Audre Lorde Publishes Zami — Black Lesbian Feminist Masterwork

Audre Lorde published Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, a 'biomythography' blending autobiography, history, and myth to tell the story of growing up Black and lesbian in New York in the 1950s. Lorde described herself as a 'Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet' and insisted on the inseparability of her identities. Her works — including Sister Outsider, The Cancer Journals, and the poem collection The Black Unicorn — articulated the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and class with a clarity that was decades ahead of its time. Lorde co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press and helped establish women's studies and African diaspora literature as academic fields.