magazine by Third World Lesbians'', and developed a newsletter, ''Salsa Soul Gazette'', in 1982. The group was active in protests, demonstrations, and community organizing in New York City, and organization leaders frequently invited speakers to their events, including Betty Powell,
Audre Lorde Audre Lorde ( ; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, professor, philosopher, Intersectional feminism, intersectional feminist, poet and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "Bl ...
,
Pat Parker Pat Parker (born Patricia Cooks; January 20, 1944June 17, 1989) was an African American poet and activist. Both her poetry and her activism drew from her experiences as a Black lesbian feminist.Pat Parker. Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 20 ...
, Jewel Gomez, and
Barbara Smith Barbara Smith (born November 16, 1946) is an American lesbian feminist and socialist who has played a significant role in Black feminism in the United States. Since the early 1970s, she has been active as a scholar, activist, critic, lecturer, ...
. Through their activism and advocacy work, members risked their lives and livelihoods; it was common for queer women to be fired or socially ostracized for openly demonstrating and identifying as queer. Throughout its 19 year existence, the group's membership grew to 200 women of all ages, identities and backgrounds. In 1993, the group split into two separate organizations, the African Ancestral Lesbians United for Societal Change (for African diaspora lesbians) and Las Buenas Amigas, or The Good Friends, for Latina lesbians. The group's impact spans decades and generations, and Salsa Soul Sisters continues to be recognized as a historically significant and successful community of LGBTQ activists who paved the way for many queer women of color. In November 2019, the Center for Women's History at the New York Historical Society Museum and Library celebrated Salsa Soul Sisters with a panel featuring Cassandra Grant, Imani Rashid, Roberta Oloyade Stokes, and Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz, who discussed the organization's history, victories, and on-going struggles. At the event, ceremony speaker and First Lady of the City of New York
Chirlane McCray Chirlane Irene McCray (born November 29, 1954) is an American writer, editor, and activist. She is married to former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and had been described as de Blasio's "closest advisor." She chaired the Mayor's Fund to Adva ...
shared her experience as a Salsa Soul Sister member, stating: "The Sisters were so beautiful, and there were so many of them...these Sisters, they became family for me...my first New York family, and they fed my soul, they helped me see and navigate the world...We protected each other from a world that just refused to see us, let alone embrace us."


Organization Goals

The Salsa Soul Sisters was one of the first lesbian organizations created by and for women of color. The Salsa Soul Sisters was born out the need for an inclusive space for lesbian women of color to discuss the problems and concerns they face based on sex and race. Early collective member and activist Candice Boyce said that, at the time of the group's founding, "there was no other place for women of color to go and sit down and talk about what it means to be a black lesbian in America". The founders hoped to create "an organization that is helpful and inspiring to third world gay women" and to "share in the strengthening and productivity of the whole gay community." "Salsa Soul Sisters" particularly focused on inclusion for Black and Latina women, and ultimately expanded to include Asian American and Indigenous women, and women who identified as gay, bisexual, and same-gender loving. The organization also chose to define their goals as " womanist," rather than
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
, to specify that their organizing goals were geared towards issues affecting women of color, and centering the experiences and contributions of Black feminists. The group was comprised equally of African-American and Latina American women and went under the name "Salsa Soul Sisters" to reference their membership identity. The group's activities ranged from "vocational workshops and seminars on handicrafts, art crafts and martial arts for street protection".Shockley, Ann allen. "The Salsa Soul Sisters." Off Our Backs, vol. 9, no. 10, 1979, pp. 13–13. www.jstor.org/stable/25793151. The Salsa Soul Sisters provided a space for a cooperative babysitting venture where mothers could come to weekly meetings and bring their children and benefit from other mothers in the club. Cofounding member Luvenia Pinson said that the "Salsa Soul Sisters provide geographic and psychological space for women to meet other Third World gay women. It gives a place to ventilate; a place to come and share ideas and experiences and meet people who might clean up their own personal interest."


Jemima Writers Collective

The
Jemima Writers Collective Jemima or Jemimah ( ) is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin ( or ) meaning 'dove'. It may refer to: People * Jemima Blackburn (1823–1909), Scottish painter * Jemima Boone, daughter of Daniel Boone captured by Indians in 1776—see Capture ...
was formed by members of the Salsa Soul Sisters to "meet the need for creative/artistic expression and to create a supportive atmosphere in which Black women could share their work and begin to eradicate negative self images."


Publications

Salsa Soul Sisters published several quarterly magazines, including '' Azalea: A Magazine by Third World Lesbians'' (1977-1983), and ''Salsa Soul Gayzette'', (1982).


African Ancestral Lesbians United for Societal Change

The African Ancestral Lesbians United for Social Change (AALUSC) is a newer name for the organization. The group is "committed to the spiritual, cultural, educational, economic and social empowerment of African Ancestral womyn".African Ancestral Lesbians United for Social Change
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
description of Social Movements. Retrieved on 24 March 2008.
The AALUSC provides a space for all lesbians of the African Diaspora, regardless of language, culture, or class to become educated and empowered with the use of educational tools and resources and social opportunities for women such as dances, theater, cultural events, and conferences."Gay Alliance." Gay Alliance. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2017.


See also

*
Black feminism Black feminism is a branch of feminism that focuses on the African-American woman's experiences and recognizes the intersectionality of racism and sexism.  Black feminism philosophy centers on the idea that "Black women are inherently va ...
*
Womanism Womanism is a feminist movement, primarily championed by Black feminists, originating in the work of African American author Alice Walker in her 1983 book '' In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens''. Walker coined the term "womanist" in the short story ...


Additional Reading

New York History Society
We Are Never in it Alone
(2020)


References


External links


Aalusc at Lesbian Herstory ArchivesAfrican Ancestral Lesbians United for Social Change
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
description of Social Movements. Retrieved on 24 March 2008. {{LGBTQ African Americans' rights organizations African-American women's organizations African-American feminism Feminism in New York City Feminist collectives History of women in New York City Lesbian culture in New York (state) LGBTQ organizations based in New York City Lesbian collectives Lesbian feminist organizations in the United States Multicultural feminism Womanism African-American LGBTQ organizations Women's organizations based in the United States