Lesbian Herstory Archives

We are entering the final months of the Mellon Grant-funded Lesbian Elders Oral Herstory Project. We are so thankful to those who have already participated and look forward to including more voices, especially those that can bring a diversity of perspective to reflect upon the lesbian community at large. In particular, we encourage Lesbian Elders […]

By Joan NestleWith special gratitude to Wendy Smiley, who through her grieving, said yes. Editor’s Note: On June 18, 2021, The New York Times, ran an obituary of Madeline Davis with the headline “Madeline Davis, Who Spoke to the Nation as a Lesbian, Dies at 80.” The formal obituary is worth reading. These two personal […]

We are very excited to announce that beginning in June we are welcoming visitors back to the Archives for casual browsing! Please visit the calendar on our website to see the available dates and times, and to book your appointment.

During this Women’s History Month we are happy to share an update on LHA’s Lesbian Elders Oral Herstory Project! A second set of informational sessions were held in Fall 2021. Over the course of three virtual meetings lesbians joined from across the US, Canada, and the UK! The enthusiastic participation of the volunteers produced several […]

The words of Irare Sabasu, January 30th, 2019: “I arrived in New York, found the women of the Archives, also found the women of Salsa Soul Sisters. The rest is history. These women consistently encouraged me in my writing and suggested other venues to which I should submit my work. To the women of those two groups, I thank you.” In her 1970s bio for the Jemima Writers Collective, Irare described herself as a “West-Indian Amazon”. Irare left us on February 6, 2021.

We at the Archives hope this letter finds you safe and well. When we wrote our fund-raising letter to you in 2020, we had hopes that with this 2021 letter we would be reporting to you how we had fully reopened and were bustling with visitors and researchers...

SEEKING VOLUNTEERS: LESBIAN ELDERS We are excited to share an update on the Lesbian Elders Oral Herstory Project! Thanks to a great response to our launch announcement in May, we met with engaged members of the LGBTQIA+ community via Zoom from all over the country (and Mexico and Canada!). Through three informational meetings, folks—across generations—learned […]

While you're choosing your outfits and pins for Dyke Marches and Pride events this month, get inspiration from the past by searching through our digital databases!

SEEKING VOLUNTEERS: LESBIAN ELDERS & INTERVIEWERS We are proud to announce an engaging new project: The Lesbian Elders Oral Herstory Project,  at the Lesbian Herstory Archives!  Supported by a two-year Mellon-funded Community Archives grant, we are creating The Lesbian Elders Oral Herstory Project, which seeks to continue the Archives’ commitment to collecting and sharing Lesbian […]

Join LHA and black lesbian community to celebrate the publication of the Mouths of Rain Anthology.