Lesbians

BP Jacquelyn D. Holland

Theologian, activist, teacher, mother and lesbian are all words that describe Bishop Jacquelyn Holland. Born the second eldest of seven children, Bishop Holland learned early on that the strict rules of her Pentecostal faith did not mix well with her yearning for a more freeing experience with God, which would allow for an authentic connection of both sexuality and spirituality.
 
In an effort to satisfy her spiritual needs as well as her love for music, she joined Lavender Light:  The Black and People of all Colors Lesbian and Gay Gospel Choir. Through this affiliation,...

Beatrice Simpkins

 Beatrice Dolores Simpkins is an alum of Rutgers University-Newark. 

In 2016, Ms. Simpkins became a Rutgers University 250 Fellow – receiving a medal at the “A Day of Revolutionary Thinking”, the culminating event of Rutgers’ 250Th birthday celebration.

She serves as the pro-bono Executive Director of the Newark LGBTQ Community Center and is the Chief Program Officer for The Partnership for the Homeless, located in New York City. In 2021, Ms. Simpkins received the Equality Leadership Award from Garden State Equality and the LGBTQ-Police Community Partnership Award...

Tiney Pringle

 Tiney Pringle was born and raised in Newark. In her oral history, she discusses growing up butch in the city, including touring with a basketball team of all self-identified butch players in and around the tri-state area. She also speaks about her experiences in the club scene in the 1980s, as well as friendships and relationships in Newark, such as that with fellow narrator Carol Glassman. Tiney is an artist who works with paint and ceramics, and an athlete who has participated in softball, basketball, and football leagues.
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Emma Wilcox

Emma Wilcox is the Gallery Director at Gallery Aferro, where, with co-founder Artistic Director Evonne Davis she has designed and implemented hundreds of exhibits, public programs, educational initiatives, public art projects as well as more than two dozen publications. Addressing barriers to full cultural participation by historically underserved populations has been an overriding concern throughout the gallery’s fifteen years of existence, during which time we have earned 5 consecutive citations of excellence from the NJSCA. Many of our efforts have been highly collaborative in nature...

Noelle Lorraine Williams

Noelle Lorraine Williams is an artist whose life's work exemplifies her continued interest in engaging individuals in conversations about community and spirituality using art, history and contemporary culture.

 

She was born in Jersey City in 1975 and moved to 16th Avenue and 21st street on the borderline between Newark/Irvington in 1987.  She lives, works and studies in Newark currently.

 

Over the past thirty years, Noelle Lorraine...

Terri Suess

Terri was born and raised in Seattle, Wa. and has made Newark, NJ her home with her life partner. She studied communications at the University of Washington, Seattle and worked several years as a journalist in the Pacific Northwest. In the mid-70s, she moved to New York City to earn a Master’s Degree in Urban Affairs and public policy from City University of New York, Hunter College.

As a young person, she saw the power of community organizing in Seattle, when neighbors circulated petitions to stop freeways, marched against the Vietnam War, Saved the Pike Place Market and...

Jasmine Mans

 Jasmine Mans is an artist who calls Newark her home and celebrates the childhood she there spent through her poetry. As an author, performer, poet, and teacher, Jasmine uses a variety of mediums and means, such as books, videos, live performances, and social media to serve as a platform to speak on behalf of others and her community. She recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 2014 with a Bachelor’s in African-American Studies, and is now traveling the world as a poet. Her work has received a multitude of awards from the Star Ledger-NJPAC, Arts Millennia, and the New York...

Tamara Fleming

 Tamara Fleming is a creative powerhouse and co-founder of FEMWORKS, an award winning marketing communications firm that specializes in helping businesses to engage consumers in multicultural markets. Fleming’s industry experience, keen creative eye, attention to detail and the foundation that encouraged her to co-found FEMWORKS. In addition to her work in creative production and the news industry, Tamara Fleming is also a published photographer. She has a driving passion to create images that positively represent African-American, Latinos, urban communities, and the LGBT community. Fleming...

Saundra Toby-Heath

 Saundra A. Toby-Heath is a Newark Native who loves her city with great passion. She is an artisan and the sole proprietor of Akirfa Design Studio (find her art on Facebook).
 

Peggie Miller

 My name is Peggie Miller. Living the majority of my life as a butch woman, I noticed how we tend to live in the shadows, usually among our own exclusively. Gay Men have been at the forefront of the Gay Liberation movement, honored in all types of media  & have been more or less accepted into the  mainstream of society for decades. Except for a few power lesbians, we the African American & other lesbians of color, particularly butch identified women tend to take a back seat. Until now! We are mothers, deacons, professionals, designers, artists, reverends, doctors, attorneys & more...

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