They were the first to argue that racism, sexism, heterosexism, and classism are inseparable. Their blueprint became the foundation for modern social justice movements everywhere. When you think of the Roaring 20s and the Harlem Renaissance, you think of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. But you should also think of the "Sapphire Salon."

Enter the (1974). This group of Black feminists and lesbians, named after the river where Harriet Tubman freed 750 enslaved people, wrote a revolutionary statement: "If Black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression."

The legendary blues singer was a gender-bending, tuxedo-wearing, gravelly-voiced sensation. She openly flirted with women in her lyrics, married a white woman in a civil ceremony (a scandal for the 1930s!), and was a headliner at Harry Hansberry’s "Clam House," a speakeasy that was a secret haven for queer Black artists.

When we talk about Black lesbians, we aren't talking about a single story or a simple checkbox of identity. We are talking about a vibrant, complex, and resilient culture that has been a hidden engine for some of the most significant social and artistic movements in history. To be a Black lesbian is to exist at a unique and powerful intersection—one that has produced its own language, style, and radical form of joy.