This growing map shows organisations mentioned in Phoenix Rising or were
around during the same time as them, predominantly organisations and
periodicals that centered or were led by queer people of colour. A map/list
of contemporary global QPOC led orgs is in progress too.
Asian Lesbians of the East Coast
Kitchen Table Press
Blue Collar Asian Women
Unbound Feet
Anamika
Gay Asians of Toronto
Asian Women's Shelter
Asian Lesbians in New England (ALNE)
Old Wives Tales
"Women's Voice"
Lesbians of Color
Lambda
Asian Lesbians of the East Coast
Type: Community, Periodical
Location: New York
Year founded: 1983
Mentioned: Issue 1, may 1984 + throughout
Asian Lesbians of the East Coast was created by June Chan and Katherine Hall. ALOEC fought for the rights of marginalized people of the community and centered feminist, radical politics in their organizing. They self-published their own newsletter, distributed others' periodicals, ran workshops, provided support and created a community for Asian lesbians in New York.
Kitchen Table Press
Type: Independent press
Location: US
Year founded: 1980
Mentioned: Books column
Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press was an activist feminist press that was closely related to the National Black Feminist Organization (NBFO) which was started in 1980 following a phone conversation between Barbara Smith and at the suggestion of her friend, poet Audre Lorde. Beverly and Barbara Smith and their associate Demita Frazier together cofounded the Combahee River Collective (CRC). The Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press was most active beginning in 1981, but the Press became inactive soon after Audre Lorde's death in 1992. Smith explains how the motivation for starting a press run by and for women of color was that "as feminist and lesbian of color writers, we knew that we had no options for getting published, except at the mercy or whim of others, whether in the context of alternative or commercial publishing, since both are white-dominated."
Blue Collar Asian Women
Type: Network, Support Group
Location: San Francisco
Year founded: 1982
Mentioned: Classifieds, issue 11
Blue Collar Asian Women (BCAW) was a network and support group working to improve the workers' rights of Asian tradeswomen and to fight the discrimination they faced in the workplace. In the image above, BCAW was photographed by JEB (Joan E. Biren) marching at the National March for Lesbian/Gay Rights on the day before the Democratic National Convention opened in San Francisco.
"i was a part of blue collar asian women back in the 80's. the organization no longer exists but we're all still friends, bound by our similar experiences. i was a part of the international bricklayers' union women's group in the mid 90's...can't remember the name we had chosen. it was great to be together, bricklaying women from around the country. the IU didn't take any of our suggestions and it ended with the women feeling frustrated, tho' no longer isolated." — stella cheng, “half of it (success) is attitude,” Tradeswomen Archives.
Unbound Feet
Type: Performance
Location: US
Year founded: 1979
Mentioned: issue 8
The first Chinese American performance group consisted of Genny Lim, Nellie Wong, Kitty Tsui, Canyon Sam, Merle Woo and Nancy Hom. They performed their writings in the Bay Area and in LA.
Anamika
Type: Periodical
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Year founded: 1985
Mentioned: Books column
Anamika was a newsletter for South Asian lesbians and bisexual women, distributed by ALOEC.
Gay Asians of Toronto
Type: Community
Location: Toronto
Year founded: 1980
Mentioned: issue 22
Gay Asians of Toronto was founded by Richard Fung, a prominent video artist and writer. They planned the North American Gay/Lesbian Asian conference of August 1988.
Asian Women's Shelter
Type: Shelter, Organization
Location: SF
Year founded: 1982
Mentioned: Asian women + domestic violence article
coming soon
Asian Lesbians in New England (ALNE)
Type: Group
Location: New England, US
Year founded: 1980
Mentioned: Willy Wilkinson's bio in his editors note may 88
coming soon
Old Wives Tales
Type: Feminist bookstore
Location: SF
Year founded: 1976
Mentioned: Classifieds, issue 19
"Old Wives' Tales was a famous female-owned lesbian bookstore established in 1976 by Carol Seejay and friends, with a loan from the Bay Area Feminist Credit Union, in response to a groundswell of women's culture and numerous other female-centric businesses such as bars and bathhouses. The store operated as a collective, and later as a non-profit. — Old Wives Tales bookstore at 1009 Valencia Street - 1983
"Women's Voice"
Type: Periodical
Location: Shanghai, China
Year founded: 0
Mentioned: Asian women + domestic violence article
A newsletter created in response to increase of rape, murder and violence against women in People's Republic of China.
Lesbians of Color
Type: Group
Location: Berkeley
Year founded: 1970
Mentioned: Events column, issue 20
coming soon
Lambda
Type: Organization
Location: Solo, Indonesia
Year founded: 1982
Mentioned: Letters from readers, issue 20
One of the first gay organization in Solo, Indonesia, predominantly for gay men but also included lesbians.
