Lesbian-Owned Enterprises - Southern Lesbian Feminist Activist Herstory Project

Gerry Green of Amelia’s Bookstore

Gerry Green by Deborah W-B

Gerry Green cofounded a feminist counseling service and established Amelia’s, a feminist bookstore, both in Gainesville, Florida, in the 1970s.

Posted on July 23, 2022 Posted in Lesbian-Owned Enterprises, Publishing, Publications, and Booksellers, Social Justice, Women’s Health, and Social Services Tagged with Abby Walters, Air Force, Amelia’s Bookstore, Ann Gill, associate degree in nursing (ADN), basketball, Baylor University School of Nursing in Dallas Texas, Bobby Dykes, Bonnie Coates, Breakthrough Counseling Center, Breakthrough Counseling Center in Gainesville Florida, brogans, Carol Aubin, Carol Bradshaw, Cary Godwin, CETA, consciousness raising groups, Dallas College of Nursing in Texas, Diane Cuppy, ERA parade, Feminism is Therapy, Florence Rush, Fort Pierce Florida, Fort Worth Texas, Gainesville Women’s Health Center in Florida, Indian River Community College in Fort Pierce Florida, Jan Hahn, John Peter Smith Hospital School of Nursing Fort Worth Texas, Judith Brown, Judy Koons, Lackland Air Force Base, Lavender Menace, Lea Delaria, Linda Bassham, Marcia West, Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), nursing, Okeechobee Florida, OWL (Older Wiser Lesbians), Pam Smith, Pauline Bart, Reitz Union at the University of Florida, relationship therapy, Rosalie Miller, Sallie Harrison, Santa Fe Nursing School in Gainsville Florida, softball, Southeastern Women’s Health Conference in Gainesville Florida, SPARC (Sexual and Physical Abuse Resource Center), Student Nurse of the Year in Texas, Suede, Susan Keel, Take Back the Night, Tallahassee Florida, Texas State College for Women, the Pagoda, the Peace Walk, University of Florida, University of Texas at Austin, volleyball, Wild Iris Books, Wine Down, WomaNews newsletter, Womanstore feminist bookstore, Women Unlimited, Women’s Center, Women’s Health Center, working-class sports

Jade River: Mother’s Brew, Where Feminist Consciousness Grew

Jade River, in Madison, Wisconsin, circa 1983, when Jade and Lynnie Levy co-founded the Re-formed Congregation of the Goddess- International.

Mother’s Brew bar, managed by Jade River, was a lesbian-feminist cultural center for the Louisville, Kentucky region, and a safe space for lesbians.

Posted on June 23, 2022 Posted in Lesbian-Owned Enterprises, Social and Political Groups, Spirituality and Religion Tagged with feminism, Goddess consciousness, Goddess-based religion, Louisville Kentucky, Madison Wisconsin, Reformed Congregation of the Goddess, women and religion, women's spirituality, Z Budapest

Yer Girlfriend: Louisville’s Community Band

Yer Girlfriend was a Louisville-based, lesbian band active from 1989 to 1996, with reunion concerts as recently as 2015. They recorded three albums: “We Won’t Be Silent!” (1989), “L-word Spoken Here” (1992), and “Not Afraid to Love” (1995), all published by Esther Records. In 2015, Rose Norman interviewed the two founders of the band, Carol Kraemer and Laura Shine. Four songs by Carol Kraemer are posted online at Sinister Wisdom (sinisterwisdom.org/YerGirlfriend), and Sinister Wisdom uses one of them, “The L-Word,” to begin and end Zoom readings from each new issue of this quarterly journal of lesbian arts and literature.

Posted on May 16, 2022 Posted in Culture and the Arts, Lesbian-Owned Enterprises, Social and Political Groups Tagged with 2 Nice Girls, A Family of Friends (Tsunami Records), AIDS Walk, Angie Mattingly, Anima Rising, Ann Reed, Athena Productions, Bill Barnwell Trio, Brenda Dejong, Camille Rocha, Carla Wallace, Carol Kraemer, Carriage House, Cathy Lester, Cindy Campbell, CLD Club, Clothesline Project, Community Health Trust, Connie Poole, Connie’s Cabin, Cris Williamson, Daina Selter, Dare to Care, Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund, Debra Clem, Deidre McCalla, Dianne Davidson, Ellen James Society, Ellen Rosner, Esther Records, Fairness Campaign (Kentucky), Ferron, First Unitarian Church, Fonda Feingold, Full Moon Productions, Gantt Kushner, Gay and Lesbian Services Organization (GLSO), Gay Games Team Louisville, Girls in the Nose, GLUE, Gulf Coast Women’s Festival, Henley Barnette, Heritage Pridefest (NY), Holly Near, Homefront (public radio show), Hopscotch House, Hot Wire (magazine), International Women’s Day, James T. Sears, Jan Marra, Jan Riley Trio, Janet Frank, JD Doyle, Jean Russell, Joy Knopfmeier, Kathie D. Williams, Kathy Weisbach, Katy Wildsister, Ken Herndon Benefit, Kentucky Foundation for Women, Kittyhawk, L-Word Spoken Here (Esther Records), Ladyslipper Music, Laura Shine, Lawson Hunley, Lisa Cates, Liz Welsh, Londa Crenshaw, Louisville Courier Journal, Louisville KY, Louisville Music News, Louisville Sports Alliance, Lucie Blue Tremblay, Lyn Bick, Mammoth Women’s Music Festival, March for Justice (Louisville KY), Margie Adam, Marilyn Mote-Yale, Martha Barnette (Patty O. Veranda), Mary Blankemeier, Maxine Feldman, Meg Christian, Melissa Etheridge, Melody Hill (Louisville KY), Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, Minerva, Mountain Moving Coffeehouse, music festivals, musicians, Nat Foster Trio, National Women’s Music Festival, Not Afraid to Love (Esther Records), Olivia Records, Patti Hagewood, Peace and Harmony, performances, performers, Phyllis Free, Queer Music Heritage, Reel World String Band, Rhythmfest, Rita Godfrey, River City Wimmin, Robin Mock, Sallie Bingham, Sensible Pumps, Sisterfire, Southern Indiana Women’s Music Festival, Southern Women’s Music & Comedy Festival (SWMCF), Studio 2002, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Take Back the Night, Tendre, Teresa Trull, Teri Rini & Friends, The Connection, The New Era, the Planet Bar, the Rudyard Kipling, Truly Dangerous Swamp Band, Uncle Pleasant’s, Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington, Vicki Jones, We Won’t Be Silent (Esther Records), WFPK 91.9 FM (Louisville Public Radio), WFPL 89.3 FM (Louisville Public Radio), Woman Sounds (WEKU 88.9 FM), Womanwaves (WFPL 89.3 FM), Women in Paradise, women’s music, women’s music festivals, Women’s Week, Yer Girlfriend

Blanche Jackson: Market Wimmin and Maat Dompim Womyn of Color Land Project

Blanche Jackson at Womonwrites: the Southeastern Lesbian Writers Conference in autumn 2011. Her T-shirt says, “Ladies Sewing Circle and Terrorist Society.” Photo by Lorraine Fontana, used with permission.

From a rooftop garden in New York City to Maat Dompim Womyn of Color Land Project in Virginia and beyond, Blanche has offered support and empowerment to women of color throughout the country.

Posted on April 6, 2022 Posted in Culture and the Arts, Lesbian Land Groups, Lesbian-Owned Enterprises Tagged with Amoja Three Rivers, class, Cultural Etiquette: A Guide for the Well-Intended, Heathcote, legal issues, Maat Dompim, Market Wimmin, medical issues, Michigan WMF, race, women of color

Category: Lesbian-Owned Enterprises

Gerry Green of Amelia’s Bookstore

Jade River: Mother’s Brew, Where Feminist Consciousness Grew

Yer Girlfriend: Louisville’s Community Band

Blanche Jackson: Market Wimmin and Maat Dompim Womyn of Color Land Project