BLACK HISTORY MONTH

As black women, the month of Febru- ary means more to us than the hearts and flowers of Valentine's Day. February is Black History Month, a celebration of the accomplishments of black people and a time to look at where we are, where we need to be and how to get there. Intro- duced in 1926 as Negro History Week by black historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson, Black History Month includes the birthday of Frederick Douglass (14 February 1817) and the day of Malcolm X's death (21 Feb- ruary 1965).

as wom-

As black lesbians, Black History Month means searching out the lives of our sisters who came before us, lives that are too often buried, or worse, to- tally ignored and dismissed by the straight community. It is vital to our survival and sense of who we are, en, as black women, as lesbians, to know our history. Over the last 15 years, there has been an increase in the avail- ability of resource material about women and about blacks, thanks to the second wave of feminism and the civil rights and black liberation struggles of the 60's and 70's. Information about black and other non-white lesbians still remains difficult to uncover. There is growing evidence, however, that a number of black women, well-known and ordinary, were "in the life" and left clues behind them which we can use today in our efforts to discover images of ourselves.

Some of the most recently published good books about black women in general and black lesbians in particular are:

Black Lesbians, an Annotated Bibli- ography compiled by J. R. Roberts ($5.95 paper; The Naiad Press, 1981).

All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us Are Brave, Black Women's Studies. Gloria T. Hull, Patricia Bell Scott and Barbara Smith. editors. ($8.95 paper; The Feminist Press, 1982).

Sturdy Black Bridges, Visions of Black Women in Literature. Roseann P. Bell, Bettye J. Parker, Beverly Guy-Shef- tall, editors. ($5.95 paper; Anchor Press, 1979).

All of these books can be found at a few local bookshops, though one shop may not carry every title. In the East Bay, try A Woman's Place, 4015 Broadway, Oakland; T'Olodumare Bookstore, 4834 Tel- egraph Ave., Oakland (specializes in Af- rican works but the owner's eclectic tastes--he's an African man--include books on American feminism and black wom- en); The Old Mole, 1942 University Ave., Berkeley. In San Francisco, there is Old Wives Tales, 1009 Valencia and Modern Times, 968 Valencia. Instead of flowers or candy for a lover or friend this Val- entine's Day, give a piece of black wom- en's history.

LORRAINE HANS BERRY (19 May 1930- 12 Jan- uary 1965)

Black playwright Lorraine Hansberry is best known for A Raisin in the Sun, first produced on Broadway in 1959. What is less well-known is that Hansberry, a vocal supporter of civil rights, was al- so, more than likely, a lesbian. In 1957, Hansberry wrote several letters to the lesbian publication THE LADDER. In them, she talked about the economic and social pressures that often drove consciously lesbian women into marriage. This was perhaps a comment on her own choices. She also pointed out the links between anti-homosexuality and anti-feminism and called for a new feminist ethic.

That Hansberry risked her literary career to speak out on the plight of les- bians and gay men is a strong indication that she was moved by some powerful in- ner impulse as well as a more broadly based sense of justice. Read more about her in Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. Jonathan Katz, editor, p. 425, (public libraries should have it) and in a Special Issue of FREE- DOMWAYS, "Lorraine Hansberry: Art of Thunder, Vision of Light", volume 19, No. 4, 1979 (bookshops).

Have a productive and stimulating Black History Month! 1983 Paula Ross

FOLLOW UP--OROVILLE: MARCH AGAINST AT_- TACKS ON OURSELVES AND OUR CHILDREN

On December 11, 1982, the Concerned Parents of South Oroville staged a march to demonstrate and protest the racism, lack of employment opportunities, and low low-grade education that threatens the survival of their community. Members of the ONYX staff joined more than 1500 peo- ple who marched and rallied, in a united effort, in order to revive the spirit and determination necessary to combat the sickness and evil of racism and oppres- sion.

We, as black lesbians find it imper- ative that we continue to support efforts to protect our communities against phys- ical and/or mental destruction. We have

a stake in the future of black people all over this country who once again find ourselves up against brutal attempts to force us back into second-class citizen- ship.

OLLIE'S UPDATE:

As of this writing, all of our demands (see Dec. issue) have not been met. We are asking women to use their own dis- cretion in dealing with this serious mat- ter. No longer will mistreatment of wom- en of color be tolerated.

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