For the “Other” Black woman
Black Lesbians gather in New York
By Tania Abdulahad
Over 200 Black, Latina, and White Lesbians gathered for the Black Lesbian conference in New York City, January 16th-l8th, 1981. The event was organized by the Committee for the Visibility of the Other Black Woman (CVOBM) and was the first Black Lesbian conference to be held on the East Coast. Conferees gathered at a school in Harlem for a variety of workshops, speakers and cultural events.
“The decade of the 80's does not look promising for Black women,” a CVOBM committee member said in the welcoming address. “History reveals that in times of hardship Black women suffer most. So it is with our present and future condition in mind we ask you to share those skills and techniques that have enabled you to survive, with each other.”
The conference was divided into three series of workshops spread over two days. The first consisted of such topics as, "Women in Non-Traditional Trades," "Black Women and Feminism," and "Cross-Cultural Relationships." The second included, "Lesbians and Religion," "lnterracial Relationships," and "African Women in Antiquity." The final series included, "The Organized Lesbian/Gay Movement," "Psychodrama" and "Networking."
The keynote address was delivered by Barbara Smith, a well-known Black Lesbian feminist from Boston, Massachusetts. However, the choice of Ms. Smith was cause for some dispute among conference organizers.
Some CVOBM members were opposed to Ms. Smith giving the keynote because she is known as a radical feminist. They felt the speaker should be someone more “politically acceptable” to the majority of Black women attending. The internal dispute played-out almost up to the moment Ms. Smith took the stage on Friday evening.
Ms. Smith began by giving an historical overview of Black women's history and the significance of certain Black women's contributions to the struggle, for not only Lesbian rights but also a feminist consciousness. Some of the women mentioned were Mable Hampton, Audre Lorde and Lorraine Hansberry.
She also noted that while there may be differences among us such as class, color and educational opportunities, we must always remember that our economic root is the same and that is, “slavery.”
“While these differences may be real, and I don't have any concrete proposals on how to eliminate them, never has there been so desperate a need for all of us to work together as there is now,” she said.
While the conference was certainly an historic event it was not without its problems and there were other disagreements as well. A major debate centered around who should be invited to attend the conference. Only Black Lesbians versus Black and White women? Should certain Black Lesbian organizations be excluded? And what of other Third World women?
In the end, however, those and other conflicts did not impair the overall success of the event. Those attending left more informed and ready to build new organizations, to reach out to others and do the hard work ahead to resolve the problems emphasized by Barbara Smith in her speech:
“If we don't take advantage of this time now, then we, along with the rest of the world, are truly doomed by the ruling elite and the economic system that keeps us all oppressed.”
Blacklight Vol. 2, No. 4 —1981