LGBTs of color flock to Zami

A stir has been created on campus by the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender organization of color - better known as Zami.

This relatively new organization was made by and for queer people of color. It is a space where they can come together and interact.

Sophomore Miriam Jackson, who is one of the liaisons of the organization, said Zami had been a pre-existing group didn't have great numbers and much programming. But this new faction of Zami is moving strong, with a good number of members that is growing steadily.

The fact that Zami was pre-existing, although not in the same form, still reflects the need for it to be a force on campus that its members feel, which is why it was brought back. Many LGBT people of color, including the members of the Asian, African-American and Hispanic communities, do not feel adequately represented by the LGBT union alone. The general feeling is that Zami is a place where members can come together comfortably as people of color and as queer people. A member who asked to remain anonymous said, "The space was created to serve a specific need that isn't met through LGBTU or any other people of color organizations. It is vital to have Zami in order to meet this need."

The name Zami was chosen specifically because it had no ties to the European language or culture. Zami is the title of a novel by a vocal African-American lesbian, Audre Lord. However, the word's real definition and roots come from a Carriacou word meaning "women who work together as friends and lovers."

"Zami is a common space where we can learn from each other. If they were present at meetings, white people would learn from us, but we would not learn from them," said Jackson. This is because people of color have been inundated with the Caucasian and straight culture for all of their educational experiences, and members want to have a place to learn about themselves without outside influences.

Members of Zami are concerned with how they define themselves and are defined by others. Jackson says that they are trying to escape the box that is put around queer people of color called "queer white disease." It is evident among many minority cultures that members are not quick to accept individuals who do come out, and so blame it on European influences.

The group is trying to escape the bonds that label an individual a certain race or ethnicity because of a group to which they belong. Zami members also struggle with feelings of trading their ethnicity in order to become a member of the queer community when attending a LGBTU meeting. This struggle is a large reason the group was created.

Zami's objectives are to organize and to gain visibility on campus. Zami is a social circle, comprised of political discussions with goals in mind. The objective is to give people of color more space in which to come out. The group feels this space is quickly growing. It also wants to overcome the idea of splitting race and sexual orientation.

Jackson said, "A major issue is this fractionating of identities; meaning that these individuals want to be known as whole people, and not just for separate parts of their identities." Zami members are working hard to combine their identities, something many minority groups are doing.

"Being known as a subgroup of the LGBTU is problematic because people then think that we are defined by the LGBT as a whole and we are not defined by the LGBT."

This is why Zami is looking to become a chartered organization rather than staying in its current status as an official subgroup of the LGBTU.

Currently, the group is composed of about 30-35 individuals and is diverse in ethnicity and gender. "Meetings are strengthening, charged and consistent," Jackson said.

Other topics that are discussed are interracial dating, exotification, passing for white or straight, cultural values, gender roles, class issues, bisexual/transgender issues and butch/femme roles. Members also watch and discuss films that have to do with queer people of color. Zami provides a space to nurture ideas and do programming.

The individual members of Zami have nothing but good things to say about it.

Senior Kate Shorb said, "Zami is really important because it brings together people who have experienced shared feelings of double rejections, from a heterosexist and racist society. Although our experiences differ a lot and we disagree on many things, there is a common respect between members that is a result of all of us being both queer and of color. Zami has been a place where I have had some of the most thoughtful discussions since I have been here. This is not only because of this respect, but because all of us have a great stake in things such as white supremacy and homophobia, because we are the people who experience negative effects of this system first hand."

Sophomore Tyrone Rogers said, "Zami is a definite necessary entity on campus, because we address issues that are pertinent to the African-American LGBT community, and issues that other organizations on campus won't address because we might mess up their Lilly-white image. It is necessary because it is good for people of color to interact with each other without feeling alienated. Zami is a medium where you don't have to choose between being of color and being gay."

Jackson says that the LGBTU is supportive of the group as well as the Asian-American Alliance and L'Allainza and ABUSUA. Those people who are not in support of the group are not given a backward glance. "Trying to convince someone is a draining process," Jackson said. "It's not a group to educate others, but to educate ourselves."

The members of Zami are not reluctant to call the organization a safe space but they fear the negative preconcieved notion of the term. Zami members are collecting together to be able to reflect their identities to the rest of the world. Jackson said it is important to keep the goal of gaining visibility on campus and in the world.

"Queer people of color do exist, they are not separate anomalies, rather they are part of a larger movement. Zami is a place where there is strength in people coming together, with the same interests and the same stake in the struggle, who are ready to make a move."