In June, we celebrate pride month. I hope that you have learned something as you read, heard, and participated in an event of the LGBTQ+ community. I wouldn’t like to end this month without writing about one of the most influential black female writer, activist, and proud lesbian. I am referring to Audre Lorde (1934-1992). She was the third child of three siblings procreated by an immigrant’s family that moved from the West Indies to New York, USA.
Her career started while still being in high school. Her first poem was printed in Seventeen Magazine. Her works are fervent in voicing out sexism, racism, homophobia, gender, and classism as an instrument for action and change. Her actions were done in the United States of America, but many of them were to support injustice that occurred in other countries, for example, the creation of a Sisterhood which was a space of solidarity for the South African women living apartheid.
In the Feminist Writers, Allison Kimmich pointed out that most of Lorde’s work demonstrate to it readers that the differences that exist among us is ignored; however, she stresses that “Lode’s suggested differences in race or class must serve as a reason for celebration and growth”. I think we should all have this into account as we celebrate the pride month and the rest of the year.
Lorde wrote several books: The First Cities, Cables to Rage, From a Land Where Other People Live, Coal, The Black Unicorn, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches, The Cancer Journals, A Burst of Light etc.She also wrote periodicals for Amazon Quarterly, The Massachusetts Review, Red War, The Black Woman, The Village Voice, The Iowa Review, and a lot of others.
There is no doubt that Lorde is a vivid example of living discrimination for being a black woman and a lesbian, which is the reason she is an icon for the LGBTQ+ community.
“Within the lesbian community, I am black, and within the black community, I am lesbian. Any attack against black people is a lesbian and gay issue, because I and other thousands of black women are part of the lesbian community. Any attack against lesbian and gay is a black issue, because thousands of lesbians and gay are black. There is no hierarchy of oppression”.
Audre Lorde
Women Wheel 
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