Report on OLOC Gathering 2006, Leave No Old Lesbian Behind
by Jan Griesinger, 63
OLOC held its first national gathering in
the Southern United States, August 17–20,
in Durham, North Carolina. Southern women
responded in large numbers: 54 of a total of
125 Old Lesbians attended the event from 26
states and one woman from Norway. Women
came from Hawaii, Maine, Washington, Florida,
New York, and many states in between. An
additional 30 women came to the banquet,
the concert by Alix Dobkin, and the dance.
Scholarship funds to help women attend
the Gathering came from 28 individual donors
as well as the Gill Foundation, Silver Threads,
National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the
Astrea Foundation for Justice.
These generous donations made it possible
for 21 Old Lesbians to attend the Gathering who
could not otherwise have afforded doing so.
For the first time, OLOC held an intergenerational
dialogue for local Lesbians the night
before the Gathering began. The meeting
room was packed to overflowing with 62
women from their 20s to their 70s. Ageism was
the topic and discussion was lively.
Energy was high throughout the
Gathering. Comments included: “We’ve never
had anything like this before around here.”
“This is the most organized conference I’ve ever
attended.” “You were leaders without being
authoritative.” “This conference is really exciting.”
All are testimonies to the power of Old Lesbians joining together to sing, laugh, share
stories, protest injustice, strategize for change,
enjoy eating and dancing. Written evaluations
are still being compiled.
We expect these evaluations to highlight
those areas in which things were not done
as well as they should have been and note
improvements needed the next time around.
Women in the session for the differently
abled had many suggestions for making the
Gathering even more accessible in the future.
Suzanne Pharr and Mandy Carter engaged
in a stimlating face-to-face dialogue on “Race
and Class: Bringing Us Together or Keeping Us
Apart.” This was followed by smaller discussion
groups of women of color and white women meeting in different locations. OLOC acknowledges
that it has a long way to go to be sure
that women of color and poor women are
truly welcome.
Workshops and discussions covered many
topics of interest, including:
1. Lesbian Lives Aloud: Encouraging women
to write their own experiences, and these
were crafted into a presentation.
2. How to be Your Own Medical Advocate
3. Housing for Old Lesbians
4. Dare I Fall in Love Again and Do I Want To?
5. Loss and Grief
6. Differently Abled in Organizational Settings
7. Activism and You
8. Energy, Healing and You
9. Building OLOC Community
10. Lesbians Empowered to Resist Race and Class
11. Lesbian Land Communities
12. The Well-being of You
13. Mobilizing People of Faith as Allies to Our
Movement
14. Timelines: Memoir Writing
An exciting panel presentation on “Ageism
and Lesbophobia” included Shaba Barnes,
Alix Dobkin, Mina Meyer, and Sharon Raphael.
There was a legal clinic to offer information on
elder law rights. Three new videos shown during
free time attracted a standing-room-only
crowd. (See page 3 for more details.)
The banquet buffet on Saturday evening
in the hotel ballroom began a fine social
evening that featured awards to prominent
Old Lesbians and organizations: to Catherine
Nicholson, founder of the lesbian magazine,
Sinister Wisdom; to Del Martin and Phyllis
Lyon (in absentia), founders of Daughters of
Bilitis; to Ladyslipper Music; to Astrea, Lesbian
Foundation for Justice; and to the National
Action Foundation.
Saturday evening also included a concert
by Alix Dobkin who had Old Lesbians standing
on their feet with strong energy and admiration.
Following the concert, the dance floor
was very crowded. Big smiles were on all the
faces.
A silent auction to benefit OLOC was
held for the first time. Beautifully designed by Shaba Barnes, the auction raised $2,100.
Successful bidders went home with fine crafts,
gift certificates, a week at a Cape Cod cottage,
and many other items.
The event concluded with a Memorial
honoring our foremothers planned by Shaba
Barnes.
A fine visual presentation featured
photos of many women whose names appear
on our OLOC Memorial Plaque. Participants
were invited to name and honor women in
their own lives, placing a rose petal in a bowl
of water as their names were called out.
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My Gathering Experience
by Patricia Voelker
I wasn't sure what to expect when I
googled "old lesbians" earlier this summer and
stumbled across OLOC's website but, when I saw
the conference would be close enough to drive,
I knew I had to go.
This was the first gathering in which I, at
66, wasn't the oldest person — lesbian or not.
That, in itself, brought personal challenges
and insight. I thought I was the only "late
bloomer" there until I brought up that issue in
the fishbowl and discovered I was one among
many. As more and more told of coming
out… or having mothers who came out… in
their 60's, I lost that alone feeling.
I met one interesting woman after
another. I heard so much laughter and spirited
conversation that I had to leave the room
occasionally just to rest my ears! The group
who kept the hospitality suite stocked were a
true blessing.
This was a wonderful, eye-opening
experience. I'm so glad OLOC came South just
when I was ready to attend. Alix's concert was
great and I'd love to have the words to the
"terrorist" song. All the meetings I attended
were well-worth my time. The memorial spoke
to a need deep in the heart of individual and
group. Those who hurried to minister with
grace and presence to one who was grieving
freely for the first time were truly angels.
Lastly, I was surprised at the number
of women who spoke of activism but aren't
out. I'm told that's because it wasn't safe to
come out when younger so they moved away
from family to live an activist lifestyle. That's
another part of my learning curve. For all I
learned and for all I have yet to learn, I thank
the lesbians of OLOC for your part in my
education.
Housing Workshop Report
Sally Tatnall, 64
In our session we talked about what
we desired and how we might achieve
those desires. We want Lesbian/Gay-friendly
caretakers when needed, diversity and acceptance.
We do not want to be isolated. We want
the maintenance of living to be taken care of.
We want mobility and the ability to stay in the
area in which we currently live. We want to live
with Lesbians and not have a corporate set-up.
Most important was staying independent as
long as possible.
For the most part, everyone in the session
liked where she lived and was not willing to
compromise very much to achieve all the
desires she had. Some women live alone,
others with a partner. There was talk of some
Lesbians getting together to live and pay
for the work they
became unable to
do as they aged.
This raised the issue
of private space vs.
shared space.
Some women
lived on land in
the country and had other other Lesbians in
their community. These women seemed well
organized but were still anxious about declining
old age. One of the land groups is already
experimenting with adult day care. One
question was, “How can I stay in the country?”
The need for the city when we cannot do what
we have to was clear. While most women are
able to live their whole lives in the home of
their choosing, there is still concern about
being placed in a nursing home. The Lesbians
in this session expressed an interest in OLOC’s
acting as a clearinghouse for information on
housing options.
Videos Shown at the Gathering
The following three videos were shown
and enthusiastically received at the recent
Gathering:
High Heels on Wheels, by filmmakers Donna
Cassyd and Leslie Sloan, about the Lesbians in
the Roller Derby in the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
Fairness For All Families, distributed by
the South Carolina Equality Coalition to fight
against amending the state constitution to ban
any form of legal recognition or protection for
Gays, Lesbians, and their families. The election is
this November.
The Dyke March, filmed by Cathy Cade
of the march held in San Francisco the night
before the giant, annual Gay Pride March. Multicultural
and multiracial, it makes you want to
attend the next one. |
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