This month's Bulletin looks at a book we have in our archives, Black Lesbians: An Annotated Bibliography (Naiad Press, 1981). Barbara Henry, writing under the name of JR Roberts, compiled the book to address the invisibility of Black lesbians among the straight as well as the White LGBTQ community. The lack of attention to Black lesbians was not because they did not exist or had not left behind writings, it was because they were ignored. Barbary Henry was a White lesbian librarian living in upstate New York. She had helped found the New Alexandria Library for Lesbian Women in Chicago back in the 1970s and eventually gathered an extensive collection of writings by and about lesbians of color.

The book consists of short descriptions of articles, books, and other manuscripts that touch on the lives of Black lesbians. For example, Julie Jenkins' article in the November 1975 issue of Lesbian Connection, "Have You Ever Asked a Black Lesbian to Dance?," has the commentary: "Black lesbian reacts to the white lesbian community and movement and its perpetuation on subtle racism."

The references include reviews of concerts by Black lesbians including a concert in San Francisco where the appearance of a white man on stage prompted protests and a walkout. There is also a listing of periodicals.

Many of you will recognize Barbara Smith, who wrote the book's forward. She was one of the authors of the Combahee River Statement, one of the first writings on what would come to be called intersectionality, the theory that sexism, racism, homophobia, classicism and other forms of discrimination are tightly interrelated. Written in Cambridge, it shows how local Black lesbians were influencing people across the world and beyond.