This site was a creative collaboration between Ruth Ellis and myself. My name is Yvonne Welbon and I am an African American lesbian mediamaker. Born July 23, 1899, Ruth C. Ellis is the oldest "out" African American lesbian known.
After I met Ruth Ellis, I produced a documentary about her life. I learned so much and realized that I would not be able to share all that I learned in a single hour of film. So, we decided to continue to share her story in a format that could reach a larger audience, by creating a website.
Learning about Ruth made me wonder about other lesbians of African descent. I wanted to hear more stories of what it was like then and now. I wanted to know more about other sisters in the life. To this end Ruth Ellis and I decided to create sistersinthelife.com. The website focuses on the first 100 years of her life and the lives of other black lesbians. It offers an opportunity for lesbians of African descent to write a history of our lives in cyberspace.
The story of Ruth Ellis' life provides the foundation. Our history will evolve as more women add their stories, photos and voices to the site. Ruth Ellis and I hope the website will help to encourage lesbians of African descent to find voice and tell their stories in this community that we are creating in cyberspace.
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