Steven Fullwood, archivist at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, is a very busy man. In addition to his pioneering work as Project Director of the Black Gay and Lesbian Archive at the Center, he is also a prolific writer, editor, and publisher. Last year, Fullwood co-edited an essential bibliography of Black LGBT writings with Lisa C. Moore, editor of RedBone Press, Carry the Word: A Bibliography of Black LGBTQ Writings. Recently, Steven and Lisa slowed down for a few moments to answer a few questions about Carry the Word and their upcoming plans.

Jason Baumann: How did you get the idea for the book?

Lisa C. Moore: The idea was a joint one, between Steven, Reginald Harris (author of the Lammy-nominated collection of poems, Ten Tongues) and I. We’re all on the board of Fire & Ink, Inc., and we thought that a bibliography of black LGBTQ books would be a great way to fundraise for Fire & Ink, an organization devoted to increasing the understanding, visibility and awareness of the works of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender writers of African descent and heritage.

Steven and Reggie are librarians, and know the wisdom and value of bibliographies; I liked the idea of such a singular resource. It’s never been done like this before. There was a bibliography of black lesbian writing edited by J.R. Roberts called Black Lesbians: An Annotated Bibliography published by Naiad Press back in 1981, but not much since. Steven and I agreed to enter into a co-publishing agreement and donate all proceeds to Fire & Ink. We—Steven, Reggie and I—began compiling it just before the first Fire & Ink writers festival in 2002; we constructed a pamphlet titled “Our Black Books,” and we listed all the titles we knew of. It was a little thing printed at Kinko’s. After the conference, we added to the list as we discovered new titles, and as new titles were published. We scoured library lists; Amazon.com; resource lists in the backs of books such as Black Like Us, edited by Devon Carbado, Dwight McBride and Donald Weise (Cleis Press); we perused our own bookshelves (since we’re serious bibliophiles); we asked for recommendations from all manner of folk; we kept in touch with self-published authors. We really do think we’ve obtained a good list with breadth and depth.

Steven G. Fullwood: Yeah, what she said. No, seriously though, Lisa encapsulates the history of this project quite wonderfully. In addition to the Roberts’ bibliography, Robert Reid-Pharr, author of Black Gay Man: Essays, and Once You Go Black: Desire, Choice and Black Masculinity in Post-War America, compiled a bibliography of black gay men’s writing that appeared in Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men, recently republished by RedBone Press, which listed a series of books, journals, and periodicals by black gay authors and publishers. And recently I discovered Colorful People and Places, a resource guide for “Third World Lesbians and Gay men…and for White people who share their interests,” edited by Michael J. Smith in 1983, produced by the Quarterly Press of Black and White Men Together, now Men of All Colors Together. Although the publication primarily lists places that are specifically queer, Smith also includes a number of publications produced by organizations or independently, some that I have never heard of before. I invoke both items up because they serve as precedents to Carry the Word, along with Roberts’ bibliography, as well as nod to every black queer magazine or journal that featured interviews with writers, or reviewed books by lesser known writers in the community. I’d also add that Carry the Word “carries” the mission of Fire & Ink in supporting black queer writers and literature in both a substantial and functional way. Bookstores and libraries benefit from having this resource, as well as casual readers who simply want to know what’s out there.

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We were thrilled recently to host a visit from Judith Armstrong, close friend of LGBT Committee Ambassador Kay Tobin Lahusen. Judith stopped by the Library to take a look at The Barbara Gittings and Kay Tobin Lahusen Gay History Papers and Photographs and to meet Laura Karas who is about to begin processing the collection. Laura has just completed work on the ACT UP, Gran Fury, and Joseph Sonnabend archives, which she worked on as part of the Library’s MAC AIDS funded project to process and digitize AIDS activist collections. Due to her amazing work, Laura is about to move on to work on another project processing the Gittings and Lahusen Papers. Laura will organize the hundreds of boxes in the collection into a coherent body of materials that future scholars can easily consult for research. Judith took some great snapshots so that Kay could get a sense of her collection onsite and the people doing the work. Pictured above are Laura Karas and Melanie Yolles, the Head of Manuscripts processing, with a picture of the 1965 Mattachine march on the Pentagon. Melanie has done tremendous work here for many years in the processing and promotion of LGBT collections. She herself processed the Martin B. Duberman Papers, among many others. The Gittings and Lahusen Papers are a truly monumental resource in LGBT civil rights. They are incredibly rich in documentary photographs, flyers, letters, newspapers, journals, and ephemera documenting the on-the-ground struggles and strategizing of LGBT activists in the 60s and 70s. They will be central for scholars in years to come in writing the history of modern LGBT culture and consciousness. More pictures from Judith’s visit below:

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Last week’s readings hosted by the Black Gay and Lesbian Archive at the Schomburg Center were a tremendous success. Above are pictured Pamela Sneed, Linda Villarosa, and Cheryl Clarke during the Q&A after their reading on August 18th. The readings were held in the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Reading Room (you can see newly acquired boxes for processing in the back…). For more pictures click through below. (more…)