Friends from long ago and far away

I met the woman on the right in 1977. She and I were part of the New Orleans women’s community. We were all poor, we all had full-time jobs, and some of us were single moms. Yet we met in each other’s houses, and our group established a Rape Crisis hotline, a shelter for survivors of domestic violence, and a free store for women and children. We put on a festival of the arts. We published mimeographed newsletters, poetry collections, and political manifestos. We organized two Take Back the Night marches. We thought we were part of a social revolution, and we bonded over deep conversations about the horrors of systemic racism and capitalism. We were 32 women, and we had among us a total of 32 children, though about two-thirds of us had never borne children. Many of us were part-time university students as well. We were busy! But we were young and full of fire. 

The woman on the left is my friend’s partner of 34 years; they met in San Francisco, where my friend was continuing her work with domestic violence survivors and the woman of her life was a school teacher and union organizer, also a single mother. We all read the poetry of Audre Lorde and Adrienne Rich, and the soundtrack of our lives was composed of songs written by Nina Simone, Buffy Sainte Marie, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and the (then) new genre of "women's music." We had discussion groups to explore the Combahee River Collective’s statement and Shulamith Firestone’s Case for a Feminist Revolution. We felt we were part of a revolution. We thought capitalism was in collapse and we hoped to help build a post-capitalist, post-misogynist, post-racist world. It hasn't happened yet, but we are passing the torch to some miraculous grand- and great-grandchildren. ("All children are all our children.") We haven't given up on the ideal. 

The two of them flew into Portland last night and rented a car to drive up to see other friends in Washington State, but they paused to spend the day with Sue and me. Sue had to leave early because she flies to Wyoming tomorrow, but we talked all day and went out for dinner, which is when we finally got our cameras out.

They posed for a proper smiling couple portrait (extra), but I much prefer the one I made when they gazed at each other for a quick second just before they settled into the pose.